Baby food stains – you spend a fortune on a gorgeous little outfit for your baby… but one messy meal-time later – it’s ruined!
Just how DO you keep baby’s clothes clean?
Well, one of the most most useful things we’ve learned in raising our five messy little munchkins is that the sterilizing solution used for baby’s bottles is also great for removing baby food stains!
Simply mix the solution as per the instructions on the bottle, in the same way that you would if it were to be used for sterilizing bottles! The solution has a mild “bleaching” effect – safer for your clothes than regular house bleach, which can lead to your clothes literally falling apart!
Here are some more ideas to help keep baby’s clothes clean…
- The easiest way, if the weather allows, is to feed your baby naked!
- Invest in a few “coverall” type bibs that have long sleeves and tie at the back.
- If clothes are stained, remove them and soak them IMMEDIATELY in cold water. Dried out stains are much harder to shift.
- Rub liquid soap (not bar soap) into the fresh stain. Leave for 30 mins, then launder as usual.
- Combine hydrogen peroxide 50/50 with water, apply it to the stain and leave for 30 mins. Rinse with a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar, then launder as usual.
- Take advantage of the mild bleaching effect of the sun. We’re lucky enough to live in a place where we get strong sunshine most of the time. If we hang our laundry with any stains facing the sun, they either lighten up or disappear altogether.
- If you don’t succeed in removing a stain the first time around, try again before the clothing is dry. In particular, don’t tumble dry the item – the stain will then become practically impossible to remove.
If all else fails, keep in mind that ‘stained’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘dirty’. We’ve always kept a few bibs aside for those really messy meals, like carrots and blueberries. They get used, then we wash them – and we’ve learned to accept that they ARE clean, in spite of the fact that they’re still bright orange or purple!
Are you stressed by the mess?
See our tips for coping with a messy eater
How do YOU get baby food stains out of clothes?
If you’ve discovered an effective method, then please do share with other parents by leaving your comments below!
Emily
Saturday 22nd of December 2018
I've discovered that those hard to remove stains are treatable with a combination of products. I rinse the garment in cold water, then hand scrub with Tide Free, wring it out and hang it up to dry. If the stain is not treated in time, or the detergent treatment did not work... I use Resolve by Spray and Wash and let sit on the article for up to 15 min before laundering. I also use an Oxyclean product with my load and the clothing can soak in the machine with the detergent for about an hour prior to washing. On a very rare occassion do I ever have a stain on my daughters clothing I can't remove. Thank goodness for small miracles. Laundering has come a long way over the years!
Christine
Saturday 22nd of December 2018
Thanks so much for sharing your tips Emily.