Easiest way to clean stained baby clothes?

arte79 · October 2010

I have been soaking/handwashing/scrubbing my LO's stained clothes, but it takes too long. She always seem to have stained clothes from food, spit ups, blow outs, etc. I've been avoiding any chemical because I'm not supposed to use them?

So, please share your tricks. Smile

jenuine · October 2010

I have always been impressed with Oxyclean's ability to get anything - I mean ANYTHING - out. But I guess that is out since you want to avoid chemicals. I don't have a lot of time with other things that might not work. I have found some of the Seventh Generation products that work ok for other things around the house, but not stains. I do use the "auto soak" feature on my washer and think that has saved some things.

You might want to post this on the echo-friendly family or cloth diaper board.

May I ask why you are not supposed to use them?

aglenn · October 2010

Baby OxiClean. It works almost every time, and DD goes through a lot of clothes between messy eating, poo, and "art."

arte79 · October 2010

I don't know much about which chemicals to avoid. All I know is to only use detergent that is dye and fragrance free. So I have no idea what else is acceptable.

I didn't mean no chemicals at all. I actually have thought about bleach. LOL! But I'm sure that's not a good idea.

So, is Oxiclean okay to use? How do you use it? Do you soak the clothes first? Or just add it in the washer with the soap?

katypresson · October 2010

We use OxyClean Pretreat Spray and it works great! They make a baby version I've seen at BRU - with no added chemicals.

Mrs.ABC · October 2010

katypresson:
We use OxyClean Pretreat Spray and it works great! They make a baby version I've seen at BRU - with no added chemicals.

This.

aglenn · October 2010

arte79:

So, is Oxiclean okay to use? How do you use it? Do you soak the clothes first? Or just add it in the washer with the soap?

I use either Baby Oxiclean or Oxiclean Free (fragrance/dye free) and DD hasn't had any issues. She and I both have pretty sensitive skin, so I think we're a good test case. I used to use the powder in the washing machine (there are directions on the container) but now we have a new HE washer and it was too confusing for me to figure out so I switched to the spray bottles. Works great.

jenuine · October 2010

Unless your LO has really sensitive skin (exima, rashes, etc), Oxyclean should be fine, especially if you use the baby formula.

I keep a bottle near the laundry basket and spray anything that is suspect before it goes in. I spray again when it goes in the washing machine. Then add regular soap and the "15 minute auto soak" feature. I have saved more clothes that I thought were goners, even things I got for free at yard sales because they were stained.

FWIW, DD started out with super sensitive skin. We stopped using the "free" detergents at about 9 months, but used Oxyclean through out. I would also use a Q-tip of bleach to a spot here and there if it needed it - no problems.

rxqueen918 · October 2010

I always use oxiclean laundry stain remover on DD #1's clothes and it gets darn near anything out. You spray it on the stain, rub it in a little bit, then wash and dry as normal. A mom on here a while ago used to have it in the vicinity of the changing table so that she could spray the clothes as soon as they came off the baby, then she put it in the hamper already done. I waited until I was ready to do a load and sprayed them all at once. DD #1 was pretty sensitive to fragrances in laundry detergents but she never had an issue with the Oxiclean. Good luck!!

2more2go · October 2010

katypresson:
We use OxyClean Pretreat Spray and it works great! They make a baby version I've seen at BRU - with no added chemicals.

This

shouldbworkin · October 2010

Oxyclean spray. Spray it on as soon as you can, wash it, check it before you put it in the dryer. If it's still stained, spray and wash again. Works like a charm for my ketchup loving DD's clothes.