How to Get Stains Out of Baby Clothes (With UK Products)

It’s pretty much guaranteed that your baby’s clothes will become caked in food, vomit, poo or maybe all three at once, at some point. So, instead of worrying about buying new clothes to replace the marked ones, check out how you can remove the stains from your baby’s clothes below.

You’ll certainly be able to save a penny or two if you do! 

Babies are messy and their clothes are going to become covered in stains over time. It’s something that you aren’t really going to get away from. But what you can do is prepare yourself for the inevitable by finding out how to remove the pesky stains as soon as they set in. 

Not only will you save yourself money in the long run, but you’ll also be able to keep your baby’s outfits as a keepsake, or you’ll keep them clean enough so that they can be passed on to someone else! 

So, let’s start removing those troublesome stains! 

When removing stains from baby clothes, remember the following points:

• Act as fast as possible to remove any stains from the clothes. 
• Remember to use products that are safe for your baby’s skin.
• When treating baby clothes use cold water. 
• Disinfecting your baby’s clothes is also important. 

Here’s how you remove stains from baby clothes.

Step 1: Figure Out What Type of Stain You’re Working With

There are four common stains that appear on baby clothes, these are:

1. Poo stains
2. Food stains
3. Formula and milk stains 
4. Sick stains

 Let’s find out how you remove each one of these stains.

 

Step 2: Remove the Stains from Your Baby’s Clothes

Before you treat your stained baby clothes you should separate the clothes by colour. Then you can get rid of the marks according to the methods below.  

How to remove poo stains from baby clothes:

• Try and remove as much of the poo as possible from your baby’s clothes.
• Hold the garment under cold water – this will remove any excess poo.
• Grab some non-biological detergent (Persil non-bio or Vanish Oxi Advance, for example).
• Pour some product onto the affected area – you do not need to pour lashings of the product onto the item, a few drops will be more than enough.
• Massage the product into the material.
• Wait about 10 minutes.
• Check the clothing tag on the item and find out how the garment should be washed.
• Select the correct setting on the washing machine.
• Add the item and wash as normal on the highest temperature allowed for the material.
• When the washing machine has finished, remove the item and hang it on the line outside to dry.
• Direct sunlight will also help to remove the poo stains further, (if they are still present). 

Note: If the stains are more set in, you can leave the clothes in a bucket of cold water and non-bio detergent overnight. And if you don’t have non-bio detergent at home, you can use washing up liquid instead, like Fairy Liquid.

How to remove food stains from baby clothes:

1. Grab a bucket and fill it up with cold water. 
2. Collect all the baby clothes that you need washing.
3. Sort the clothes out by colour – white clothes go in one pile and coloured clothes go in another pile. 
4. Grab one pile of clothes and add them to the bucket of cold water. 
5. Leave the bucket and the clothes alone overnight. 
6. Return to the bucket in the morning and remove one item from the bucket at a time. 
7. Grab some non-bio washing liquid and rub it gently into the stained areas. 
8. Check the clothing label on the item and wash it accordingly.
9. Pop the item(s) on the line to air dry – the sunlight will help to bleach the yellow food stains. 

Note: If you don’t have non-bio detergent at home, you can use washing up liquid instead.

How to remove formula, milk or sick stains from baby clothes:

1. Formula, milk and sick stains dry quickly, so you need to blot them with a cloth and some cold water as soon as possible. 
2. When you get home, you can treat the stain properly.
3. The stain has probably dried a little by this point, so you need to grab a soft brush and start brushing the affected area – don’t be too rough.
4. Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda onto the stained area – do not use too much bicarb. 
5. Slowly add a few droplets of sparkling water to the bicarbonate of soda – the mixture will start to fizz.
6. Wait a few minutes.
7. Wash your garment as instructed on the tag. 

Note: You could treat this type of stain with non-bio detergent too, if you have that at home. 

 

Step 3: Disinfect Your Stained Baby Clothes 

Once you’ve cleaned the stains off your baby’s clothes, you should disinfect the items. This basically makes sure that the garments are completely free from troublesome dirt and it’ll protect your baby even more. You can do this in multiple ways:

• Wash your baby’s stained clothes on the highest temperature possible that the material can withstand – be sure to check clothing tags.
• Don’t contaminate non-stained items with the stained items – wash clothes separately. 
• Purchase an appropriate laundry sanitiser, like Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleaner to sanitise your baby’s clothes – make sure you pick a product that’s safe for babies.
• Air dry clothes in sunlight. 

 

Step 4: Dry Your Baby Clothes

It’s always a good option to dry your baby’s clothes out on the line. This way they’ll be dried by the sunlight and this can help to remove stains. It also means that clothes get to dry in a nice natural breeze. 

That being said, here in the UK drying clothes on the line isn’t always an option. So, if you need to dry your clothes indoors, do so according to the instructions on the clothing’s tag.