Stain Fighting Power

Weather you buy your clothes new or shop resale, we pay a lot of money for our clothes.  I shop conservatively so I can wear items for multiple seasons.  I’m guilty of having clothes in my closet that are from my early college days, over ten years ago.  What I have found works best for treating stains in our family is one of three methods below.  There are hundreds of stain treatment possibilities based on stain type and materials affected.  This recipe is for your everyday food, dirt and baby poop variety stain on cotton and cotton blends. 

Ingredients:

Spray Bottle

Hydrogen Peroxide

Baking Soda or Washing Soda

Hand Soap

Water

In a light blocking spray bottle mix equal parts water, hand soap and hydrogen peroxide add 3 table spoons baking soda or washing soda.  I’ve used both and can’t tell a difference between the two.  Mix and apply as needed.  Shake the bottle before each application.

Rinse the stained article with cold water, removing any debris.  Use the above mix to spray onto the article scrub as needed or let dry.  Wash as normal

*For the best results in stain fighting treat the stain immediately.    

Some great pretreatment options include:

Mix cold water and baking soda together and soak the affected items until you have time to deal with it.  I found this method very helpful when I was used cloth diapers.  Thoroughly rinse the article and drop it in a bucket. 

For tougher stains pretreat the article using the above mix and rub in some additional Fels Napa soap.  Rub the article together to work deep into the stain.  A stiff bristle brush would also work.   

The most natural way to remove stains is with sun bleaching.  I found this especially useful to keep my cloth diapers bright white and looking new.  This was very helpful for those baby clothes after diaper explosions.  All of my baby poop stains were soaked in baking soda until wash day, which averaged every third day.   Baking soda neutralized any odor on the items.  After washing the items in cold water, hang them in the sun to dry.  The sun works as natural bleach on the stains.  Some stains will need longer exposure then others.  There are tips for line drying your clothes so they don’t get stiff, but I never followed them.  I always rewashed these items anyway.  I know not very green, but I live in the desert where it’s always blazing hot and dusty out.  Clothes just don’t come off the line smelling like a summer breeze out here.

Using these methods I really don’t recall any of our daughter’s baby clothes falling victim to permanent stains.  At least not yet! 

**Nothing on here is an exact science, experiment with ingredients and measurements.  Every recipe I have found has been tweaked from the original to work based off my needs. 

Cost Savings:

Shout 30oz: $4.52

Peroxide: $1.50