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OK. I need a little help people. I used to get a certain kind of satisfaction from stain removal. Kind of like the same satisfaction you get from popping a pimple. It's gross, but it feels so good when you get it. You dominated that stain (or zit). Yes, I loved dotting, scrubbing, and washing. But these days, it is getting old. Oh so old. Anna will not eat if I put a bib on her and so of course she gets all sorts of food stains on her clothes. Plus now that she can walk, she wants to get down and run around everywhere. We were at the park today and she was having so much fun playing in the dirt, I didn't want to stop her. However now when I look at her clothes, I really wish I would have. It's just that I would rather spend my time doing other things than scrubbing out hundreds of stains. As much as I'd like Anna's stained clothes to be an excuse to go shopping for new ones, our budget just simply does not allow. Big problem.
In the past I've always used this green bottle of stuff that my mom would "import" for us from California. It's called Soilove or something. It's pretty good, but I'm too impatient to soak and scrub with so many items. I used to have the "Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean" book (she's the royalty of stain removal), but it got ruined in the flood, so I threw it out. What is your secret weapon for battling kid stains? Is there one? Or am I destined to a lifetime of scrubbing with a toothbrush at the sink? Please tell me what you use, your tactics, strategies, etc. I need your wisdom and help! Many thanks!
9 comments:
I'm NO help, because I just let my kids play and get dirty...if the stains come out, great! If not...too bad. They can wear a stained shirt or grass stained pants every now and again. I just have the feeling that they are only little once, and if they have to be concerned about getting dirty, then they wont have as much fun. So my advice is to enjoy the dirt...or just get used to closing your eyes so you don't have to see it! :-) Good Luck!
So funny to see this little post, I was thinking about putting up a gratitude post for Spray-n-Wash as it successfully removed out all of Caroline's Cheesecake Factory dinner from her shirt last week. But, S-n-W isn't fool proof, so I only use it as a last resort. My first resort is to strip her down to her diaper whenever she eats. Obviously this little tactic can't be used in public, so we're out of luck at restaurants.
Boy do I know what you mean about clothes getting ruined. I got Caroline the cutest little white capris from Old Navy a couple weeks ago, but I took them back today... I just knew that the "white" would never last, so why bother?
Oh, I have issues for days when my kids ruin that favorite shirt that they looked so cute in. It never matters how much the item was, expensive or inexpensive, it's the fact that it's ruined. It's the idea of a perfectly good item being wasted. It drives me crazy! My kids are forbidden to eat certain items when they are dressed in their best. Most items are fine, but don't you dare offer them chocolate. Chocolate, mustard, and berries the stains of all stains. Aaah!
Bibs never worked for my kids either. Too bad, they seem like a great invention. As soon as my kids sit at the high chair to eat off comes the clothes. Naked is best. Yes, it's a problem at restaurants, but I just monitor my kids closely.
Here's a few of my big guns-
Oxi Clean laundry spray- My sister is the stain queen and loves this stuff. She claims it even gets out chocolate if you let it sit for a day or so. It's pretty cheap for a pretty big bottle too.
Clorox pen- If it's white this is your best friend! If you have an item that's white with stripes or some sort of pattern as long as the stain is in the white area you just dab this pen along the top. The stain disappears like magic. Be careful that it doesn't touch the colored areas or your in trouble.
Shout stain remover towelets- If you can get something on the stain asap your chances of getting it out are a 100 times better. Keep these little towelets in your diaper bag at all times to dab those spots until you can get the item into the washer. (I make Ryan keep these with him at work too. He has a little issue with keeping lunch off his shirts.) If your at home, and you can get the item soaked or sprayed asap I swear the stain almost always comes out.
Goop- It sounds crazy but you find this stuff in the auto area in stores. It's actually used to remove grease from mechanics hands. If you have a grease stain this is your partner.
Hairspray- Great for removing pen marks.
Dryer sheets- great for taking crayon off of walls.
Do not dry until the stain is gone- After your stained item goes through the wash, check and make sure the stain is gone. If the stain is still there wash the item a second time before you put it in the dryer. When you dry an item it will set the stain and then your in trouble.
I know your going to get plenty of comments about let kids be kids, and embrass the dirt but, the reason why I take such care of my kids clothes is so they will last. I buy good clothes so that they hold up for a long time and can be passed down to my other kids. Once Crew is out of an item Ty is right in it. In most cases Crew and Ty share a lot of their clothes and I need the items to last until they both grow out of them. I swear my kids clothes look almost new by the time they are finished with them. It's not about being crazy about your kids clothes, but about taking care of and using to the fullest the things that you have. After my kids grow out of their clothes we do a big garage sale every year. We take the money from the garage sale from the clothes that we sold and use the money for the following years clothes. Taking good care of our clothes has really saved us in the long run.
BIZ!!! It is my best laundry friend. If I can get a stained item in the sink with a scoop of Biz then it will almost ALWAYS come out. I leave it in the sink for at least 24 hours. Then I only have to scrub for about 10 seconds...seriously.
It sounds like Sue has a lot of good ideas too, so I'd try what works best for you! Good luck!
O.K. Ashley,
I agree with all of the above comments. My best friend is, catch it early and let it soak. I know soaking clothes is a pain but, whenever I have been patient it almost always works with whatever stain remover I choose. Read the labels of those stain removers, they are crazy. But for the most part if I let the item soak and do not get to anxious, it will remove the stain. BUT I ALWAYS HAVE TO SOAK!!!!
You crack me up. I love your zit-popping analogy (which I hate to admit I love to do!). As far as stains go, I HATE dealing with them. If I'm in a hurry and can't do wash soon, I'll put the Spray N' Wash (I think it's that brand) Stain Stick on the stain. That way it can sit there for a couple days with out ruining the clothes. Also, I insist on bibs - I don't really care if my kids like them or not! Yeah, I'm a really nice mom! :)
This really has nothing to do with stains on clothes, but I found a remedy that takes crayon off of the counter top (I let my nieces go wild with the crayons, thinking they were coloring on paper, but after found out they were coloring on our counter. Anyway, vegetable oil, worked like a charm. I was happy my mom suggested this (I guess vegetable oil works to get the wax off, or something). I appreciate this post, and seeing what people have to sugeest. It has been helpful.
I realize this post was soooo last month and I am way behind, but I do have a good stain remover to recommend.
It's called Felt Nappa I think. I'm pretty sure Katy told me about it. You find in in the laundry aisle. It's like 1.50 or something ridiculous. It looks like a bar of soap, and I swear, if you get the stain wet, rub it with the bar, throw it in the wash, walla, abra kadabra, boom, stain gone. Even good housekeeping gave it their seal, so it must be good right?
Good Luck!
I use baby oxi clean to soak and then spray the heck out of it with Zout. But I'm not battle anything except blowouts yet! However, it's already getting old.
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