The best homemade stain remover to remove stains from kids clothing, including clothing that’s already been washed. This works for old stains, food, paint, mud and more!
Best Stain Remover For Clothes
Some of you already know this, but I am obsessed with kids clothing. I just love them. The color! The patterns! The prints! No matter what the clothes though, I have one rule – all clothes can be played in! There’s no difference between “dress clothes” or “play clothes” which means that stains get on everything.
With 3 kids, I feel like I’ve become an expert stain remover over the years. My husband tells me I get a mischievous smile on my face when I’m battling a stain with my remover and brush, and he’s probably right because I absolutely love a stain challenge. I’ve been telling friends about my mixture for years now, so I finally am writing it in a post.
This is the ONLY stain remover that has worked on getting EVERYTHING out of my kids clothing. I’ve tried them all – Oxiclean, Shout, Messy Eater, Puracy, Dreft, Grandma’s – but nothing works as good as this homemade stain remover.
This is the holy grail of stain removers, I hope it helps you!
How to Make Homemade Stain Remover
Here’s what you need to make this stain remover.
- 1 cup blue dawn dish soap (only dawn, only the blue kind)
- 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1 cup baking soda
Add these 3 ingredients into a glass jar or bowl and mix. If you want to make a large batch, simply double the “recipe” (so use 2 cups of each). Close the lid on the jar and store on your laundry shelf, using as needed.
Step by Step to Remove Clothing Stains
Grab all your clothes that has stains on it. I’m going to get the tomato sauce out of this purple rainbow shirt. 2 years old and no bib during spaghetti lunch at preschool – what a time! 🙂
Add a large scoop of homemade stain remover (ingredients above) to the stain very liberally. Make sure to cover the stain completely, with some extra on top.
Using a brush (I like these brushes), rub it into the stain. You don’t need to go crazy here, just like 10 seconds of rubbing it in works.
Move the clothing to sit in front of sun. I don’t have a backyard or porch so I simply put it on a clothing rack or table in front of a window.
Let the clothing sit for at least overnight. For very intense stains, or old stains, I will let sit for 24-48 hours.
Wash your clothes as you normally would. I add this clothing into the machine with my usual load – no need to separate it. Use your usual detergent, I use Tide.
And ta-da your stain is gone! If by rare chance, the stain is very stubborn and isn’t 100% gone, just repeat this process until it’s completely gone.
What kind of clothing stains does it work on?
Everything! Here’s some stains that I often battle that it works great for:
- Food stains (everything – from tomato sauce and ketchup to chocolate to bananas, and everything in between!)
- Baby Food
- Paint and Ink
- Mud and Grass
- Bubbles and Grease
- Coffee
- Makeup (including lipstick)
- Blood
Does this work on colorful clothes?
Yes! If you can’t tell already, my kids (and me) dress like a rainbow – so this absolutely works on colorful clothes, white clothes, and multiple types of fabrics.
This stain remover has never damaged or bleached any of our clothing, but if you’re ever worried about a special item, then test a small area first.
Does this work for clothes that’s already been washed?
Yes, this absolutely works on clothing that’s already been washed! I will sometimes wash an item that I think is stain free only to see a stain when I’m about to hang it up. No worries though, just use this stain remover and follow the directions and the stain will come out!
I love Kids Clothes
Do you love kids clothes too? If you also love brands like Mini Rodini, Bobo Choses, Animals Observatory, Hugo Loves Tiki, Misha & Puff and more – follow me on Instagram for some colorful kids fashion!
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How to Remove Stains from Kids Clothes
PrintIngredients
- 1 cup blue dawn dish soap only dawn, only the blue kind
- 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1 cup baking soda
Instructions
- Add the ingredients into a glass jar or bowl and mix. If you want to make a large batch, simply double the "recipe" (so use 2 cups of each). Close the lid on the jar and store on your laundry shelf, using as needed.
- Add a large scoop of homemade stain remover to the stain liberally. Make sure to cover the stain completely, with some extra on top.
- Use a brush to rub the stain remover into the stain.
- Move the clothing to sit in front of the sun. Let the clothing sit for at least overnight. For very intense stains, or old stains, let sit for 24-48 hours.
- Wash your clothes as you normally would, using your usual detergent.
- Your stain is gone! If by rare chance, the stain is very stubborn and isn't 100% gone, just repeat this process until it's completely gone.
Alyssa Dolishny says
This worked so great!!! I love the smell of the clothes after, can you use this as a detergent or know of anything that is similar?
ira says
Good job!