Easy Homemade Stain Remover – (How To Get Stains Out of Baby/Kid Clothes)
*This natural DIY stain remover post contains affiliate links to products that I personally use and recommend.*
Where there are cute babies, there are cute baby clothes…and not-so-cute baby stains are sure to follow. I’m talking stains in places you didn’t even know were possible.
And as the kids grow and change, so will the stains. Morphing from diaper blow-outs and spit ups, to food fun, art messes, mud, grass, and more. Sometimes there are even stains you cannot even identify, which is likely for the best.
This super simple three-ingredient mixture is all you need to keep your baby/kids (or any) clothes stain-free.
After having our second baby, I was amazed at how clean and reusable the hand-me-downs we received were. I had saved all of my son’s clothes in case we had another boy (we didn’t), but when I pulled them out of hiding for five years I remembered just how hard we wore on his clothes. They looked ROUGH! How do clothes even survive enough to be handed down or consigned, I wondered.
So far with our little girl, I am staying on top of the stains better. In warm weather, I found simply soaking fresh stains with the hose outside and laying in the sun to be pretty darn magical. When it was time to turn the hose off for the year though, I needed a new solution.
Combining 1 part Dawn dish liquid (I always feel like ‘blue’ is the best for anything, but maybe I’m crazy), 1 part baking soda, and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide creates the perfect stain removing solution that works on fresh stains, old set-in stains, and dark clothes. Rub/scrub/brush it on the stains and leave sit for at least an hour. You’ll see some stains clearly disappear during this stage. Wash normally and enjoy!
I really didn’t think my son’s five-year-old stained clothes were redeemable but this homemade mixture totally surprised me. Now I can pass them on to another baby since our family is complete.
Thankfully this stain remover works for big kid clothes, too. Hubby’s work clothes keep me hopping in the stains/laundry department, and stains are equally attracted to me as well. I found a yellow-stained lacy white shirt of mine I haven’t worn in, again, five years (when my mom uniform became mostly yoga pants and easy-to-breastfeed tops). I’m excited to have a “new” shirt now!
I also have a super old bag that has a nice scarf I can thread through it as decoration. I forget what soaked and stained it oh so many years ago, but I tried this DIY stain cleaner on just a spot and it made a huge difference! It was like when you move the furniture and the carpet underneath it is so much cleaner than the rest.
So I used the rest of my mixture to scrub in and semi-soak it for an hour. Really can’t believe how clean it is now!
I make my batch in a small mason jar because it’s easy to shake together, but it would be best kept in a darkened container – like an old hydrogen peroxide bottle, perhaps, or an amber jar. Once exposed to light, the peroxide begins to break down to water. You could always wrap a brown paper bag around a container as well. Also, it doesn’t spray very well which is why I just pour or scoop it on stains.
Since the 1:1:2 ratio is pretty easy, you can make as little or as much as you’d like. Since I had a bunch of old stained clothes I wanted to demonstrate for this, I used 1/4 cup Dawn, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup peroxide. You could easily do teaspoon sizes instead of cups for a smaller usage.
One of the softest onesies we love for our little girl is this cute organic cotton one from Estella NYC (shop there with my discount code ‘Evans15‘ for 15% off!). It’s no easy task keeping it clean with Myra’s reflux and constant teething drool, but this homemade stain remover has been up for the challenge for our current infant as well as many-year-old deep stains. I hope you’ll find some new life in your old clothes with this simple recipe, too.
This is my necessary disclaimer that this blog is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure. I am only a mom with an education background. I must let you know that any essential oils statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. I simply approve for myself and family of such things that I deem safe, effective, and positively life-transformative. I encourage you all to be informed and empowered with your health. Also, some of my posts may contain affiliate links. When you click them, you help me to cover a small portion of the cost of this blog. I appreciate your support so that I can continue to do what I love. Please note that I only ever endorse products that are in alignment with Odds & Evans’ ideals, my personal use, and those I believe would be of value to my readers.
I'm a work-at-home mom, passionate about holistic health and natural living/parenting. I am a Registered Yoga Teacher and Certified Holistic Life Coach. This nutrition nerd blogs randomly at OddsandEvans.com about clean eating, fitness, homemade product recipes, and other mindful wellness topics.
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