According to Steve Boorstein, wipe off any poop with a spoon or dull knife and preheat the stain with a stain remover like Spray N Wash. Let it sit on the garments for 5 minutes before tossing them in the washing machine. If the poop stain looks like it didn’t come out fully after it goes through the wash, don’t put it in the drier. The drier can set the poop stain and air-dry the garments instead. For any lingering stains, you can soak the garments in color-safe bleach for at least 30 minutes to remove any last poop traces.
Life with a baby is messy, to say the least. Changing diapers is one thing, but cleaning baby poop that escapes the diaper is another mess.
And it makes you wonder how on earth can someone so tiny make such a big mess? Then you look at the trash can, and your heart sinks. Is this the end of another adorable outfit?
If you’ve ever experienced a diaper poop explosion, you know there’s nothing like exclusively breastfed baby poop.
And the worst combination‐white baby clothes and poop, that scenario still wakes me up at night. Although these poop stains can be messy, quick action can save your baby’s clothes.
How to get rid of baby poop stains on clothes
At one point, all moms will come face to face with baby poop stains on either their clothes or their baby’s clothes.
These simple steps will help you effectively clean the clothing after those diaper blowouts.
1. Use baby wipes to clean off as much as you can from the clothes. Wipes shape better to your hands than paper towels, suggests Courtenay Hartford, the author of the Cleaning Ninja. Scooping as much of the mess of the clothes as possible will leave your washing machine cleaner, but it will also make your laundry detergent work better.
2. Rinse off the remaining with warm water in the sink. Avoid excess rubbing and let the water do the work. It helps push the poop out of the cracks and the crevices on the dirty spot. Use a spray bottle for carpets and other garments to soak the stained area.
3. Follow up with a wash in the washing machine using the heavy-duty setting and the hottest cycle. It’s alright to throw in other clothes to make it a full load.
4. If the clothes still have stains, rewash them but add bleach or hydrogen peroxide to the cycle. Wash the clothes as usual. Be sure to use clothes-safe detergents if you’re using clothes diapers to minimize the development of diaper rash on your baby’s skin.
5. Don’t forget fabric softeners because you’ll want to keep your baby’s clothes super soft, including after the poonami! So be sure to add a slosh of your favorite fabric softener for huggable softness.
6. Toss them into the dryer once the baby poop stain is gone.
7. If possible, hang the clothes in the sun to dry after washing. Remember to hang colored or printed clothes inside out to prevent fading.
Tips for removing tough poop stains from clothes
There are always those stubborn poop stains that need little extra help to clear:
- Don’t let it sit. Address the stain as soon as you can. Throwing the stained clothes into Sunday’s pile on Tuesday will not bode well for getting the poop stains out.
- Rinse the stain carefully with room temperature water from the opposite side of the garment to avoid pushing the stain into the fibers.
- Here’s probably something you didn’t know, but it works wonders. Dab some dish soap on the stain and rub it in with a rag. Rinse with cold water, repeat if needed, and then wash it in the washing machine.
- Don’t use a brush to scrub. You might wear out the fabric.
- Use stain pretreatments after rinsing. Oxiclean has been mentioned again and again by experts.
- Don’t throw the poop-stained clothes right into the washer. Let the pretreatments sit according to the instructions. If you launder immediately, the stain remover gets washed right off.
- Don’t air-dry the clothes until the stain is gone. The heat will set the stain. Boiling water can also permanently set in these protein-based messes like poop, as can the iron and even the dryer.
FAQs
How do you remove set-in poop stains?
Mix one tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergents with two cups of cool water.
Using a clean cloth, sponge the stain with the detergent solution. Blot until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat the process until the stain disappears.
Does vinegar remove poop stain?
Saturate the stained area by spraying it with a solution of equal parts distilled white vinegar and cool water. And then, use a soft bristle brush to scrub the stain well.
Blot the area with paper towels, or better yet, use a wet/dry vac to extract the liquid faster, then allow the area to dry.
Are poop stains normal in adults?
Staining your underwear could indicate a form of passive bowel incontinence, but it’s nothing to panic about.
If the staining only happens occasionally, after using a dry tissue to clean yourself after a bowel movement, this may be due to improper cleaning methods.
Take away
That’s it. There are no special cleaners or detergents needed. These easy steps will never fail you all cloth diapering mamas out there. Your bright-colored diapers and onesies, which have been pooped on repeatedly, will remain bright and stain-free.
Babies can create stains that may feel impossible to remove. It’s almost like a right of passage that takes up the whole village to clean up the stinky situation.
They get on their clothes and very often on your clothes. But before you start throwing away all these poop-stained clothes, don’t give up just yet. Those terrible stains aren’t unbeatable.
