How To Get Spit Up Smell Out Of Clothes? 8 Ways To Do So!

That stinky spit-up smell can be eliminated using various methods: baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, or even essential oils! The number one trick is to immediately wash your clothes to rid of the stink. But if busy, pre-soaking your spit-up clothes in a bucket of water with detergent and vinegar works all the time.

Getting that smell of spit-up out is one more challenge on top of multiple challenges a mom handles each day. You can say raising a kid is a never-ending job for both parents. And clothes with spit-up stains and the smell doesn’t make it any easier. You feel clueless about how to make that smell go away and make the clothes smell fresh again.

There must be multiple things you would have tried and tested to become successful in making that smell disappear. But none of them seems to work. Then what should you do? Let’s find out.

Spit up stain and smell

You are familiar with this all too well. You must wonder this all the time, why it is so difficult for you to remove the smell and stain altogether?

Your baby doesn’t care where they spit-up. It could be anywhere, be it your car, the couch, the carpet, or your clothes. Most spit-up that occurs is of milk, which is protein-based and is fairly difficult to get out.

This leaves a stain that is hard to get out of because of its nature. This is why you need some tricks and tips to make that smell and stain go away!

8 Tips to remove spit up smell

A number of things can help you get rid of that nasty smell that has been lingering on every piece of cloth you and your baby own.

1) Clean it right away

Mom of a newborn baby is washing her shirt right away after the little one spits up lots of milk on her.

The most important thing you as a parent might forget is how much easier it is to wash the cloth right away. A lot of parents tend to relax or get lazy when it comes to washing clothes. Do not expect a spit-up cloth to be fresh if you leave the cloth with a spit-up like that for hours.

Letting the spit up sit in for hours will only make it harder for it to go away. The smell, too, will remain in the cloth. To avoid that, you must change the cloth immediately and wash it.

Of course, it is something that you can’t do if you’re outside your home or you don’t have time right away. But if you can, this is the number one tip that will always help you.

2) Baking soda

One way to help you get rid of that smell and stain is to apply baking soda on the spot where your baby spits up. This works well for parents who can’t wash away the cloth right away.

Baking soda help absorb the substance your baby just threw up. Leaving it for a few minutes will make the spot dry.

This when you can put the clothes in for washing, and you’ll have yourself clean and fresh clothes.

3) Lemon juice

Even after washing your clothes with spit-up stains, you are still able to see that visible spot that stinks, and it annoys you all the more. One tip that helps get rid of it is using the natural ingredient, that is lemon juice.

Applying some on the spot can help eliminate the weird smell out of your clothes.

4) Sun dry

A lot of you might prefer drying your clothes in a dryer, but there’s nothing best compared to a little sunshine.

Mom is sun drying her clothes after washing them, to get newborn baby's spit-up smell out of them.

When you wash your clothes with spit-up stains, try to dry them under direct sunlight. It will air out the weird smell from the clothes, and sun rays also help kill bacteria and germs from the clothes.

5) Vinegar

One trick you can use without doing too much to get rid of that stink from the clothes is using vinegar when washing clothes.

Before you wash the clothes, soak them in water with two teaspoons of vinegar to get rid of the smell.

The smell of the vinegar will wash away the smell of spit-up.

6) Essential oil

Famous for many reasons with different uses for different people, you can use it to get your clothes smelling all fresh again.

Essential oils can be used when washing clothes to make all your laundry smell like lavender if you want.

Take a scrap of fabric and infuse it with essential oil; put it in with your clothes. When done, you will have a laundry that soothes your senses.

7) Use baby wipes

But what to do when you can’t do any of those mentioned above right away? Maybe you’re out of home, and your baby spits up.

In such situations, the wipes come to your rescue. Wipes are clean and precise way out of such a stinky situation.

When your baby spits up, just take out a wipe and clean it right away. Doing this will help eliminate most of the smell and stain. Later on, this will help you out a lot when finally getting to wash that cloth.

8) Pre-soak

So, you have loads of clothes to wash but don’t know where to start when most of them are spit-up clothes?

Easy, just take a bucket, fill it up with water and add all the clothes with spit up into it. Add a spoon full of detergent and let it pre-soak for 15-20 minutes.

The detergent will help break away the spot on the clothes, making it easier to wash them. Infusing clothes in detergent two times will keep that stinky smell go away.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you get spit up out of fabric?

Warm water is the way to go when wanting to get rid of baby spit up out of fabric. Soak in warm water and put a spoonful of detergent in it. Let it soak for 15-20 minutes. Then the stain and smell will reduce to a large extent. You can wash the clothes in your washing machine after doing this.

Is it safe to wash baby clothes with vinegar?

Vinegar acts as a natural disinfectant and does not harm baby clothes. Still, if you are hesitant to use it, test it on a piece of fabric before you try it out on many clothes.

Should you wash baby clothes in warm or cold water?

Usually, you should see to it that you follow instructions given for every fabric on the labels it comes with. Still, you should wash your baby’s clothes in a gentle/normal setting, especially for the first time you wash for new clothes. If you want to remove specific stains, let them soak in hot water with detergent and vinegar to help break away the stain and get rid of the smell.

Do baby clothes shrink in the dryer?

You should set the setting of the dryer to normal. Do not set it too high to help it dry faster. This will only ruin the soft fabric of their clothes. I suggest drying out clothes in the sunshine more than putting them in a dryer.

To summarize

It’s hard being a parent when you have a million things to do for your baby. On top of that, getting your laundry done is hectic because of spit-up stains. The weird spot they leave and stinky smell both go hand in hand.

There are several ways you can get rid of both and especially that smell that still lingers even after getting the laundry done.

While there are things you can do immediately to help eliminate both if you have time. But if not, there are tips to help you get rid of the smell when you get to your laundry later in the day.

So, take a deep breath! See what works best for you. Hope my tips help make your day better.

Was this article helpful?
YesNo
Avatar

As a writer for 1happykiddo, Saumya wants to help new parents and older siblings help raise the newest member added to the family. Her parenting tips come from her experience of being 15 years older than her youngest sibling. When not writing, you can find her reading novels, traveling, and cooking nutritious meals.

Leave a Comment