Many new parents wonder how to safely remove stains from baby clothes, because it doesn’t take long to learn that one of the tricky parts of parenting is the amount of dirty laundry a new baby produces! Babies also have sensitive skin, so harsh chemicals aren’t the best choice for your baby’s clothes. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you keep your baby’s clothes as stain-free as possible, without irritating their skin.

How To Remove Stains From Baby Clothes

It’s true that baby stains tend to be tricky in nature–on any given day you’ll have to contend with anything from spit up to milk and food stains or even diaper blow outs. What is the best way to remove these stains from your baby’s clothes?

Be Prepared To Act Fast

When a stain happens, especially one of those notoriously messy diaper blow outs, you have to act quickly if you want the best chance of getting that stain out. In other words, don’t just toss the item in the laundry basket and forget it for a few days. Your best bet is to immediately put it in a sink of warm water to soak. Surprisingly, a soak in warm water is enough to loosen and/or remove many of baby’s stains if you get to them quickly.

Try The Mildest Soap First

A mild soap, such as Dreft hypoallergenic baby detergent or Babyganics 3x baby detergent should always be your first go-to tool when removing baby stains. After a soak in warm water, check for any remaining stains. If needed, spot treat stains with some baby detergent and a soft brush.

A Boost Of Baking Soda

Baking soda is natural and non-toxic for baby’s clothes. For an extra dirty load, add a 1/2 cup of baking soda along with your usual baby detergent. Before you dry baby’s laundry, check to see that stains came out. If not, try another round in the washing machine with additional detergent + baking soda. Here’s a DIY natural stain remover to try!

For really tough stains, such as diaper blow outs, an extra soak with an enzymatic detergent may do the trick. Try this before you launder, and thoroughly rinse the fabric before you toss it in the washer as usual.