Best stain remover? I could weep over ds's uniform!

[InDubiousBattle]

Ds started school last week, he did two days. The two jumpers he wore are absolutely filthy! I know everyone says they get messy but they really are pretty bad. It's paint and mud mainly and the Vanish stain remover I used one the first one hasn't got it out. I'm starting to think that the 3 jumpers I bought was hopelessly optomistic but at £14 each I was hoping to manage. Any top stain removing tips?

Soak them in Biotex overnight? It can be hard to find now but my local Sainsbury stocks it.

The best stain remover I've found is one from b&m, can't remember the name but it's in a huge pink tub.

Can't really advise on removing the stains - sorry 😬
You should be fine with 2 jumpers tbh. Could you send the jumper in his bag, so he doesn't actually wear it in the classroom while it's still quite warm - it can get too hot in the classroom and hard to get on with all the messy play activities with sleeves in the way.

This one.

Just send him in a shirt Until the weather gets properly cold!! Get used to the idea that school uniform will not be pristine in KS1. DS seemed to grow out of destroying uniform by about Y4. Until he decided to colour in his buttons and most of the top half of his shirt with whiteboard pens last term.

If it's clean, but stained, just keep using it.
Might be worth putting the remaining jumper aside for the says you want him to look smarter (class photos etc).

We're near a B&M so I'll get some of the Astonish one and see how we get on. I hadn't even thought about keeping one smart for photos etc! Is it really bad form to send them in stained but otherwise clean jumpers? They can't expect us to replace them every other week can they? His teacher joked on transition days about the uniform, saying 'just get the cheapest of everything' but they insist on logo jumpers. I'm very jealous of my friends with ' any red jumper' lists!

I think it's normal to send them in stained clothes. My boys have paint and pen on all their school clothes.

Does your school have a secondhand uniform shop? Ours sells old school jumpers for £3 from the school office. I get cheap spares from there sometimes.

Honestly, nobody will care about the stains on his jumpers. Don’t go buying new ones.

I have recently discovered napisan for whites - it I'd great! Otherwise I use shout or vanish spray. (I swear DS used to roll in the mud when he was at nursery)

You don't need to replace clean (but stained) uniform. The school know that children will get marks on their tops and not everything will wash out.
In fact, my DS's school have a display in the foyer with a messy school uniform and notes stuck to each of the marks explaining how they are part of the child's learning. The school had started to find that some children's play and learning was being inhibited because they had picked up messages from home that they weren't allowed to get grubby, some were becoming quite anxious when faced with painting, outside play etc.

Tesco do embroidered uniforms with the school logo. They are cheaper and better quality than my DSs official school suppliers. I'm not saying they are perfect but it may be worth looking at for when he grows out of his current uniform. Oh and yes, clean and stained is perfectly acceptable. They can't expect uniforms to look perfect, they get a lot of wear. On the stain front I've heard some people suggest bicarbonate of soda or soda crystals but don't know if that would lift the colour.

I've always used Vanish then the stain blaster button on our washing machine. That tends to work but if it's really tough, we soak it over night in Vanish then wash it. I've never had anything I can't get out (apart from marker pens on shirts and I gave up caring about how DS's shirts looked as long as I knew they were washed).

OP, do your school have a buy/sell swap uniform page online somewhere?
I only buy generic clothing from the supermarket, the cheapest non-iron things I can find. Any logo stuff I need, I get second-hand as there's no way I'm forking out £18 for a PE top.

I see stains in the same way as I see grazed knees - a sign of good learning going on. I’d worry if my KS1 child came home with clean clothes and unblemished knees! And definitely nothing wrong in sending them in wearing clean but stained uniform.

Does he need to wear a logo jumper? If not go to the supermarket and get cheaper ones. Keep one logo top for school trips, school plays and photo days.

I worried about stains in reception. Washed all shirts in vanish and binned any clothes that didn't wash clean

By y6 I was happy to start the september term in last year's stained clothes. They complied with the uniform requirement and still fitted. It's bloomin expensive kitting them out in uniform, PE kit, paying for trips, school performances, charity days, dvds of plays, lumch clubs etc. I make savings where I can. I've known the HT speak to parents about incorrect uniform, but never has she said "Mrs Smith, Kevin's jumper has a dot of whiteboard pen on the sleeve and stains from last week's pizza lunch on the collar. Please replace it."

Pru yes, all jumpers have to have the logo, so do the PE polo shirts and 'visible' white polo shirts,so in better weather when they aren't wearing jumpers and for school trips(?) These are £6.99 each and I've only got 2. They had plain red jumpers in Asda for £3 when I looked today! There is a second hand uniform shop but it was all bigger sizes as I'm guessing everyone else finds the same thing in reception/Year 1. They also have to have school PE bags which seems crazy to me as they'll have 75 identical bags in recepton and they to dressed in their PE kit on games days anyway.

What temperature are you washing them at OP?

Are you using a 30 degree abbreviated cycle? I find biological powder with a decent temperature and enough water gets rid the of most stains, cycles with a pre washe are good for blood and food. Tomato stains come out in sunlight.

Mud shouldn't be too much of a problem although paint can be a very difficult some that are advertised as washable clearly aren't.

The first one I soaked in Vanish then washed at 30. The really badly stained one I haven't washed yet, I've bought some of the stain remover and I was going to pre treat it and add some into the washer. Do you think it would be better at 40?

DYLON travel wash is an amazing stain remover. I've got old turmeric stains out of T shirts with this.

You can get it in Boots for about £1.99.

I just rub a bit of it onto a stain, leave for a few momenst & shove in the machine.

I find a lower heat is better often with paint and school stains, try at 30 initially. You will probably be able to bleach the white polo shirts when they get really manky.

Try old fashioned Green Soap block and a nail brush on the stains give the items a rinse to check if stain coming out and keep repeating until stains are gone then wash as usual. Don't rub too hard with nailbrush

Wilkos own stain remover (in a white tub) works brilliantly and much cheaper than vanish etc. I think it's oxy-action.

For school paint soak in cold salt water then rub stain with fairy liquid then wash as normal always gets rid of dds

Polos I buy cheap multi packs from Asda and soak everyweek with wilko stain remover along with dds white knee high socks then hit wash with more wilko stain remover. Once they stop looking white I replace them all.

My dd is pretty much feral and spends most of her nursery days armpit deep in mud and paint and on good days both, I use the above method and she goes to school in unstained clothes so you should be right