Teach me to be a grown up re clothes care

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Have just discovered a stain hasn’t come out of a lovely new hoodie of DDs. I’ve always felt like stain removal is a kind of adulting that’s beyond me. Time to grow up, can you help? I use vanish powder in most kid clothes washes but most of their clothes have some level of stains tbh. Last night was a kind of ramen, splashes of soya saucey soup, I thought that would come out since I put it straight in but was it maybe a grease stain from the oil in the dish? I feel like there are some science rules I need to grasp here.

Use stain remover spray directly on anything which will stain eg tomato and chocolate sauce. For anything oil based you need to rub neat washing up liquid into the mark just before putting it in the washing machine.

Thank you. And does this work if stain has dried in? Any particular stain spray you’d recommend?

And another question actually, the hoodie that the stain hasn’t come out of, I’m now soaking it with vanish powder and going to try washing again, but is that hopeless after it’s been through machine already?

It’s never hopeless 😁 keep soaking and washing. Sometimes it can take 3 or so goes to get stuff out.

If it's an oily stain use fairy liquid. The dishwashing kind. That's what I use mostly for food stains and it's excellent at removing greasy stains.

O god I need this thread

Me too, this is so useful!

My mum is a massive proponent of Fairy liquid on a stain, or sometimes on a Fairy tab broken open and left to do its work!

I rate the Dr Beckmann's stain removers - I have the oil/fat/grease one, and a red wine/something else one - these tend to get now stuff out.

Also, I use Fairy non-bio for all washing and it's fine on light staining but sometimes bio powder will be much more effective so it's worth trying that if you aren't sensitive to it.

My favourite washing tip - if you have anything that smells damp/musty (like that awful wet dog smell) - more washing won't do a thing unless you add white spirit vinegar, which is a miracle worker!!

Here's a tip my dad gave me from doing his dress whites. Modern materials can't be washed on hot but you need hot water to make the stain break down. Stretch the bit of material over a bowl. Pour recently boiled water over the stain. Apply stain remover and agitate/wait/whatever the instructions say. Then pour more really hot water through the stain. Repeat. A combination of this and Dr Beckman's stain devil's have saved a few garments for me. I used to like Vanish stick but it is hard to find now.

Something I learned (probably from Mumsnet!) is that using a clean toothbrush to work fairy liquid into a stain can help. I saved my own hoody from oily cooking stains like this.

ha! Me too.
I'm alright with greasy stains (worked kitchens, always wear a pinny - prevention is better than cure etc failing that Fairy)

BUT I'm very much a everything in the machine with basic powder on 30. After ruining a couple of items Ive figured I need to know how to stop colours running into white/light parts of patterned/clothing and making it look smudgy/grey?????
Ive got a nice new Adidas top I really dont want smudgy.
Any advice anyone?

Amazing, thank you all so much, just the kind of info I was after! And also v glad it’s not just me…

I just did some washing up liquid on it and put it in a long wash, the stain did already look a bit better with doing that. I use Ecover washing up liquid tho and wonder if I should get a bottle
of fairy especially for stains, imagine it might have a bit more soapiness somehow?!

It’s Ariel bio liquid I use, does that sound ok for young child purposes?!

Fairy breaks down oil - that’s it’s job which is why it works.

Sometimes you need to use cold water to get stains out because heat makes them stick.

white vinegar works wonders with stains you may need to soak over night

Salt and water can also help to lift some stains, I always put a salt paste on before washing up liquid and it almost always works :)

No, I find you need to treat before washing. I just use Tesco own.

What I mean is if the stain is old, from the day before, can these tips work. And my underlying query is, are all you adults whipping clothes off kids once they get stained and doing something about it promptly? If that’s what’s required I’m not sure I have it in me, there’s so much else happening in life!

Soak before washing in vanish powder. Make a paste and rub on the stain and let it sit. Or put ace bleach in it and let it sit - 10 minutes or so (I think that's what the park says).

If it's oily definitely use fairy washing up liquid rubbed in to the stain.

Cheap detergents aren't as good as Ariel for stains.

If you do have a grease stain never tumble dry the garment until you are sure you've got the stain out (even if it takes multiple washes). You do not want to permanently heat set the stain with the tumble!
If you have blood stains apply fairy (or other conventional dishwashing liquid) directly to yhe the stain then soak in COLD water. Heat sets the proteins permanently.

Tackle stains straightaway, as soon as they are noticed. That's really the most crucial bit. How old is your DD? If she's old enough to appreciate her favourite clothing items and want to keep them nice (I'd say past 8 or 9) then explain it to her too so she can know what to do. She can put some water and washing up liquid onto a food mark after dinner, for example, and let you know that it needs washing asap.

Heat fixes stains so generally best to wash at a lower temp first to hopefully clear the mark. If it's an oil stain and not a coloured mark IYSWIM then you can usually wash at a higher temp. Just make sure the fabric can handle it!

Be careful with vinegar - it acts as a bleach so needs to be diluted if you are going to soak things for any length of time.

Sunlight will break down tomato based stains. Just hang the item outside for as long as it takes - even if you have to dry it after.

Also never wash bloodstains in hot water - use cold or slightly tepid at the most.

Ariel is good for stains, I find, particularly on whites.

In terms of whipping clothes off small kids quickly enough to remove stains, it's a bit hazy (mine are a bit older now) but I relied heavily on massive bibs for a long time! 😂 Also on second-hand clothes that I wasn't precious about.

As pp said don't tumble dry until you're happy that you've cleared the stain as much as possible!

Very good point about blood stains, and important to teach girls once they're dealing with periods.

Soaking in water/washing the stain with running cold or tepid water until it runs clear, is best.

Kids are 7 and 4, the 7yr old is messiest, 4yo doesn’t really eat saucy things so less messy. I don’t think 7yr old is the kind of character to take care of clothes yet, but she likes them. We just discussed having an old top she could put on before eating!

Stains like tomato will disappear in sunshine. I know there is not a lot of this around at the moment.