Mud, mud, glorious mud.

[wilburthewalrus]

Does anyone have any tips for getting mud out of denim?

Our son's nursery let them play out in the garden whenever they like and pretty much whatever the weather. He loves to dig for worms and keeps coming home literally caked in mud. I don't mind him doing this really - it's good that they encourage them to get outside and do some gardening - but he can get through up to 4 sets of clothing in a day and I cannot get them clean.

I usually wash his and his brothers clothes with non-bio at 40 degrees but this has virtually no effect on some of his trousers. One pair I have washed three times, first at 40 with non-bio, then at 40 with bio liquid, then at 60 with bio and a pre-wash. They are still filthy. Any advice? Does anyone swear by a particular sort of washing powder?

I have trouble getting any kind of stains out when I use non-bio. I also find once a stain has been washed and hasn't come out, it then becomes very difficult to get rid of. You may find you never fully get rid of the stains which are already there and have been washed.

I've had to get mud out of childrens jeans & cord trousers today after bonfire night - first I rinse them in cold water (the cold part is important - I know logic says hot will get it out but hot really does seem to set the stain in place), then apply a stain remover product (sprays or gels are usually best) while the fabric is still wet, leave for a few hours like this then wash with a biological detergent and an in-wash stain product at 40 degrees (can use 60 if you want but I find 40 is enough) - this will most likely give a pretty good result and remove the stains enough for 'garden trousers', considering your son is probably going to do the very same thing to them as soon as he wears them again! Drying them in the sunshine (ha - as if) will give better stain fading than tumble drying, but it will probably fade dark denim.

The biological detergents I recommend are Ariel or Daz, the in-wash stain products I suggest you use are Vanish Oxi-Action powder or Napisan. Most modern washing machines have an extra rinse option if you are worried about the detergents and sensitive skin.

I have to say though I would probably not be putting my kids in jeans if I knew they were going outside to do garden play etc. I would most likely choose cotton/polyester mix jogging bottoms or similar (they don't have to be shiny material or ones with leg cuffs, my son has got Tesco navy straight leg ones which are not at all chav). The mixture of fabrics seems to make stains cling less, not to mention it is much easier to dry joggers/thin polyester type trousers than denim jeans after they have been washed. Or maybe get nursery to put him in rinse off waterproof trousers when he goes out to play?

Can you try giving them a good soak? I would invest in pair of waterproof trousers for outdoor play and ask the nursery to put those on him when he goes outside. I had an all in one for my kids and it was great it just went in the wash . In countries like Sweden and Denmark they use them all the time.

Thanks. I have pretty much written off the jeans to be honest, but I also have a pair of nursery-issue cotton jogging bottoms which are in the same boat and since they don't belong to me I'm more bothered about getting them clean! I'm going to make him a job lot of cheapo fleece trousers in dark colours which should be able to cope better with the grime!