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Original poster

Am I The Only One...........

16 replies

HiddenSpirit · 18/02/2004 17:28

.........who can't get paint etc out of DD's nursery clothes?

I have tried everything I can think of, including vanish liquid/tablets. This has become beyond a joke as DS1 never came home from nursery covered in paint (he went to a different nursery from DD). We have asked DD's nursery to make sure she wears an apron when painting/playing in the water (comes home wet regularly or in clothes supplied by the nursery as hers are wet). They said that they try to make sure she wears an apron, but she gets there before they see. I would have thought that after nearly 2 years of this, they would be teaching her that she can play in the water, but only if she wears her apron (she is special needs, but can understand instructions no problem if they are repeated to her on a few occasions at first).

So I'm just wondering if anyone else has this problem, and if they do, if they've found a way to get dried in paint (by the time DD gets home from nursery it is dried in) out of clothes?

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marialuisa · 18/02/2004 17:40

I've been told not to be vanish etc. on paint marks because that mkes sure they'll never come out. I've found the best way is to put them straiht in the wash which means i do rather a lot of economy cycles with only 6 items. Alternatively soaking in a bucket of hot water with handwash poeder stirred through, then putting in a normal wash often does the trick.

Hulababy · 18/02/2004 17:48

No your not. I can never get DD's clothes clean after nursery either. DD apparantly wears an apron but still manages to get paint on her top - can only think that it manages to go down the top of the apron, or up the sleeves.

I have tried stain removers but they didn't work. And I always put the clothes into soak when she gets home too but again doesn't shift it. The only think that kind of works is to wash it several times and it eventually fades. As a result we now have two types of clothes for DD - one set for nursery, another set for elsewhere. Maybe they should have uniforms?

Original poster
HiddenSpirit · 18/02/2004 18:20

Hulababy, we have had to do the same here with DD with regard to 2 "wardrobes", but she has now grown out of most of her nursery wardrobe.

Call me tight fisted or a cheap skate, but I am so reluctant to go out and buy her new clothes just for them to be ruined by paint etc from nursery, so I have been scouring ebay for cheapy 2nd hand clothes to use for nursery.

marialuisa, I have tried soaking DD's clothes when she gets home, but this is not always easy as I work 3 days a week and am not home until 5ish, so by then it's too late and have found that soaking them has done no good whatsoever

The end result is, her white tops I stick in bleach which has done the trick on a couple of occasions, but I now have a little pile of clothes (age 3-4) with paint marks or ingrained dirty patches. If anyone would like these as play/nursery clothes for their DD, gimme a shout and I shall send them to you free of charge

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marialuisa · 18/02/2004 18:27

thankfully dd is now in uniform and despite coming home with even more artisitc gunk seems to stay cleaner and the stuff that does get on the uniform washes off better!

Surprised the soaking isn't shifting it, I work f/t too so it was in the bucket as soon as we got in. Sometimes took several goes, I must admit. That said we've not done white clothes since DD was newborn. She's a dirt magnet!

Hulababy · 18/02/2004 19:22

HiddenSpirit - the mjaority of DD's nursery stuff comes from Asda. I gt jeans for £2.50, joggers for £3 and tops for less. MIL also got her some tops from Primark very cheap as well.

GenT · 18/02/2004 20:06

HS, how many days a week does dd do painting?

I would probably start or send her with a new pair, when she comes homes, just bung it in the wash, not try to get the paint out. When it is painting day the following time, let her wear it again. She will be a young art student, art students are really not bothered about a bit of paint here or there, comes with the activity.

You could probably send her to nursery with the painted clothes just for that session, she could change into it. Or how about getting her a little coverall as the apron isn't working.

Perhaps I am talking rubbish, but I would probably do that when my dd is that age.

suedonim · 18/02/2004 20:27

All the children at dd's nursery had to have a painting top and that kept most of the paint off. An old shirt with the sleeves shortened makes a good, voluminous coverall. As nursery's optional uniform consisted of a coloured sweatshirt dd used to wear that and old jeans/ trousers. Ok, sometimes she looked like a tramp, but hey, it's only nursery! Dd is going on an Arts and Crafts day next week with the school and needs something to keep her clean so I'm about to raid dh's wardrobe and select a shirt I loathe.

I've been told that washing in hot water is the worst thing to do as it 'sets' the stain - not sure how true that is, though.

Original poster
HiddenSpirit · 18/02/2004 20:43

GenT you're not talking rubbish In theory it's a great idea, but they have no set days for painting/water play etc, it's just there if they want to play with it. I got so fed up of it at one point that I gave the nursery a long sleeve apron especially for painting/water play but it stayed in her bag day in day out unused. When I questioned this I was told "well it would make her different from all the other children". Guess things may have changed since I was young, but I was always taught it's ok to be different to everyone else!? The problem doesn't seem to be that the apron isn't doing it's job, it's the fact that DD is going and painting without an apron on and no-one seems to be teaching her that she needs to put apron on beforehand

suedonim, that is what I used to have when I was at nursery/early school, but with both DS1's old nursery and DD's nursery it is a sleeveless thick rubber thing which offers no protection to the sleeves of long sleeved tops at all (which DD wears most of time due to her getting cold as door to play area outside is in main hall and is left open when kids are outside playing).

I shall shut up now that I've realised how much I've yabbered on, sorry for the boredom peeps

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Original poster
HiddenSpirit · 18/02/2004 20:45

suedonim I have also heard the same about soaking clothes in hot water

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Hulababy · 18/02/2004 20:50

My mum told me that too, so I always soak in cold water.

eidsvold · 18/02/2004 20:53

Cheap jeans/t shirts I buy for dd for nursery - as she gets dinner etc all over them.... from Tesco.

Soak in cold water... usually works for me.

sb34 · 18/02/2004 21:06

Message withdrawn

Slinky · 18/02/2004 21:06

I work in a nursery - currently with 2-3yos, but have in the past been with the 3-5yos.

We paint/do craft every day and we ensure that they are covered up beforehand. The aprons we use are plastic longsleeved things that have a velcro fastening at the back of the neck (similar to those in ELC).

Having said this, they remain clean whilst they're actually painting, then they go and wash their hands etc - but quite often some of them will come back to the craft table to watch their friends and before you know it, they've dipped their fingers or have brushed up against the painting table .

Also as others have said, clothes should be soaked in cold water.

Bozza · 19/02/2004 10:05

I'm like Eidsvold and and Hulababy. Have certain items reserved for nusery. Its a combo of Asda/Matalan basics and other stuff that is looking a bit past its best anyway. And if the clothes are slightly stained I still send him in them anyway. He's there 3 days a week and paints most days.

marialuisa · 19/02/2004 10:21

Sorry, have just realised that I typed hot water, obviously meant cold, whoops! I'm hoping nobody put that little pearl of wisdom into practice.

crystaltips · 19/02/2004 11:28

This may help .... though I still send DD into school with curious blotches on her school shirts ..!!

paint staines

HTH

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