Most kids engage in activities every day which can produce plenty of mess. From painting to using a mud kitchen to experimenting with cooking, parents soon realize that stained clothing is just part and parcel of family life. However, there are ways of dealing with stains so they don’t ruin your kid’s clothing entirely. Check out these simple tips on removing some of the most common stains, so that your kids can get plenty of wear out of their clothing.
Blot it Out
As soon as a stain appears—or as soon as you spot it, because it may have happened at school or nursery—blot it with a dry towel or cloth. It’s important to remove as much of the surface residue as possible, so don’t go in with water straight away. If the stain is from something like chocolate or jam, it may even be possible to scrape the worst of the mark off of the fabric using a piece of card.
Use Water
Once you’ve blotted or scraped at the stain, wet a cloth with cold or lukewarm water and gently rub at the spot on the fabric. It’s important not to run hot water directly over the fabric, as depending on what’s caused the stain this can make it fix into the cloth even harder.
Use a Stain Remover
Once you’ve blotted the stain and got it wet, it’s time to move in with a stain remover. These come in many different forms—some of the most effective are wax-based soap bars, which you rub directly onto the stain before rinsing out. To use others, you’ll need to put the stained garment on a wash cycle with the stain-removing product added to the detergent draw on your washing machine. Give the garment time to dry out completely, as sometimes stains that appear dark on wet fabric fade to almost invisible once the fabric is dry.