Hi all,

I started weaning Scarlett about 6 weeks ago and the stains on her clothes is getting beyond a joke.

I have just fed her some pasta with tomato sauce and ham which should have been ok as I put a BIG bib on her so that her nice new top wouldn't get anything on it, however, I didn't take into account my daughters ability to spray food everywhere (again) so now the lovely brand new top and trousers has bright orange food on them.

I've also washed her bouncer chair 3 times this week so far and I don't think it's meant to come off so often for the washer lol

I took them straight off and put them in the sink. I've used soap powder and a scrubber to try to get it off but it's not shifting. I've now left them in the sink in some Ace Bleach.

My questions are;

Am I destined to only be able to wear an outfit on her once before I need to bin it? - not an option

Is there anyway that I can get the stains out of her clothes in the future (as well as my own as I've got sprays of stuff all over my top now) ?

Is there any tips for how to avoid her spraying it all over everything in the first place?

of course there is - tie her arms together and clamp her mouth open with a vice....fancy not thinking of that!! :hihi:
Sadly 3 kids later I don't have any tips.....if someone discovers a wonder washing powder please let me know......

Try soaking them in vanish oxy action before you wash them. I find if I do that, after 3 or 4 washes the stains normally go. Also I try to soak them as soon as my lo has finished eating as I found this the only way to get the stains out. Leave it until the end of the day and there's no chance!

thats what I've started doing, as soon as possible sticking it in to soak. She's got lots of nice things so I don't want to have them all spotted with orange.

When your at home can you not put her in an oldish outfit so just for feeding so as not to ruin all her nice new clothes?

I have bibs which have arms and these are quite good for protecting clothes. You could try one of those. Mine is plastic too so you can just wipe it clean.

Plain old washing up liquid used to work for me - just blob loads on the stain and mash it in a bit leave for a while and then bung it in washer, try it, let me know how you get on.

My DD used to wear a bib or an apron when she was feeding. Otherwise she got used to stained clothes.

I put any stained clothes on the window ledge and the sun does bleach out the stains. Some need ages or don't come out totally, but most of the time they do come out.

Try just hanging outside surprisingly a lot of stains come out on the line (might not be as good now the sunshine has gone) spaghetti seems to come out really well.

Interesting thread as I have tried everything & found the only thing with certain stains is several 60 degree washes & then it only fades them. The worse are the orangey pasta sauce stains & the chocolate ones.

Babybell refuses to wear a bib. If she is eating something really messy I try to get her to take her top off altogether.

she doesn't have any chocolate thankfully (milk allergy) what I've found to be the hardest of all stains to get out is banana. I mush it up with lots of things and it goes black = the colour of coal and even if you wash straight away the item is done for.

I'm starting to strip her to her vest to feed her but it's not just her now it's me, she sprays/spits it all over me lol, and I don't want to have to sit with no top on to feed her lol!

You have to get the stain out quickly - I rinse anything out with a quick scrub with the washing up liquid or some carex under the hot tap right after use, then its washed as normal (30 degrees with non-bio and comfort). For nasty stains there is always a soaking in Napisan, which is also good for shifting poo!

Also constantly wipe up any spills and mucky hands as you feed!

I will try all suggestions see how we get on. There's not much sun at my washing line though so can't do that (well I suppose I could lay them on the living room window sill)

I'll report back with my findings :)

Bicarb of soda in a bowl and let it fizz

I always wash clothes stained by tomatoey stuff then hang out on the line either in the rain or at night. For some reason rain water or dew removes the stains better than anything else that I have tried. It really does work. I thought it was a discovery that I had made until my neighbour "told" me about it too. :thumbsup:

saltwater is also good for getting stains out!

I always used to go overboard - soak in cold water with dissolved washing powder tab (I used Ariel bio) AND some stain remover like Nappisan (you can also get Oxy Baby now in Boots). We have also used Oxy Baby spray on stubborn stuff as well as soaking. And then after a few hours (sometimes overnight!) throw it all in the wash with your usual powder/softener.

Anything that didn't come out - dry in sunlight. If that still doesn't work try again - sometimes works after a second go.

We've got nothing which was completely ruined - I've not actually thrown anything away yet (will re-evaluate if we have a second one). Just a few tops/vests with slight stains round the neck area where he dribbled so much.

I used the stain devils roll on for all stains. great for shifting all sorts of stains!!