Natural Stain Removers...

I thought I was a messy person before I had a child.  I now realize that "messy" is relative.  Far be it from me to try to contain my son's shall we say, "artistic expressions", but with a tight budget it is important that I do not have to constantly replace stained clothes.  Being cautions of harmful toxins in many stain removing agents, I am always on the lookout for potent but gentle ways to get those clothes clean.  A reader poses the question, how do you get those clothes looking bright and new using safe and natural cleaning alternatives?  More specifically, Andi asks:

Has anyone found an environmentally friendly stain remover that actually works?  I've tried a number of them and they are no match for the sweet potato and carrot stains on my baby's shirts. 

Anyone have any surefire natural cleaning tips for this urbanMama?

Comments

[Julie Wheeler]

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide. I know people who swear by it. I Googled and the first site I went to said:
"Keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide by your washer and spray it on stains before washing. It works great on baby formula stains and underarm stains. Some sprayers will fit on in place of the peroxide cap so you do not even need to change bottles.

**NEVER use peroxide on wool, silk or dry-clean only clothing. If you are worried about color fastness, test on a little spot inside the hem of the garment where it won't show."

[Mychelle]

Nurture is hosting Portland Green Parenting's Green Cleaners Workshop on June 22nd. I think there are still some spots available. Check it out here: http://nurturepdx.blogspot.com/2008/05/green-cleaners-workshop.html

[Heather]

I recently started using Bio-Kleen and it is working really well for me.

[Lynn LS]

Boiling water removes berry stains. Pour the boiling water directly on the stain, hold the kettle as high as is safe. Repeat until the stain is gone. Be sure the fabric is color safe.

[Erika]

I just strated using Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds to clean my house and it works great. I have heard that it also works well on laundry stains, but I haven't tried it yet. You can find Sal Suds at GR Scrub in Sellwood.

http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SAL.htm

[laurie]

Assuming that the sun sticks around for at least some of the rest of the summer, a great way to get out just about any stain is to lay whatever item of clothing out in the sun. If you are in to line-drying your clothes anyway, you're half way there.

[lea]

Sun and bio-kleen. I have a couple of stubborn diaper stains that didn't come out, but usually works great. The longer the stain has sat the longer you should let it sit with the bio-kleen.

[vivian]

i swear by bio-kleen's bac-out...it hasn't failed me yet with any kind of stain or odor, which is saying a lot! many stains disappear before my eyes like magic as soon as i've applied it...oooohhhh.

[Makeshift Mama]

Whatever you do, don't leave hydrogen peroxide on clothes. I've turned several white items yellow that way...

[Kim]

Check out Metro's website about eco-friendly cleaners. For most baby stains, I use white vinegar in a spray bottle and apply it right away. For extra oomph, add some liquid detergent to the stain with the vinegar. Works wonders! For really bad stains, use Borax and vinegar - you can also use a 1/2 cup of each for a whole load needing refreshing. For the worse stains, soak the item in a tub with Borax, vinegar and liquid detergent. Almost all stains come out overnight with this method. Cheap and effective!

[Kim]

Bio-Kleen's Bac-Out and Oxygen Bleach work really well. I use Bac-out on my daughter's cloth diapers, and on carpet stains. I've used the Oxygen Bleach on strawberry stains and it lifted the stain right out!
Great products.

[e.]

I'll second the Oxi-clean recommendation. I recently rescued a brand new white blouse from an ugly encounter with an iced mocha that had a full day to set before I was able to attend to it.

Other than that, there's always camouflage. Busy patterns and dark colors to hide the inevitable smudge of soy sauce or avocado. If only I could get my daughter to trade in her princess pink for some punk rock black!

[Leah]

Does anyone know just how "green" OxyClean is? I've been using it for the last several months in lieu of the Spray-n-Wash types of stain removers I've used in the past and I like it, but I've wondered about its environmentally friendly-ness. The labels do not specify what it's made of...it does say it's harmful if ingested or if it gets in the eyes, but it just says to drink a glass of water and call the doctor if ingested...can it really be that bad?

I spray it on the front of many if not most of my boys' shirts when I have time, otherwise, I pour a scoop of the powdered stuff in with the full load. It seems to work pretty well, although I simply dont take the time I should to pre-treat every stain that shows up over the course of any given day so lots of stains dont come out completely.

Maybe one of these days when I've got some time I'll break out the peroxide or load up the bathtub for some serious laundry therapy...thanks for the tips!

[Lisa]

Shaklee Basic L (Laundry detergent) - been around since the '70's my mom used it when we were kids. ALways been environmentally safe. Not only does it get all stains out - my clothes don't fade as fast, fabrics stay nicer looking longer... I have sweatshirts from Junior High ('80s) that are still in good shape. FYI I don't sell the stuff have no desire to do so, but I love the cleaning products... I soak Leo's clothes scrub a bit then throw them in the wash - so far everything has come out.

[Tiffany]

I am not sure how "green" Biz is but it will get absolutely everything out with a 24 hour soak.
For everyday stains, I use Biokleen's BacOut and simply swear by it.

[Carrie]

BioKleen's Bac Out has been a savior for us. It got blueberry juice out of my living room rug. I dribbled the BacOut on the wet blueberry juice full strength and within five minutes, the spot was gone and I just needed to blot up the damp spot.

For set-in stains, BioKleen's oxygen bleach is great. I rub a paste of the powder into a damp clothing item and leave it there (keeping it wet) for an hour, day, or more until the stain is gone or until I give up hope.

Charlie's soap (the spray cleaner, not the laundry detergent) is fantastic for anything greasy, too.

[Nocat]

Check these natural and organic 'inexpensive' natural stain removers out over at J & O Fabric Store they have listed for you a bunch of these and their uses on their blog. http://www.jandofabrics.com/newsletters/2008/06/natures-natural-organic-stain-removers.html