This helped me. It might help you, so I am telling you about it!
This is going to be unglamorous. Prepare yourself. (Since, you know, I’m usually the epitome of glamor.)
I mentioned that a ton of Gabe’s baby clothes were stained – I put them away clean, and 3 years later, they are magically and terribly full of yellow stains. Ugh! I tried washing a load in hot water with a scoop OxiClean. No luck.
I didn’t want to give up, though, because some of those clothes are so cute and hold many memories. I really, really wanted my second child to be able to wear them.
So I committed, rolled up my sleeves, and got intense.
What I Did
I put 6 scoops of OxiClean in the bathtub with approximately 6 gallons of water, then stirred it all with a metal whisk. Gabe and I dumped the clothes on top of it and used the whisk to push them under water.
(It turned out we needed more water, so I mixed two more scoops in a bucket with hot water and poured it over the clothes. Estimating water levels is hard.)
At this point, Mike came home and thought I had gone crazy. Gabe thought it was the best day ever and excitedly declared, “When the baby is born, he can swim in the clothes!”
I left the clothes in the OxiClean filled tub overnight – probably 16 hours – squashing down the clothes a few more times. This involved stepping on the clothes and pretending I was making wine instead of just getting gross stains out of tiny onesies. Then I washed my feet, because that stuff’s probably not good for your skin.
The next morning, I drained the tub:
(Weird filter thanks to my child changing settings on my phone without my realizing it.)
I put a load in the washer and ran a spin cycle before running a hot cycle.
I told Mike I was possibly the most ridiculous person ever for doing this much to save baby clothes. He agreed.
Except! It felt so wasteful to throw away a 10 gallon bag of clothes if they could be saved! So I continued on in my madness.
Did it work??
I waited with bated breath when the load finished drying…SUCCESS! Houston, we have clean (adorable, tiny, OMGsquee) baby clothes!
I still gave away half the stash, but at least I didn’t have to throw more than 4-5 onesies that just wouldn’t get clean. (I have enough cleaning rags).
And thus concludes the most domestic post I’ve ever written. Next up: how to keep your kitchen floor clean! (Just kidding. I’ve made peace with crumbs.)
(PS: No. I’m not already getting ready for baby – just cleaning out closets and trying to reduce what we have!)
I’m guessing apartment living isn’t super conducive to a clothesline, but that has also zapped a few of our yellow stains on baby clothes.
I’m totally impressed you salvaged those, by the way. Totally worth it!
Oh! I forgot to add that I lay the 3-4 items of clothes that didn’t get clean in the sun. (We can hang stuff outside when it’s warm, but winter means I lay it inside in the giant window sun!)
OMG. Those pictures. My heart melted.
Me, too! It’d been awhile since I looked at old Gabe photos and it was so fun! :)
That’s also a good way to get out any stains from newborn baby poop. I used a small bucket to soak a few pieces on an as needed basis. Love that stuff!
A few pieces at a time would definitely be less labor intensive!
“he can swim in the clothes!” SO CUTE.
I’m so glad you found a way to save Gabe’s baby clothes! It’s funny the timing of your post because I’ve been in the process of cleaning out my own closet and found some shirts with yellow armpit stains (so glamorous, I know) and was looking for a way to salvage the shirts. I found a recipe for homemade Oxi-Clean on Kristen’s blog, The Frugal Girl, and it worked really well. All you need is baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and water. It’s great if you don’t have any Oxi-Clean on hand and don’t want to go to the store. (http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/06/homemade-oxi-clean-for-armpit-stains/) Thanks for keeping it real, Ashley. Sometimes life is unglamorous, but I think it’s better that way!
Hee! Way to bring the real talk with armpit stains!! :)
That sounds awesome – I’ve used that kind of combo to get stains out of our light carpet.
Ooooh, so good to know! In the past, I’ve soaked Gavin’s clothes in vinegar to get out awful milk smells that somehow do not come out in the wash. This trick is a good one for those pesky stains that do not want to come out (well, at least some of them)! Thanks!
Never thought of leaving the clothes soaked like that overnight. I have a couple of old bedding sets that have yellow stains on them. Will try this method and hopefully it will work the same.
Gabe is adorable.
Glad this worked! Will remember it for future friends of mine having their second child.
And the dog costume? Be still my heart.
yes!! have done the same, but in the sink instead (less stuff) with oxyclean/baby clothes before with same success! Oxyclean is MAGICAL!! its great b/c there are some sentimental things you just REALLY want to keep :)
My mum went to see a textile specialist about cleaning a family heirloom christening gown that had some yellow stains (probably form spit up). The woman said that pretty much all stored baby items will have some yellow stains when they are unpacked, because there’s something in the protein of most baby stains that will eventually come through again. It’s still worth cleaning them thoroughly before and after putting away, but being aware that these phantom stains can reappear makes it a little less disheartening when you open the box!
Thank You!!! I tried this and all my baby girls clothing came clean! A few still have faint stains on them, but are hardly noticeable. I was so sad to open the bin and find out half our clothing was potentially ruined! And as silly as it sounds, while I barely bought a single outfit for my daughter thanks to her many Aunties, I hated the idea of having to buy clothing for our second daughter on the way! I ended up needing to do 8 gallons of water as well. Your post saved us! And my husband too, thought I went off the deep end until he realized how many outfits were in the pile :)
Hooray! This makes me so happy! :)
I’m curious to find out what blog system you happen to be using?
I’m experiencing some minor security issues with my latest blog and I’d like to find something more safeguarded.
Do you have any solutions?