Getting Yellow Stains Out of Stored Baby Clothes?

Updated on April 27, 2009
L.L. asks from Buffalo, NY
13 answers

Hi moms- So I was going through all of my first daughters clothes that I have saved (she's almost 2) for my second daughter who is 3 months. The frustrating thing is that like 50% of the clothes have yellow stains on the front-argh! I'm guessing they're from spit-up? I laundered all of the clothes before I put them away, but it's like the stains emerged as they were in the basement (all in bins).

I'm planning on soaking them in borax and then washing them- any other suggestions? Anyone else have this problem.

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So What Happened?

Thanks for all of the tips! You think you know how to do laundry and then you have kids (LOL!). I soaked a load of the stained clothing in Oxyclean last night- put it in at around 11 p.m. and then washed the load when I woke up this morning. I'd say 75% of the stains seemed to either come out or at least lighten, which was encouraging. I guess this is practice for the mud and grass and all sorts of other stains to come as the girls get older! Glad to hear I wasn't the only one with the problem. I thought I was doing something wrong-

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G.I.

answers from Hartford on

I actually have 2 suggestions. The first is to put oxyclean in the bottom of the washer & let it fill with a bit of water before putting in the clothes (I've used it and it's gotten out everything but chili & spaghetti sauce). The other, my aunt swears by it, you put hairspray on it & let the hairspray dry then apply more and throw it in the wash. She's seen it get out everything including pen.

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

The same thing happened to me and I was so sad. I washed them with Oxiclean, in hot water, that worked for many of them. For the stubborn stains a friend suggested a little bleach in COLD water which worked well. When you use bleach in cold it does not have quite the same effect and proved to be a fine remedy for the pastel colors and primarily whites. I used it as a last resort after all my other tries failed. I figured the clothes were basically ruined with the yellow stains so if the bleach worked great and if it ruined the clothes well they were basically ruined anyway. Many of them were saved so it was great relief. Oh, after the stains came out I washed them a last time in Dreft to get any bleach residue out. Good luck!

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J.A.

answers from Boston on

Hi L.,

I have good luck with soaking in solution of warm water and oxyclean then washing in cold water. Do not use bleach this will only set the stain and do not put the clothes in the dryer if the stains do not come out after the wash. Just resoak in oxyclean solution. Make sure you dissolve the oxyclean in warm water before adding the clothes.

J. L.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.K.

answers from Boston on

Try oxyclean, and then if that doesn't get everything out try laying them out in the sun for a few hours - works surprisingly well.

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K.Q.

answers from Boston on

Spray on Oxy Clean-- the one in the blue plastic bottle with pump. I've successfully revived clothes that have been stored for 4+ years this way. Make sure you carefully check out and spray each piece. You may need to wash more than once, so check for stains before putting in the dryer and resetting the stains.

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A.E.

answers from Hartford on

This happened to me to. What I ended up doing was "tea staining" the white onesies that got ruined. Basically just throw a few tea bags in a pot of boiling water and then add the clothes. They come out looking like organic cotton! :-) I will try some of these other remedies though first!

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E.C.

answers from Providence on

Amazing the stains that come back! I think it must be the heat of storage that does it. Soaking and then washing in Snowy worked well for me with the same problem.

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J.L.

answers from Boston on

try baby oxyclean or some windex. It worked for most of my old baby stains, and i had the kids 4 years apart!

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K.A.

answers from Boston on

Biz has always worked well for our hand-me-down baby clothes. Dissolve 1/2 cup in a 5 gallon bucket filled half way with cold water. Add the clothes and let soak, stirring every couple of hours or so. Half a day or overnight is all it should take. I usually then dump the whole bucket contents into the washer with regular detergent and run it as usual. Good luck!

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S.K.

answers from New London on

I had the same thing with my daughter's things after they were in storage for 4 years. This is what worked for me.
I treated each spot with Tide plus color safe bleach detergent. Really scrub the detergent into the stains with an old toothbrush. Let it sit for a couple of hours then wash in warm water in the regular laundry.
This got out most of the stains.
Anything that still had the stains I soaked in an oxyclean solution for about an hour. Then washed again.
Here is the important part.....
Do not put the items in the dryer until the stains are gone!!
The dry heat will set the stains.
This worked very well for me. The stains are all gone.
-S.

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M.B.

answers from Hartford on

Soak them in oxiclean.

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E.O.

answers from Boston on

I have had luck getting the 'yellow' deoderant stains out of my shirts using white vinegar. Blot on the vinegar with a sponge or cloth then put it into the wash (add oxiclean, I'm in the habit of adding it to every load).

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J.M.

answers from Boston on

I'm sorry I don't have any helpful advice, but I want you to know the same thing happened to my daughters clothes who is 2. I'll be curious to hear others responses. I know its very frustrating.

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