Bib Stains

Updated on October 11, 2008
C.W. asks from Royal Oak, MI
23 answers

This might be a lame or obvious question, but does anyone have any tricks with dirty bibs? All of our bibs are getting so stained and gross looking, and they seem to pile up in the kitchen sink. (My baby hates those vinyl bibs and tears them right off.)I was considering putting a bucket w/ Oxo powder and water under the sink so they could soak? If this sounds weird, I am very sleep deprived, so ignore it!

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So What Happened?

I can't believe it's been over a month since I asked this question (time flies so ridiculously fast with a baby!) but I wanted to thank everyone for their helpful responses. My favorite for sure was Lisa O's recommendation to use Bumkins Bibs. They are well worth the extra money (especially because you really only need one or two - they dry really fast) and have made clean up sooo much easier.
Happy Thanksgiving Mamas!

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L.M.

answers from Detroit on

I've tried washing them in color safe bleach and I still can't get the stains out. I give up. I have a stack of stained bibs used "at home" and I saved a couple nicer ones for "going-out."

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R.A.

answers from Detroit on

I have a bucket of oxy clean and warm water that I keep in my laundry tub and I soak all of my stained baby clothes in it, it works great.

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

I gave up on cloth bibs.

Once your baby starts eating table food with his hands- cloth bibs are useless you need the pocket bibs taht catch the food that falls.

I highly recommend.. BUMKINS bibs. They are sold at right start stores, online and I just saw them at babies r us.

They are about $6 or 7 each.. I have 2 kids that wear bibs adn we have 6 bibs. It is plenty.

They are nylon - nice and soft. We rinse them after a messy meal and throw them in the washer when they get too dirty. They wash great and I have been using mine for almost 2 years and they are still holding up.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.D.

answers from Saginaw on

Rubbing in Era always seemed to do the trick for stains in any of our baby clothes (food and otherwise).

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C.S.

answers from Detroit on

Oxy clean should do the trick. I make a paste with it for tough stains and let it set on the item for a few days.

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L.Y.

answers from Saginaw on

I would hate vinyl bibs too!! They are itchy and really uncomfortable :) While all of the answers given will probably work, in our family we use "Green" products that are less expensive and then I don't have to worry about any of the chemicals near my daughters skin. Our PreSpot gets blood stains out!

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M.A.

answers from Detroit on

C.-
I can relate to the lack of sleep- being a mom isn't easy!
Please be careful what you use to get the stains out- a lot of the products mentioned contain toxic chemicals that you don't want around your home. Consider going green. An incredible stain and spot remover is Nature Bright from Shaklee. Nature Bright works 60% better than Oxi Clean according to Sterling Labs- an independent tester. Nature Bright is non-toxic ad biodegradable, so it doesn't hurt you or the planet. Just make a soak bucket for the bibs- you had a great idea.
A great resource book that is just hitting stores is "Green Goes with Everything"- excellent information for young moms.
If you are interested, please check out my Mamasource business, M. Goes Green!
Take care :-)

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D.Y.

answers from Detroit on

This weekend is supposed to be sunny and beautiful - try putting them outside on your line or lying them out in the sun. The sun will get those stains right out!

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D.H.

answers from Detroit on

C. ~
This is an old trick - my step-mother used to do it with our kitchen towels, and one of the women I work with now uses it for her grandaughter's bibs. Soak them in pretty warm water with dishwasher detergent, like Cascade. Then wash like usual. They should turn out fabulous!
D.

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

I haven't read all of your responses so I might be repeating, but Baby Oxyclean is supposed to be a safer whitening alternative. Rinse and soak right away - that's worked best for me, although it's not 100%. Good luck!

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B.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

C....

Here is a slightly unconventional solution to your problem. I used to work at a day care center and instead of using the typical bibs for our little ones while they ate we would put old tshirt on them gather it in back so it was "tight" around their neck with a rubber band and then when they were all done we would just scrape or shake off any food that was on it and throw them in the washer.

I now am a stay at home mom with a 20m old daughter and I seriously prefer using my and my husbands old tshirts to her bibs for a couple of reasons

- First I just keep a stack of them in a drawer with her other stuff and I always have a clean one I can use. I only have two "regular" bibs and they always seem to be dirty.

- no matter what gets on them, I don't care, I don't stain treat it or anything just scrape the food off and throw it in the dirty. All of hers just happen to be white but I just throw them in a dark load because I don't want spaghetti sauce in my white load.

- The t shirts are very long and cover her lap so when stuff drops it is caught by the shirt, when you take it off just grab the bottom and roll it up with everything in it until you pull it off their head.

- the neck is adjustable to actually be reasonably tight to their neck so food doesn't slip between the bib/shirt and their clothes

- last thing... the sleeves are big enough to cover most if not all of their arms so it's a full body bib kind of, I even cut the sleeves shorter on some of them because they were a little too big.

- Very disposable, not cute but in my opinion they work much better than regular bibs, no soaking, no worries if stains get on them etc...

So that is why I like and use t shirts most of the time. I of course use a regular bib if we have company or if we got out to eat since it would probably look kind of funny, but that is ok. I will also use a water proof one if she has soup or something that will soak right through anyway.

oh this is a more expensive option but you could buy like 2T sized t's and then use those they are tighter fitting etc... but I like the bigness of the large ones as it covers all of her :-)

Hope that was helpful, a little odd but maybe helpful

B.

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B.J.

answers from Detroit on

Proxide 3% found at most local stores usually does the trick, 50% proxide, 50%water, keep in marked water bottle so you can use it on laundry, counter, quickly clean up tray after baby eats ectra, if that does not work, try hair spray, the rave brand pump works best, then wash after, soaking, I use to keep the washer or bucket full of water for the baby clothes, also use a hosery bag that zips up to put small baby items in for washing I wish you the best of luck with your new baby.
Young mother of 4 daughters, grandma, of two boys, one girl. My husband, suggested brake cleaner, for when the kids are older, our daughter had acrylic paint on her jeans from school, it was already dryed in, as a last resort, it came right out, not recomded for bibs obviously, but in the future, to save clothes for (growing out of).

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C.R.

answers from Detroit on

Please do not lose sleep over the stains. Buy the bibs in bulk, donate the gross looking, to a shelter that may have the time for the extra cleaning steps and do not under any circumstances take on any extra procedures. Get some sleep.

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R.G.

answers from Detroit on

I always used Totally Toddler stain remover. Just pretreat and leave until you plan on washing it then spray again right before putting it in the washer. This stuff is amazing!! It even takes out formula stains. You can find it at Walmart, Meijer, Babies R Us, Toys R Us, and a couple of other places. IT's only about $3 a bottle. I love it!! Here's the link:

http://www.totallytoddler.com/

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J.H.

answers from Detroit on

I was actually going to suggest soaking them in Oxo overnight :) So even though you're sleep deprived, you're on the right track! Oxo even just got a HUGE red paint stain out of my daughter's clothes (from daycare)!

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A.C.

answers from Detroit on

I buy baby oxi clean from target and soak it in extreme hot water for 24 hours in a bucket. It has gotten old stains out too. It works wonders i couldnt believe it all the other stain products never ever worked!

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K.B.

answers from Detroit on

soak them overnite in oxi-clean...they have a baby version, i have used both and gotten my burp rags nice and clean,

good luck!

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M.O.

answers from Detroit on

Hi C.,

I like that t-shirt idea. Sounds great, but I also hate those nasty dirty looking bibs. We've had great success using a product called Solumel for stubborn stains, most come out by simply using my Prespot stain remover for laundry. It even removes set in stains that have come through the dryer. These are "Green" products so they don't contain any harsh chemicals for the baby and the laundry line is baby safe as well. The nice thing about them is they are very affordable, less than regular store prices.

I'd be glad to tell you more about this and many other things to create a safer-healthier home for your family. Just visit my website below:

M. Overly
Proud Member of the Mom Team
Working From Home & Loving It!
www.ThisFamilyCounts.com

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I get these

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B.D.

answers from Detroit on

We put snaps on the vinyl bibs because our daughter would just rip them off as well. You can buy the tool and the snaps at Michael's or JoAnn's. I prefer the vinyl bibs because they are easier to clean than the cloth bibs after everything is slipped on it. The vinyl bibs that I have I bought them at Wal-Mart and they are not stratchy.

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L.W.

answers from Lansing on

I personally find that spraying a stain with shout, then rubbing some Era into it and washing it works wonders. My kids are always staining things--and I have to say, we have fewer stains since I've been doing it this way.

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B.B.

answers from Detroit on

no advice here, but I have always wondered why they make such cute white and light colored bibs knowing that all baby food is green, orange, or red. :-) I say they do it on purpose...

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V.J.

answers from Detroit on

Hi C.,
Yes I remember those pesky stains. You are not crazy to set a soak bucket ubder the sink. I was going to suggest just that.
A few scoops of oxi Clean in hot water and soak for a day or two. that should do the trick. You can also try Peroxide and baking soda for a cheaper alternative.
-V.
About me: Mother of two(5&9)girls.

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L.N.

answers from Benton Harbor on

You could try that...I love OxyMagic by Clorox.

Although I have to say (and you knew somebody would) that they are bibs...they're supposed to catch the stains, right?

:)

~L.

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