Laundry Help!!! - South Hadley,MA

First, buy bibs, good big ones. He doesn't eat without bibs., If something gets on, spray immediately, and soak. Carry changes with you. Sounds like you are washing well. I would use tide, instead of dreft.

I don't have much to add, but Oxyclean and Tide both make booster packs now that you toss in before you add the laundry and detergent. I use the Oxyclean one and find that it works well at brightening the load. I still use spray on the darker stains. For the stains that are set after washing, I would try spraying and washing them again. It won't always work, but I have had some luck with this.

I've found that the tide stain remover tablets are amazing! Also, get the shout sheets and stick them in the wash anytime you wash something new, it will help with the bleeding.

Hydrogen Peroxide takes care of almost any stain and it is CHEAP! Pick up a 50 cent bottle and watch it work. I keep an old toothbrush by the washer and when I spot a stain I pre-treat the area with a small amount of Hydrogen Peroxide and rub it in with the toothbrush and then simply toss it in with my load of laundry. I like to fill the cap and dip my tooth brush in the cap. I have had great success with Peroxide if I catch the stain before I wash it. Also Peroxide works great on carpets too. All those chemicals and cleaning products on the market and Peroxide in my mind works the best! Most importantly, unlike bleach, Peroxide will not harm your colors. I have even tossed in a 1/2 cup of peroxide in a big load of stained clothing and had great results. Good Luck.... let me know if it works for you!

Bibs were made for a reason.
Use the same detergent for your kids clothes as you do yours.
Treat the stains the same as you would for all of the laundry.
Most detergents work the same in cold water as they would in warm or hot, so dont worry about using cold water for most things.
I only use hot for towels and sheets.

I used the Dreft spray for stain removal and washed in Dreft detergent when my son was small. Never had a problem with it. I usually sprayed the stain when taking the clothes off him and then would spray again when getting ready to wash. I think the dreft spray was noted that you could leave on for up to 5 days which usually took me to laundry day so it worked great for me.

Okay, I have a family of 4, daughters are 15 and 11.
All clothes get washed on warm/warm EXCEPT the whites, they get washed on hot/warm.
colours
whites
darks
We use HE detergent from Shaklee (it is environmentally safe) and works really well. As for stains...I agree with Grandma T - bibs are the best way. But when that stubborn food gets on the clothes Colgate toothpaste always worked for us. Rub it on, let it sit about 10 mins then wash. If that doesn't work get a bottle of carpet cleaner, and pour a bit right on the stain. Wait a few mins then throw it in the washer. It gets out everything, even ink! Actually it will not get out orange soda. Nothing gets out soda. Good clue as to why we shouldn't drink it!

Hope this helps.

B. Family Success Coach

I wash (almost) everything in warm wash/cold rinse. New clothes get a first time wash in cold/cold.
Other than that I do these loads:
*Whites
*Dark play clothes (for all of us) Can include reds that have been washed already
*Work clothes (hubby)
*Towels
*Sheets
•Sweaters (cold/cold on delicate cycle)

As for the babyfood stains--I never experienced that....it always came out for me. Pretreat with the blue Original Dawn dish soap.

How old is your son? Do you still need to use Dreft?

I use nothing but Tide with Bleach Alternative and I pre-treat (if at all) with Dawn or extra Tide and I've never had a stain that could outlive that!
Good luck!

I found that Dreft (while gentle) didn't clean too well. We use MelaPower 6 to wash, Mela Soft to soften, and Mela Brite to brighten. PreSpot is what we treat our stains with and if it is a really tough stain I pour in some Sol U Mel. These products are safer for you, your clothes and the environment AND save you money. They also are very effective.

I always wash EVERTHING in cold water. I sort by:whites, colors, reds, and towels. Some dark colors can be washed w/ the reds but if my colors are a lot of light colors I do the reds separate.

I use shout color catcher and I don't sort anymore. I started using them because those little ones can be so tiny and I almost always had at least one hiding. They work so well in keep the colors from bleeding.

I use shout for the stains. They have a stick tube you can rub on the stains the day you take off the clothes and you can wait up to 5 days to wash.

I also use cold for everything unless vomit or BM or involved then I use warm/hot to help get that yes it is clean sense to it.

Rule of thumb.

Start the water coming in the washer, add laundry detergent, let it fill a few more moments then start adding clothes. This gives the detergent time to start dissolving and it is less likely to stick to your clothes. Add other additives now, like bleach or Clorox 2.

Sorting clothes is like a guessing game. I sort according to weight, color, whether bleach or not bleach, hot, warm, or cold water, I can't remember ever washing anything in cold though. It is much easier to dry clothes that are the same as to dry on low and just keep taking dry stuff out or burning stuff up in a too hot dryer. Heavily soiled clothes need to be washed together to keep other clothes from getting too dirty.

How to sort laundry:

Dark clothes: Cold or warm water, doesn't matter. As long as not too warm.

Black, dark brown, dark reds, darkest grays, navy blues, any clothing that does not have any light fabric on it. These are clothes you want to look dark when they are done, no towel lint on them, no fuzz from that really cute white seater, they will look nicer longer if washed together with other dark, dark clothes.

Jeans and other all denim items: Cold or warm, even hot if wanted.
If you wear lots of denim clothes do a load of nothing but them. It takes denim a long time to dry so I wash them together so I have 1 load to run on high for a long time.

Towels and bed linens:
Towels are usually bleached in my house and should not have liquid fabric softener added to washer. Downy and other liquid fabric softeners build up on the fibers and causes the towels to not absorb liquid. Towels also take a while to dry so I like to wash them together to dry together.

Sheets and other larger items can catch clothes inside as they roll up so if you keep just the sheets together it is easier to keep the clothes out of them.

Perma press: warm or cold doesn't matter, can add a small amount of bleach in the beginning water if needed for stains. I can add Clorox 2 if I want but usually pre-treat stains with a spray.
Clothes of just about any color that doesn't fade. Tops, slacks, kids clothes, tee shirts, etc..... About same weight fabrics, not too soiled, easy care clothes.

Whites: Any clothes that can be bleached
I do tee shirts with colored logos, kids tops with prints and pictures, anything mostly white that is a non-fade issue that I want very white. Underwear, bras, socks, khaki pants, mens white oxford shirts, light blues, grays, light pinks, etc...anything that is of a very light color and won't fade is probably okay here.

Any other issue then just read the label. A lot of teen in the entertainment industry are really pushing for laundry to be done in cold water and if you feel the way they do then by all means do so. But please know that most fabric detergent doesn't dissolve until it is in water 70 degrees or warmer. Read the labels.

I use the Spray and Wash in the blue bottle for my stains that have already gone through the wash and it has worked for me. I like it because I can spray and leave it on the clothes for a few days since I live in an apartment with no washer and it can take me a few days between laundry.

Hi H., I just loved your letter, because I run into this all the time! I am an EcoEntrepreneur with Shaklee and do Info Sessions in homes showing how well our non-toxic laundry products work on tough stains, etc. If these products do not meet your expectations, Shaklee will refund your money!! How's that for a promise?? I would love to chat by phone if you are open to that ###-###-####); for now, here's the info in a nutshell: our laundry detergent is also a pre-spotter that works great - I recommend that Moms keep a small pre-spot bottle (I will give you one as a gift with your 1st order) near the hamper - pre-spot anything you see before you even throw it in the hamper; otherwise, pre-spot it just before tossing in the washer. Then add detergent to washer using specific recepticle built into your washer; then add our Nature Bright (our answer to dangerous bleach!) right on top of the detergent in the recepticle. You will be amazed! Nature Bright will remove many, many stains right in the wash. It also whitens whites and brightens colors and can be used in hot, warm or cold water. For old stains or really tough stains, mix Nature Bright in H2O in sink & add a tiny squirt of our detergent and then add garment. Soak for a few hours or a day or two. Rinse and throw in washer. THE STAIN WILL BE GONE! All my customers just love these products. It is the onliy thing I have found that actually removes baby "spit-up", formula stains, baby "poop" stains, etc. Moms are blown away and love saving those adorable outfits that were "ruined" by stains the first time they were worn. Please contact me so we can talk - ____@____.com E. Taft

While I am far from a laundry expert (after years of negotiating, I got my husband to agree to do all the laundry - he's just better at it) I can say here is what I have learned.

NEVER wash colors in warm or hot unless they are old and have been washed several times. If you do, they will bleed and ruin whatever else they are with. If you do notice it while transferring from washer to dryer, don't dry. Just re-wash and it usually comes out.

I never read the tags about warm or cold temps. I just put them together by color - 3 piles - WHITES get warm water, COLORS always COLD, and if they are all truly BLACKS they can get warm or cold. Although, if you can wash all your clothes in cold, that is the best. It makes them last longer, dry faster (not sure why, but that's what they say) and you use less energy so your helping the environment.

New baby clothes - it sucks, but I find that my children always ruin my favorite outfits the first time they wear them. I've learned to accept it in advance and if I get two or more wearings out of it I'm thrilled.

TIP #1 - Get a really great bib! It's all about the bib. If the food can't get onto the clothes, it can't stain it. My bib is plastic (no leak through fabrics for me), has a pocket at the bottom to catch food and liquids, ties in the back so they can't take it off, and has sleeves so I can roll up their shirts and no clothing is showing- think SMOCK more than bib.

TIP #2 - When my oldest was about 2 yrs old and really messy, I created a rule that she could only eat the color she was wearing. I know, sounds funny, but it works! I didn't do it all the time, but if she was wearing a cute purple shirt, she would have blueberries that day, red for strawberries, etc. Of course any dry food is fine. I actually made a game of it and she would get dressed then ask what pink foods she could eat :)

Enjoy and don't worry about it. If the clothes get stained, think of all the fun your kids were having while making the mess and you can always get more clothes.

On the stains themselves i put a baking soda vinegar/water paste on them and let them sit for an hour or so before washing ... with them having been washed and dried let the paste sit a while longer ... 1/2 pt vin 2pt bs 1pt h2o for the paste ... I also put baking soda in the washer along with regular old Tide gentle ... I know some babies have sensativities but we used Tide and it was all good. I just lump them all together and use the tide cold wash and use cold for all my washes except my whites like socks/undershirts/undies where I would also use bleach. The trick with stains ... do not dry the clothes until the stain is out to your liking ... Oh and I never feed in the "nice" or more pricey outfits! Good Luck and we all have many things to learn otherwise each day would be boring.

Wash darks in cold (regardless of tag), brights together in warm, whites in hot. I really like the Melaluca Stain remover, Pre Spot Plus (no i do not sell it, but can't live with out it!). That seems to take everything out. The rule is treat as soon as you can, let it sit with the pre treater for awhile, then wash. Then check the stain and if it isn't out, repeat. Do not put stained clohtes in the dryer.Also, I carry around the shout to go wipes.
Little ones produce LOTS of laundry!
As far as detergent, I don't like dreft. METHOD makes a great detergent! Love the smell, nice ingredients, gets stains out. Also, liquid fabric softener is not good for baby clothes, especially their pajamas. There are ALOT of chemicals in fabric softner.

The best thing I've found for any stains is to cover them with a stain stick as soon as possible (like, as I'm taking them off) and then use a spray stain remover (I use Shout) on them in the washer. For really tough stains I'll also pour a little oxyclean right on the stain and rub it in with a little water or Shout right as I'm throwing them in the washer. I use Xtra detergent; I use the kind for normal washers with my h.e. washing machine. I just put a small amount, like 1/3 of what I used to put in my old regular washer. Most of my stains come out.

I sort clothes by colors. I do one load of delicates (I don't sort those into two loads by color, I just wash them all together) and one load of darks and one load of lights. I wash everything on cold.

First, use bibs (not the small ones) - definitely lessons the stains. Pre soak stains w/ vinegar. Wash all clothes, regardless the directions (except the finer fabrics) if it is cotton or polyester, wash in warm.Unless you have your warm water set closer to hotter water (you can adjust the warm water flow behind your washer), warm water is fine, I wash NOTHING in cold - especially kids clothes. Also, wash clothes inside out - lessons the fading.

Sorting: whites/light colors (pastels), darks & brights.

I never used Dreft, I felt it didn't clean very well - too gentle. I used Tide on all of my baby clothes. Oxyclean spray didn't work well for me either - Shout worked much better for me. Now I use vinegar on stains - it works great. Google vinegar uses and you will find exactly how to use it on laundry.

If you have dried the clothes in the dryer the stains are probably set though. I have always hung dry most of our clothes - not jeans, socks & underwear. I have been able to pass on clothes that have gone thru two boys b/c of the lack of fading and no peeling of the fabric.

This is what I do. Separate your clothes into colors, whites, delicates, heavy(jeans, jackets ect). Follow the rule of washing with like colors except with your sons(until he is older) I wash all my daughters clothes together as one load, never makes a difference. Washing darks in cold water prevents bleeding and saves the colors from fading. Whites I wash in warm/hot and use oxyclean to help brighten them. I also use treat any stains with spray n wash, let it sit them scrub them until it's gone or good enough. If you know there was a bad stain check it after it's washed before ou dry otherwise the heat sets it and it will be even harder to get out.

Also if you are worried about stains on your sons cloths, when you know you are giving him something that can stain(pizza) have him wear a bib or just treat the stains immediately so they don't set. Don't worry too much all kids cloths are like that. :)

Anything can be washed in cold, so all the darks that say "warm" can go in the cold pile. Colors run less when washed in cold. Once things have been washed a whole bunch of times, they usually don't run anymore and can be washed with other things.

As for stains, the key is not DRYING something if you aren't sure it's clean. Let it air-dry and check for stains - you can't always see them when the item is wet.

I would also keep a plastic dishpan or even a bucket in the laundry area, with water and stain remover (like OxyClean) or even regular detergent, extra concentrated. Throw the stained items in their when you take them off your child so the stains don't dry. Then you can dump the bucket & its soaking items in with the regular wash (you can use it as your detergent and even re-use that water, just adding on as needed).

I don't know that Dreft is as good at stain removal as other detergents. I use Arm & Hammer fragrance-free. You can also pour any detergent directly on fresh stains rather than into the washer.

I don't know if the Snuggle really does any good - wonder if it helps set the stains?

Whites turn pink when you have red and orange in the same wash, or when you let stuff sit in the washer for a while, especially in warm water. Put the reds in with the blacks & blues. There's a new detergent with some sort of "color lock" feature they are advertising - probably just hype but you could maybe try a sample.

One last thing - on greasy stains or anything else you think will be tough, put dish liquid right on it - like Dawn or Joy. Let it soak in. You can take a small scrub brush to it when it's time to wash, or even recycle an old toothbrush for this purpose. I use it when I spill olive oil or salad dressing on any of my shirts - works great!!

Fels Naptha will take out pretty much any stain.

My first tip is - bibs bibs bibs! All my daughter's clothing would have been ruined had I not used bibs and lots of burp cloths!

As for stains, avoid putting a stained item in the dryer - that will pretty much set the stain. Do a pre-treat again, and wash it one more time. I usually put all my daughter's clothes in one warm wash and don't separate whites/darks. Never had problems with things bleeding or discoloring. I use Charlie's Soap for everything, both washing and pre-treating, and I actually air dry the clothing, I don't use the dryer for baby clothes. I've had success with the Charlie's Soap All Purpose Stain Remover (http://astore.amazon.com/ecobaby0f-20/detail/B001BPDTD8) and the laundry powder that I also use for cloth diapers, I love that it has no chemicals, optical brighteners, and actually cleans clothes instead of making them appear cleaner (http://astore.amazon.com/ecobaby0f-20/detail/B0018B15FE).

I have three piles: Dark, Color and Whites. Darks and colors I wash on warm (our water really is only lukewarm on warm). Whites I usually wash on warm, unless I have something that REALLY needs a hot wash.
The only time I ever pay attention to the label is when it says handwash. Anything else will be fine in warm water. That's my opinion.

The thing is, some stains you will just not get out. Period. After everything that you have tried, the last thing I would attempt is washing the garment again and hanging it to dry in bright sunlinght... it will not matter whether it is warm or cold out, sunlinght is a GREAT brightener, it even got my cloth diapers 100% stain free.

Good luck!

Babyfood stains are almost impossible. The colors leech while sitting in the jar almost becoming dye strong (in fact, how one makes veggie dyes is to make "babyfood" and then extract the solids).

<laughing> I'm with Shaun... whenever possible I stripped my son nekkid before feeding him. I also avoided white like the plague (so durn cute, but the reason ALL baby clothes used to be white was so that mums could bleach the durn things, and then when they got stained beyond bleach they'd dye them a dark color).

Personally... I sort clothes this way:

1 - Kids clothes
2 - My clothes
3 - Hubby's clothes
4 - Light/white
5 - Socks & Towels
6 - Drycleaning
7 - Sheets
8 - Comforters
9 - Tech Fabric

Actually I have 6 hampers. #1-6 each get their own hamper, #7-9 get washed as needed, never going in a hamper. #1-4 just get upended over the machine and washed/rinsed on warm/cold and dried on delicate. Socks & Towels (5) and Sheets(7) get w/r on hot/cold and dried on hot. Down comforters only get washed once or once every other month and washed on warm/warm dried on medium with tennis balls. Drycleaning I drive.

That simple. Upend the hamper, add liquid detergent, set on wash. My son has been doing his own laundry since he was 2ish (he liked to lob them in piece by piece and then I'd hold him up to pour in the soap).

When I first buy clothes I'll wash them on hot to shrink them and get rid of the extra dye. After that... no problem whatsoever with bleeding. I use all kinds of detergent. Original Gain is my favorite.

Colorsafe bleach with "unbleed" almost anything.

hee! i'll bet this thread confuses you more than it helps!
i use cold for all 'good' clothes. i find it helps preserve 'em longer, and i'm cheap. every now and then one of my husband's work shirts might get dirty enough to go in warm, though.
socks and undies get washed in hot.
everything else gets warm. i don't sort darks and lights, but i do wash jeans separately unless the size of the loads dictates they go in with the other warms. i also wash towels separately.
i use less detergent than is recommended and my laundry comes out fine. i've been backing off using color-safe bleach and fabric softener just because i'm uncomfortable with all the chemicals i've used in my wash over the years. a cup of baking soda and some cheap white vinegar brighten everything remarkably well.
i love the suggestion to toothbrush some peroxide into the baby food stains. they are tough! many will probably not come out, but use bibs extensively when your tiny is wearing an outfit you love.
:) khairete
S.

I use Shout for stains. When something is really bad, I put some of my detergent (I use ALL HE) directly on the stain and let it stay there until I wash.

My loads consists of all towels, darks, lights, then cold water hand wash darks, and cold water hand wash lights. My cold water hand washes are mostly tops for daughter and myself, bras, high end jeans that all line dry.

You'll get the routine down, hang in there.

OxyClean Max Force has gotten so many of our 3 year old's stains out! She got blueberry all over one of her favorite shirts and the OxyClean Max Force took it out! We use both the spray and the gel. I always look at every item before I put it in the washer to see if anything needs treated before going in the wash. It's time consuming, but I like my kid to look good when we go places...I don't let her wear stained up clothes in public (unless the spot is barely noticeable). If there's something I can't get out, that item goes right in the play clothes section of her closet. As for washing in warm vs. cold...I always wash everything in cold...except whites with bleach...those get washed in hot. For the bleeding issue, get the Tide (I think) Color Catcher sheets...my mom uses those and really likes them. Dreft doesn't really get things too clean. When we noticed her things weren't getting as clean as we liked (plus it was making more laundry since we washed her things seperate from ours), we switched to Arm and Hammer Free and Clear. We like it much better than Dreft and it's cheaper.