Taking care of your baby is every bit as rewarding as it is messy. Case in point: baby formula stains, which seem to be an inevitability no matter how much of a steady hand you have. Whether on your baby’s clothes on your own, these stains are tough, and it’s easy to understand why when you consider their ingredients. The main culprit is protein, which is high in baby formula, and one of the toughest types of stains out there.
But, with the right sustainable, eco-friendly cleaning products, like natural dish soap and natural laundry pods that you already have in your home, you’ll be able to get-out those baby formula stains and get your clothes looking brand new once again.
Getting Rid of a Baby Formula Stain
When it comes to treating a baby formula stain, it’s a “the sooner, the better” type of situation. Whether it’s your own clothing or your baby’s, remove it as soon as possible to address the stain quickly before it gets a chance to absorb further into the fabric. Also, make sure to follow these steps carefully as addressing the stain with warm or hot water can set it permanently.
Step #1: Give It a Soak
Before breaking out your nontoxic cleaning products, you will need to soak the garment in cold water for about 30 minutes. Using hot water will cook the protein, so avoid that completely. Cold water will soften the stain so that it lifts away from the fabric more easily.
Grab Some (Eco Friendly) Dish Soap
Next, it’s time to pretreat the stain with a gentle yet effective detergent. We suggest a sustainable dish soap like the Liquid Dish Soap formula at Grab Green Home, which is gentle enough for sensitive skin. Pour a dollop of the soap directly onto the stain and use your fingers to work it into the stain thoroughly. This will help break up the protein and give you a head start on the removal process.
Time to Wash
With the stain pre-treated, you can now launder the garment according to the care label. The natural dish soap will continue breaking up the stain as it goes through a typical wash cycle. It’s best to use an effective yet natural laundry detergent, such as 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods, which are sustainable laundry pods. If you’re washing your baby’s clothing, consider a baby-friendly, gentle laundry detergent like the Baby Laundry Detergent Pods.
Once the wash cycle is complete, check to make sure that the stain is indeed gone, before throwing it into the dryer, again according to its care label, using some natural dryer sheets like Grab Green Classic Laundry Dryer Sheets, sustainable dryer sheets like Stoneworks Dryer Sheets, or even Grab Green Dryer Balls.
If the Baby Formula Stain is Old/Dried
If you’ve only just discovered a baby formula stain on a piece of clothing, long enough that it’s fully dried, never fear. Chances are that using the same exact method as above will work just fine. However, you may want to soak the garment for twice as long to break up the now-hardened formula that’s in the clothing’s fibers.
If the Clothing is Delicate
If you’re dealing with a delicate garment that has special care instructions, never fear! If the item must be hand-washed, do so using the same detergent as above, and you’ll probably get the same results. If the item must be air-dried, that’s no issue, since the stain should already be gone at that stage anyway. If the item must be dry-cleaned, tell your dry cleaner you have a baby formula stain, as they should know exactly how to treat it.
