There is absolutely nothing pleasant about vomit, whether it’s our own or our kid's – or even our pet's. But, the reality is that throwing up happens, and once we get past that icky feeling, we have to clean it up. In an ideal world, vomit is contained within a toilet, without making a mess. But sometimes, and especially with kids, it ends up anywhere but where it should go, and can even get onto our clothes.
Vomit will stain clothing, but the good news is that it can also be cleaned up as if it never happened at all. And, you don’t need to rely on a bunch of toxic chemicals to get the job done. Just look to Grab Green’s all-natural cleaning products, including our eco friendly laundry pods and natural dish soap to remove vomit stains almost as soon as they occur.
Getting Rid of a Vomit Stain
With the right nontoxic cleaning products, you can clear away a vomit stain in no time, but as is always the case, the sooner you act the better. Letting that stain sit will make the removal process a lot tougher, but not impossible. So, let’s go over the steps to treating a vomit stain the right way, as there are plenty of wrong ways to do it that will end up setting the stain permanently.
Step #1: Scrape and Rinse
First, you should grab a blunt knife and scrape the solids off of the surface of the material. Leaving them on will make washing increasingly difficult, and also allow more chance for the vomit to sink deep into the fibers. Get as much as you can off of the material without rubbing or pushing it in deeper.
Once you’re done with that, you can now soak the stain in a solution of warm water, white vinegar and a non toxic dish soap/sustainable dish soap, like Grab Green Liquid Dish Soap. This eco-friendly dish soap formula can cut through tough stains very effectively. Weighing down the garment if necessary, aim to soak it for about 15 minutes, before removing it from the solution and rinsing it thoroughly in warm water. If necessary, repeat the process until the stain is faint.
If you need to, after the final rinse, apply some baking soda directly to the stain and use your fingers to work it into the fibers, leaving it there for 5 minutes before rinsing it once again. Then, grab a clean toothbrush and do hard, short strokes to get as much of the remaining residue out as possible.
Step #2: Wash as You Normally Do
From there, you can just launder the garment as you normally would according to its care label. We recommend using some stain-fighting, natural laundry pods for an added punch. Of course, it’s always best to use sustainable laundry pods like our 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods and Stoneworks Laundry Detergent Pods, which’re non toxic laundry pods that address stains with gentle, natural ingredients. As long as the stain is gone, you can then run the garment through the dryer with your go-to natural dryer sheets like Grab Green Classic Laundry Dryer Sheets, sustainable dryer sheets like Stoneworks Dryer Sheets, or even Grab Green Dryer Balls that prevents static cling.
If the Stain is Old/Dry
Older vomit stains are tougher to treat, but it can be done. Follow the same steps as above, as the method is the same for removing a vomit stain regardless of when the vomit occurred. You may need to soak twice as long to loosen up the now-dry stain.
If the Clothing is Delicate
If you’ve a stained garment that can’t go through a dryer, don’t worry – the drying method doesn’t actually matter when it comes to the stain removal process. Just air-dry the garment as you normally would. Read the care label carefully before washing the garment at all, because some items need to be hand-washed, in which case you could use the same detergent in a sink or basin. Or, if the item must be dry-cleaned, let the dry cleaner know that you are dealing with a vomit stain, so that they can address the stain using their professional methods.
To summarize:
- Cotton clothing will offer the most stain removal options.
- Wool is more delicate than cotton and cannot endure repeated washing and also needs to be spread flat to dry.
- For silk clothing, it’s recommended you take it to a professional dry cleaner, due its extreme delicacy.
Nobody Wants to Deal with a Vomit Stain, but it Can Be Done
