Removing difficult stains

Most of us who are mom's have seen it all when it comes to difficult stains and I'm not just talking about the ones our kids get on their shirts when they eat and we immediately wash it. I'm referring to stains like baby spit up. Yes, I know it's gross, but we've all seen it. Baby spits up, you wash it, and there's that faint yellow stain. Well, what about those outfits you LOVE and continually put your baby in them? That "faint" stain becomes darker and darker until the outfit is an entirely different color and VERY unattractive! I have an example of such an outfit. The last time this outfit was worn was almost 4 years ago and yes, I washed it and attempted stain removers SEVERAL times until I packed it up in a box.

 

I wanted to throw this away! I thought to myself, "I've washed this several times and used stain remover and it's been sitting in a box for nearly 4 years. There's no way I will be able to make this look clean again!" I was up for the challenge though! Considering the length of time this stain had been allowed to set I knew that pre-treating it would be necessary! I'm not one to sit and scrub for hours in hopes of getting a stain out.. I would much rather go do something else while my cleaning agent does all the work! Here is what I was able to accomplish.

 

Is it perfect, No. But you have to look for the discoloration which means it's wearable! Here's how I did it:

First of all, use your own detergent. I prefer gain because it smells fabulous!

Now the steps:

 

1. Pre-treat your garment. get your garment wet with HOT/WARM water (please use judgement on temperatures... I don't want anyone burning themselves!) and pre-treat with Fels Naptha Soap. I just rubbed the bar directly onto the stain in back and forth motions until saturated. (you can find this in the laundry isle and it will cost around $1 for a bar. CHEAP!  scrub the garment a couple times to rub the soap into the stain. Let it sit for approx 15 min. Depending on the severity of the stain you may need to increase the time.
2. Considering this is a white garment I used HOT water. After pre-treating was done I added a scoop of detergent, 1/2 cup of Borax (also found in laundry isle) 1/2 cup of Washing Soda (found in laundry isle) 1 scoop of oxi clean, and added bleach to my bleach dispenser. 

Now if I ever have another girl I can use this adorable dress and I no longer need to worry about ketchup stains, BBQ sauce, or heaven forbid blood stains from all those bumps and bruises moments. Clean clothes = Happy mommy!