Baby clothes in storage now have visible stains.

I had tons of the boys baby clothes in storage (not climate controlled) up in the attic. I went through them this week and was shocked to see yellow around the neck or down the front. I know they weren't put away like that. Obviously there must have been a slight stain but not really visible. I'm thinking that time and heat made the stains really become more visible. I've already run them through a wash cycle of Oxyclean and tried Simple Green as a stain remover, but the spots remain!
So, has anyone else experienced this?? I just want to know if it's worth my time and effort to try to get the spots out or reduced or if they are there to stay. It is very likely breastmilk...

TIA

faith00

 

I'll be interested to know if anyone has any suggestions!

We're in the same boat here. My SIL gave us a ton of clothes from her girls (ages 6 & 2) and we've got the same stains on some. I unfortunately haven't found anything that gets it out

 

DS1's clothes were in storage for about five years and we had the same problem. Some things were salvagable, some weren't. We soaked them Baby Oxy-Clean and washed with Baby All and for the super tough stains, I used my Clorox bleach pen just for spot treatments. Just about everything came out, but like I said, some stuff was just too far gone (mostly onesies).

Did you try making a paste with the Oxy-Clean and water? I think DH did that with a few of the larger stains. Unfortunately, breastmilk and formula are really hard to get out after a certain amount of time.

 

I was going to suggest the paste of oxy-clean as well. I also soak mine in the sink with oxy-clean overnight. I have also read that hydrogen peroxide mixed with dawn dish detergent is great for stains. I haven't used it yet, but it is worth a try! I think it said to use a little more peroxide than soap so it is not so thick. They put it in a spray bottle and sprayed the stains with it.

 

I had gone through the boys' old clothes and found some with formula stains. I used HOT water and dish soap on them (I think it was Dawn). I scrubbed the spots a bit and thew them in the wash pile. I washed them in warm (hot if light colours) and most of our stains came out.

Holly

 

This is a real reason why clothes need to be stored in climate controlled areas. They told us at Once Upon a Child that even if they have no visible stains to begin with thru storage they can become visible. Good Luck getting them out. Maybe spray and wash? That's what I use on the girls clothes.

 

My friends Mom said to soak them in Cream of Tarter. She use to do that with her kids clothes and all teh stains would come out. I don't know how much of anything, but can't hurt.

 

Oxyclean powder saved all my baby clothes - even the ones that had already been washed and dried with stains. Put one scoop in a bowl or bin, fill with warm water and let the clothes soak overnight. Sometimes I've had to do it more than once for really stubborn stains, but it always works. My niece raves about how the hand-me-downs we give her daughter look like new.

Best,
Mia

 

I'd say it's definitely worth a shot to see if the stains will come out. If you don't want to wash them more than once, let that be the cutoff. Pretreat and wash, if the stains don't come out make your decisions from there. I wouldn't just give up without a little bit of trying!

 

I have had really good luck with that pre-treat stain remover from Amway. We don't sell this, but I have a friend that uses it & she orders me a couple of bottles every time she puts in an order.
She raved about it, so I tried it. I even went through my closet & pulled out shirts with set in grease stains (cooking, baby messes etc) and it took those stains outof 90% of my shirts.
Another thing I have had good luck with is the diswashing powder for your dishwasher. Be careful becuase most contain bleach, but I read this in one of those "Queen of Clean" books. You put a gallon or 2 of hot water in a bucket with a scoop of the soap & soak things with set in stains (socks) or greasy stains. This works well if you have a utility sink as well.

 

HI, I was given alot of hand me downs that had the same problem. I not only used oxiclean in warm water but sprayed spray in wash right on the stain and washed them that way. it worked 90% of the time. best of luck!!!!!! :good: