As the mom of a toddler, I feel like I am always either doing laundry or thinking about needing to do laundry. It isn’t out of the ordinary for Little Buddy to go through multiple outfits in a single day, especially if he is playing outside.
Before I entered parenthood, I expected stains on my children’s clothes to be a normal part of life, but when Little Buddy was an infant, my sister-in-law introduced me to an incredible stain remover. As a result, I have been pleasantly surprised that very few of my son’s clothes have acquired permanent stains.
The stain remover that I use is called Zout. I thought my sister-in-law had misspoken when she first told me about it. Surely she had meant Shout. But there is actually a stain remover called Zout, and it’s amazing. It can be a bit difficult to find. Sometimes it’s at the grocery store, but other times I have to buy it online. If Zout ever becomes discontinued, I think I’ll cry.
What’s your go-to stain remover?
*This is not a sponsored post, just a recommendation.
Anonymous
Zout has been around for decades and decades. My mom used it when I was a kid in the 60’s. My go-to stain remover is another oldie but goodie, a bar of Fels Naptha soap. You can usually find that for about $1 at grocery stores or big-box stores. Fels takes out all kinds of stains, colored stains, greasy ones, even sweat stains. Just wet the stained fabric, rub the soap on it, and put the item in the washer immediately with your usual detergent. One bar of Fels soap lasts ages – years, if you’re not real messy. Another good stain remover, especially for berry stains, is to stretch the fabric over a bowl and pour boiling water from a tea kettle through the fabric. Works best on natural fibers. We used boiling water a lot when I was a kid – stains, dirt, kill ants outside, etc. You don’t need expensive or toxic stuff for many household problems. Look back a generation or two for easy solutions.
Ellie
Those are great ideas!
Anonymous
I thought hot water set stains?
Anonymous
@6:59 Boiling water removes berry stains. It does not set them. Maybe you’re thinking of dry heat?
Lisa
Well we have a few. Oxyclean when our son played baseball and football and had white pants as part of the uniform. We also use Shout, color safe bleach, and lately for grease, Dawn dish soap.
Anonymous
I had never heard of Zout until this blog. I too have used all the ones your family uses.
Regina
I use Fels Naptha laundry bar. I rub the stain with it, allow the stain to sit while I sort the rest of laundry and then wash. I came across Fels Naptha ( strange name I know) years ago when I used to make my own laundry soap.
Anony
Where do you find Fels Naptha?
Anonymous
You can find it at most supermarkets and definitely Wal-Mart. Look for a large bar of soap in a green and white wrapper. Laundry detergent area, stain treatment stuff.
Anon
Hello Ellie,
I hope that you are doing well and enjoying your Summer 🙂
In our family, for stains I will either use dish washing soap or a spray called Kids N Pets. I have found that dish washing soap works pretty well and is cheap and I always have some. I have also learned over the years that if I pre treat a stain, wash it and it is still there, to line dry it and do the process again. Sometimes drying clothes in the dryer with a stain that has not been removed will set it for good 😛
God bless you!
Jess
We have been trying to avoid chemicals here and have switched over to norwex detergent for the kids clothes, the stain remover and booster work on tough dried stains, it’s pricey but worth it for peace of mind.
Anonymous
I don’t understand your comment. Everything has chemicals, even tap water.
Gabrielle
Hello Ellie! Our go-to stain remover is just to try to wash it in hot water right away! Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t! Thanks for sharing this! I’ll have to check it out!
Also can I get this at Walmart?
And can you do another Q&A blog post or YouTube video?
Love your family,
Ellie
Hi Gabrielle,
Walmart (and most other grocery stores) can be hit or miss. Sometimes I find it there, sometimes I don’t. But Amazon does carry it.
Another Q&A is a great idea. 🙂
Ellie
Rachel
As a mom to 4 kids, I have tried pretty much every stain remover out there. About 2 years ago I decided to start buying tide laundry detergent and I pretty much eliminated the need for extra stain remover. When I do have a stubborn stain, believe it or not, I use Dawn dish detergent and it works wonders!
Stacey
Baby oxiclean is my go-to. They gave a spray and a powder t add the laundry cycle. Only stains I couldn’t ever get out are the ones I forgot to pretreat. For carpet stains I use Folex.
Anonymous
I don’t use stain remover products for over 20 years. Tide has removed every stain on our clothes for decades. If I have a stain, I put some Tide directly into it and then add the garment to my laundry and wash. Every grass, chocolate, sweat, food of any type, blood, etc has been removed with Tide. Eventually I have away my stain removal products since I no longer had a need for it.
Leslie
I use 1/3 dawn and 2/3 hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. This has worked great for years!!!
Anonymous
Doesn’t H2O2 act as bleach on colored fabrics?
Melanie
Yes, Leslie, I agree! Dawn plus hydrogen peroxide is fantastic!
AmyRyb
I have always used OxyClean. The spray was my go-to for “bodily function” stains. My kids had a lot of blowouts up their back and I don’t think I ever lost anything to the stains! You could see it foam up when it hit baby poop or blood stains. I’ve used it with very good success on almost everything else, too, from fruit stains to baseball field dirt. The OxyClean powder has been a godsend for stored baby clothes. Before my youngest was born, I pulled out baby clothes that had been put away for almost five years and found countless yellow stains from the nursing/formula feeding era–they were clean when packed, but the stains develop while in storage. After much internet searching, I read that a soak in OxyClean could work, and after an overnight soak (or two) I saved almost everything, and the rest were probably faded enough to use for backups. Same thing happened when I pulled clothes out after an even longer time to pass along, and again OxyClean did the job. I will say Dawn is key for greasy stains (even ones I don’t catch until they’ve gone through the laundry and I try to wear them again).
Mila
Zout is dutch for salt 🙂
Ellie
LOL! That’s funny. Thanks for sharing.
Anomonous
I used zout a long time ago and yes it is good. I have not seen it in stores for years.
Ellyn
I have never used stain remover in my life, but I’m usually able to get stains out of clothes.
A few tricks:
1) Soak item in lots of COLD water for 20 minutes, then wash immediately. You can kind of rub out some of the stain with the water before putting in the washer. If it’s a fresh stain this almost *always* works.
2) Try to not let the stain sit for too long; wash item as soon as you can.
3) I use dye free, fragrance free liquid detergent I get from Costco. If something is really stained, like spaghetti sauce on a white shirt, I pour detergent on the stain, let sit for 20 or so minutes, then wash.
Ellie
What a coincidence, Ellyn! I also use Costco’s dye free, fragrance free detergent. The one I use is All Free and Clear.
Ellyn
Yes, same here. Sometimes I will use Trader Joes lavender detergent for bedsheets if I want it scented, but mostly I use the free & clear! 🙂 I love TJ but have noticed it definitely does not have the same stain fighting power.
Kris W.
I’ve used Spray n Wash, Shout and OxyClean. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Zout but I’ll definitely look for it. I also like Leslie’s mix of Dawn and hydrogen peroxide. Thank for sharing this information!
Anonymous
I love U Ellie, U are a very positive person!!!!!!!
Anonymous
Vinegar and baking soda in a load of wash will remove most odors. No need to measure, just dump some of each into the washer as you begin the load.
Sophie
I have never used stain remover for my kids‘ clothes. If there are stains from diaper blowouts, carrots etc. I just leave the wet clothes to dry in the sun. Works a charm even on cloudy days, it‘s free and no chemicals needed!