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Parenting: What do you do with stained clothes?

600| Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:50:00 GMT| itags.org Seeker| Comments (17)
I'm sorting through the kids' outgrown clothes, and I have ended up with four piles: keep, sell, donate and stained. :p I've tried removing the stains and they are there for life. So now I don't know what to do, and as a testament to what a neurotic freakshow I am, I am actually a little anxious about this. They are in great condition in every other way, so throwing them out seems so wasteful, but it also seems wrong to put them in the Salvation Army bag.

Please put me out of my misery and tell me what to do! :)

TIA!

Keywords & Tags: stained, clothes, parenting

URL: http://www.healthknowledge.org/parenting/200625/
 
«« Prev - Next »» 17 helpful answers below.
Use them for play clothes when painting/doing other messy activities. Cut them up and use them for cleaning rags. Or, cut around the stains and use the material for sewing projects.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:57:00 GMT |

Or tie dye them. We hold tie dye parties for kids clothes regularly. Sometmes we buy blanks, meaning white clothes, and dye them. But if the girls say spilled the chocolate soy milk on their clothes, again, that stuff doesn't come out, they have the chance to tie dye it.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:58:00 GMT |

Hi there, I do not sell this stuff but I use it for my kids clothing! I make up a big bucket (like 5 gallon bucket) of it with HOT water, about a cup of nature Bright and a little detergent like Trader Joes liquid- maybe half a cap full... then I soak it. Usually over night- or all day and night. An amazing amount of stains come out this way. What does nto come out goes into the tie dye pile- we have a friend who has a once a year Tie dye party- lots of fun! Even darker things can still be tie dyed- does not all have to be light or white, ya know? I have a blue night shirt that I added red and purple dye to and I love it.

That shaklee stuff is $$$ but I think it is worth it for how many things it has saved! I also use it to get stains out of dipes on occasion. And you do not have to mix up a huge batch like I described (5 gallon bucket) you can instead make a small batch if you only have a few things to do. and then you wash it after you soak it and sometimes do an extra rinse to make sur eit is all out of there.

Sheila

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:59:00 GMT |

I used a strong concentration of powdered natural oxygen-based bleach, like half a cup to a bucket of water, and almost every stain ever has come out -- even those set in if I leave it there long enough (a day or 2). It can fade some colours, particularly grey and blue, and can transfer dye to other clothes, so do buckets of similar colours. Even if it is faded, I prefer it to no staining.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:00:00 GMT |

We use them for play clothes or tie-dye them. It's so much fun to dye over them - it's like getting brand new clothes. :)

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:01:00 GMT |

A good quality oxygen bleach and a long soak in warm to hot water removes almost all stains.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:02:00 GMT |

rags

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:03:00 GMT |

Yeah, I have som emighty fine quslity rags around here...

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:04:00 GMT |

A good quality oxygen bleach and a long soak in warm to hot water removes almost all stains.
:thumb Doing this got out stains regular bleach did not tough.

With what is left:

Either dye it or use it for learning how to sew :D

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:05:00 GMT |

Yeah, I have som emighty fine quslity rags around here...

yup, if they are stained and dont fit or have holes, they are rags :D

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:06:00 GMT |

Depending on the material, some things get saved to patch other things with. I have various colors of jeans (or pieces of the legs when shorts were made) so I can patch almost any new hole. T-shirts generally get saved for rags, washing the car, working on the car, cloth TP, etc.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:07:00 GMT |

DD's got a few tops that have cute sewen on bits or embossing that I'm thinking if cut around and edged will make cute Christmas decorations or card decorations. Or even if I were to get enough I could cover a journal or recipe folder with them...

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:08:00 GMT |

I have yet to find an organic stain that can live through oxygen bleach... I'll fill the washer with hot water, add in several scoops, and let it soak overnight, wash in the morning as usual, I don't even check things, they come out of the dryer fine..

And these are stains like chocolate, strawberries, spaghetti sauce, banana that was left on the shirt for a week to brown and get gross, etc. that have already been through regular wash/dry once or more.

A few stubborn ones (liike the banana) end up going in twice, I just keep a pile in the basement of things with stains that need to soak, and once it's a small load, I let it soak all night. I've even gotten rid of formula stains from other babies clothing that we got 2nd hand... which is by far the worst yellow greasy spot on anything!

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:09:00 GMT |

You can still donate them. I have bought things at the thrift store that were stained for very cheap because I could tell by looking at the stain that I'd be able to get it out.

I have also bought stained items to cut up for sewing projects like baby quilts or costumes or whatever.

Don't feel bad about donating stained items. It's better than putting them in the landfill!

I have also bought holey towels to cut up and make foot mops as presents for my friends. This is 3-5 circular layers of towel (depending on the thickness and absorbency of the towel scraps) sewn together with some heavy duty lacy cording for decoration at the edge and a pocket sewn on top like a slipper. Kids luuuv them :)

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:10:00 GMT |

DD's got a few tops that have cute sewen on bits or embossing that I'm thinking if cut around and edged will make cute Christmas decorations or card decorations. Or even if I were to get enough I could cover a journal or recipe folder with them...

thats a great idea!! ds has some ultra cute clothes that he wore for so long, that are now stained and holey, that I dont want to get rid of the fabric since I'm so attached. I usually turn them into washcloths for his diaper changes, but covering a journal with it would rock!

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:11:00 GMT |

some thrift stores and donation centers also send the unsaleable items overseas for use as rags, etc.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:12:00 GMT |

Please put me out of my misery and tell me what to do! put them here on the trading post for 'free for shipping cost'.

itags.org Seeker | Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:13:00 GMT |

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