Formula, diaper blowouts and baby food can all leave stains on baby clothing. If you don't get the stain out completely before you store the clothes, you may unpack the clothing later only to find old, yellow stains that have stayed over the years. You may be able to remove yellow stains from old baby clothing, but if you have already dried the garments in the clothes dryer, your stain removal luck may be limited.
Step 1
Remove any solid matter that surrounds the old stain with your hands or a damp cloth. Yellow stains on baby clothing may have particles of baby food or other matter still attached to the fabric fibers.
Step 2
Fill your washing machine or a plastic tub with cold water. Add a capful of an enzyme-based laundry pretreatment, or treat the clothing with an enzyme-based spot remover. The Ohio State University Extension explains that many stains that affect baby clothing, including baby formula, diaper stains and vomit, are protein-based, and may become set-in with hot water.
Step 3
Soak the baby clothing in the cold water and pretreatment for at least 30 minutes to give the old stains a chance to loosen.
Step 4
Wash the clothing on a warm or cold cycle with regular laundry detergent. Fresh diaper and vomit stains generally respond better in hot water, according to Textile Affairs, but Ohio State University suggests using cooler water on older stains. You may add some bleach--measure according to the directions on the bottle--to your washing water to aid in the removal of yellow stains on white clothing.
Step 5
Look at the clothing after washing to determine if the old, yellow stain has stuck or if it has been removed. You may put the item in the clothes dryer if you see no sign of the staining. Hang the garment to dry if it's still marked by yellow or tan soiling.
Step 6
Re-treat the baby clothing with enzyme cleaners, soak again and run it through another wash load. Twice is sufficient for old staining; stains that are not removed after the second treating, soaking and washing process are most likely never going to go away.
Things You'll Need
- Enzyme-based pretreatment
- Laundry detergent
- Bleach
