The 5 Most Common Baby Stains (and How to Treat Them)

OK, so your baby is basically the best thing that ever happened to the world. But heck if she isn’t a living, breathing stain magnet. Since tiny onesies are A) too adorable and B) too confoundingly expensive to part with, here, a definitive guide to treating the five most common culprits. (Hint: It’s nothing a little pretreat action can’t handle.)

Spit-Up
First, scrub away any crud with a stiff bristle brush (very important: no grinding!). Next, douse the stain in baking soda. Allow that to sit for a few minutes before pouring club soda atop to create a lifting fizz. Now toss that bad boy in the washer with mild detergent under the warmest setting the fabric will tolerate. 

Baby Food
Gently scrape away any food bits, then turn the garment inside out and run it under cold water to flush it. Next, apply a liquid laundry detergent to the stain, before submerging the item cold water for about 15 minutes. Rinse out, then apply a stain treater and toss it in the wash under the highest heat it can stand.

Baby Oil
First: Rub a small blob of dish soap directly onto the fabric. Then flush the stained area under warm water until the dish soap is gone. Next up, pretreat the area with a designated laundry stain remover before tossing the garment in the wash on the hottest setting possible.  

Poop 
First you’ll need to scrape away any excess mess (yup, fun stuff!), preferably over a toilet. Once that’s handled, run the garment inside out under cold water to flush. Now, apply a liquid detergent to the stain and allow it to presoak in warm water for about 30 minutes. Finally, toss ’er in the washing machine on the hottest setting possible. (And disinfect your sink, eh?)

Pee
Flush the area by first running the garment inside-out under cold water. Then, pretreat the stain by applying a liquid laundry detergent to the area and soaking it in cold water for 30 minutes (or longer for older stains). Throw in the wash in the hottest heat the cloth can stand.