Stored baby clothes stained

amother

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 1:37 am

I saved all the clothes from my first baby which were in good condition.

I'm not expecting my second in a few weeks and just opened the boxes of clothes to find that many of them have got yellowish stains on. They were washed before I put them away and definitely did not have stains on at that time.

They were stored for 2 years on top of or inside closets in either cardboard diaper boxes or plastic boxes with lids.

How come they're stained now and any ideas how I can get the stains out? It would be a shame to have to buy everything from scratch again.

zaq

Wed, Sep 10 2014, 2:19 pm

These so-called "closet stains" are places where something previously spilled on the fabric and was not completely removed. This could be anything from formula to sugar water. When fresh, the residue is invisible, but given enough time it oxidizes and turns yellow or brown. It is exactly the same reaction as the "invisible ink" trick in which you write with lemon juice on a piece of paper and hold it over a source of heat like a hot light bulb or candle to make the writing appear. It's just much slower.

To reverse the reaction, you can use a mild bleach like peroxide; a harsher bleach like chlorine bleach; or soak in strong Oxyclean for a while before washing. It may take more than one session.

amother

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 7:05 am

Thank you!

Oxyclean isn't available here but I did a hot wash with napisan and a hot wash with bio etergent for whites followed by an extra rinse.

Most of the items are clean now, I'll just have a go at the few remaining stains with something stronger to see if I can salvage them.

The stains must be from breast milk as that's all she had at that age and I guess that washing with non-bio detergent as recommended for newborns wasn't enough to get the stains out.

Is there anythink I can do to prevent this from happening next time? Washing in bio before storing perhaps.

Tzutzie

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 7:22 am

Yes. Prewash w that detergent. I soaked dds stuff w a little Nature Bright and Liquid L for a few hours before storing them.

Also, if you're storing them in your home (not in a basement/cellar or attic/shed), a fabric container is much better. It kept my things stain free. I had stuff suited at home in fabric and guys in a basement in card board wrapped in a garbage bag in a cellar (so it doesn't get the basement smell) they were their the same time and not prewashed. The stuff at home did not have stains. I assume the plastic/cardboard helps the process along so it oxidizes faster. Just my guess.

Oh and I just took out some new I bought dd over the last year for this year and one thing had a brown stain where it previously was clean Confused

I hope it comes out as it's one of my favorites.

zaq

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 4:26 pm

amother wrote:

Is there anythink I can do to prevent this from happening next time? Washing in bio before storing perhaps.

If bio is an enzyme product, then possibly. Unless you happen to have access to a cylinder of compressed nitrogen gas and an apparatus for hermetically sealing the container in which you store the clothes. The nitrogen displaces oxygen so there's nothing in the container to cause oxidation, and you need hermetic sealing to keep the nitrogen in and the oxygen out.

BUT IRL those stains are going to come back. Storing clothes in a cool place is better than warm, as heat accelerates the reaction, but the stains will eventually bloom even in cool storage.

ETA: Even brand-new, never used textiles will eventually oxidize. This may show up as overall yellowing, or as yellowing along exposed folds, such as the outward-facing edges when items are stored on shelves, or as stains, often caused by mildew, if textiles are stored in a location that gets damp from condensation.

Basimcha

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 5:40 pm

[quote="amother"]

How come they're stained now and any ideas how I can get the stains out? It would be a shame to have to buy everything from scratch again.[/quote

Mix equal amount of baking soda, peroxide and vinegar. Apply to stains and let it sit for 30 min then wash it in washing machine.

amother

Sun, Sep 14 2014, 8:44 am

Thanks for the replies.

I had been washing the baby clothes in non-biological detergent as recommended for newborn clothes and did the same before storing them.

Now I can see that a biological detergent is necessary to get them properly clean, at least before storing, so I'll be doing that next time.