How to get poop stains out of baby clothes

How to remove poop (feces) from baby clothes

1. 1

   Remove the solids

   Wearing gloves, scrape or gently shake the solids into the toilet with a dull knife or spoon. Fold the dirty part inward so it doesn't spread to clean areas.

   Why: Removing the bulk first keeps it from being ground into the knit and limits germs on your hands.

2. 2

   Rinse from the back with cold water

   Hold the stain under a cold tap, wrong side up, so the water pushes the stool back out through the fabric. Keep going until the water runs mostly clear.

   Why: Stool is a protein stain. Cold water flushes it out before heat can set it into the fibers.

3. 3

   Soak with an enzyme presoak

   Mix an enzyme presoak or enzyme detergent into a basin of cold water following the label, and submerge the item for several hours. For an older stain, soak overnight.

   Why: Protease and lipase enzymes break down the proteins and some of the fats in stool, which water and detergent alone can't fully lift.

4. 4

   Rub in a little detergent

   Before washing, work a few drops of liquid laundry detergent into any remaining mark with your fingers or a soft brush.

   Why: Detergent lifts the fatty part of the stain and any loosened residue.

5. 5

   Wash with the right bleach

   Wash in the warmest water the label allows with detergent and oxygen bleach. On white cotton labeled bleach-safe, chlorine bleach is an option. For children's sleepwear, follow its care label exactly.

   Why: Bleach oxidizes the yellow-brown bile pigment that often stays after the stool itself is gone.

6. 6

   Air-dry and check

   Hang the item to dry and check it in daylight. If a mark is still there, repeat the enzyme soak before it goes into the dryer.

   Why: Dryer heat sets any remaining stain and makes it much harder to remove.

Why baby poop leaves a yellow stain

Stool is a mix of undigested food, bacteria, shed cells and bile pigments. The brown and yellow colors come from bacterially altered bilirubin, a bile pigment. The organic matter binds to fibers as it dries, and the pigment can stay as a yellow-brown mark even after the solids wash out. Baby clothes are mostly cotton knits, which absorb stains readily.

That's why it takes a sequence: cold water so the protein doesn't set, enzymes to break it down, and bleach for the color. It's the same protein stain logic as milk and spit-up, covered generally on the poop stain page.

What baby clothes need

Children's sleepwear in sizes 9 months to 14 must be flame resistant or snug-fitting, and its permanent care label is there to protect that flame resistance. Chlorine bleach shouldn't be used on flame-retardant finishes or spandex, and pediatricians note that soap flakes (true soap) can strip flame retardance, while regular detergents generally don't.

Any regular detergent is fine for most babies. Switch to a mild, fragrance-free one only if your baby's skin gets irritated. Keep presoaks, bleach and detergent pods out of reach and in their original containers.

By situation

Fresh diaper blowout

Deal with it as soon as you can, even if that's only a cold rinse and a basin of water until later. A stain that never dries is far easier to remove.

Old or dried poop stain

Scrape off any crust, then soak overnight in an enzyme presoak. A yellow-brown mark that stays after washing usually needs an oxygen bleach soak, repeated if needed.

It already went through the dryer

Soak again in an enzyme presoak and rewash with bleach safe for the fabric. Repeated soaks may lighten it, but a heat-set mark may not fully come out.

White onesies versus colored clothes

White cotton onesies labeled bleach-safe can take chlorine bleach in the wash after the enzyme soak. On colors, use oxygen bleach after a test on an inside seam.

Sleepers and pajamas

Follow the permanent care label to keep the flame resistance. Avoid chlorine bleach on flame-retardant fabrics, and don't use soap flakes. Synthetic sleepwear and anything with spandex is heat-sensitive, so use low heat when you do dry it.

Diarrhea or a stomach bug

Handle the clothes without shaking them, remove the solids, then wash with detergent in hot water on the longest cycle and dry on high heat, as the CDC advises for illness-soiled laundry. Stain treatment comes first if you want to save the item, since heat sets the stain.

What not to do

• Don't rinse with hot water first. Heat sets the protein in stool into the fibers.
• Don't use the dryer until the stain is gone. Dryer heat can make a leftover mark permanent.
• Don't use chlorine bleach on sleepwear with flame-retardant finishes or spandex. Extension guidance says chlorine bleach should not be used on those fabrics.
• Don't mix chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar. Both combinations release toxic gases.

Other methods that work

Sunlight on white cotton

Drying stained white cotton in direct sun is a traditional bleaching method with weak evidence. Old government guidance used sun bleaching for many stains on white fabrics, and UV light does fade some pigments.

Caution: Whites only. Sun fades colors and weakens nylon, so keep colored items and synthetics in the shade.

Dish soap

A drop of dish soap rubbed into the mark is a common tip for the fatty part of the stain. It's traditional advice with weak evidence for poop specifically, and an enzyme presoak does more.

Caution: Rinse it out thoroughly before washing.

Hydrogen peroxide on whites

A few drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide on a leftover yellow mark on white cotton acts as a mild bleach.

Caution: Test it first on colored prints or trim, and rinse well.

Stain still there?

A yellow stain is still there after washing

That's usually bile pigment. Soak in oxygen bleach solution as the package directs, then rewash, and air-dry.

The clothes still smell after washing

Residue is left in the fibers. Repeat the enzyme soak and wash with bleach safe for the fabric, then air-dry and check by smell.

Your baby's skin is irritated after the clothes are washed

Rinse treated items an extra time and switch to a mild, fragrance-free detergent.

Safety

• Wear gloves and wash your hands well after handling soiled clothes.
• Keep enzyme presoaks, bleach and detergent out of children's reach, in their original containers.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Poop (feces) on other surfaces

• Poop (feces) stains: the complete guide
• Poop (feces) on carpet
• Poop (feces) on clothes