Pants Stain From A Fun Kids Night - Now Ideas For Getting It Out?

by Jenevieve

Jenevieve sent me this picture, along with a short and sweet question on SR101's Facebook wall. What follows is our discussion back and forth, along with my answer.

Jenevieve said:

Any ideas?! :)

Taylor said:

Wow! Those are some stained pants! Is that grass and mud? In addition, on the upper right what is that? It kind of looks like blood? Finally, what fabric is this? Answers to all these questions will help me make some suggestions.

Jenevieve said:

:) I know, they had a fun evening! It is mostly grass and mud. The upper right stain is from hot chocolate. There is some red pasta sauce stains too, just for good measure! They are 100% cotton.

Taylor's answer:

With so many types of stains involved in these pants stains your best bet (although not guaranteed) is a long soak in a good presoaker, most likely overnight.

My suggestion would be to combine a scoop of an oxygen based stain remover, like Oxiclean, with an enzyme based stain remover, like Biz, in a big bucket of water.

Because of the protein parts of the stain (some parts of the mud and grass, and also the milk part in the hot chocolate) I would go with cool water, not warmer.

I would start with a soak overnight and see how that goes. If it looks like it is helping you can refresh the water and stain removal solution the next morning, and soak some more if needed.

You can also rub gently with an old toothbrush on some of the stained areas, but I'd do this after soaking a while so as much is removed with soaking as possible.

Once you feel like a lot of it has been removed with soaking, next you should wash it. I would do so in hot water, with the addition of either chlorine bleach (if it won't fade the color much) or color safe bleach if not. Make sure to check the pants stain before you put it in the dryer to see if it is completely removed.

Sometimes, I've even washed things multiple times (without drying) to get them cleaned. Each additional wash should lighten the stains further and further, and hopefully this will help.



Good luck! It sure does look like your kids had a lot of fun, so that is always a good thing! Even if the stains don't all come out, at least they have some good memories, right? :)

Does anyone else have any suggestions for Jenevieve for removing these pants stains? If so, please share them in the comments.

I answered this question as part of the stain removal help section on my site. You can ask your own question too, or read other questions I've already responded to.

Update: Jenevieve Showed The Results Of Her Stain Removal Efforts!

I love it when I give some advice and ideas, and then actually hear back to know if it worked or not.

In this case Jenevieve again posted on SR101's Facebook wall, to tell me what she did, and how it worked. She also sent this amazing "after" picture.



Here is what Jenevieve said she did, exactly.

Jenevieve said:

Ta-da! I think they look great, there is still a couple minor spots around the knees, but considering how they were..... I thought they were hopeless so I just used what we had around the house initially.

I soaked them over night in the sink in hot water (I started this before I had your reply!) with a combination of Persil Universal Soap and Earth's Berries Soap Nuts Mother Nature's Detergent. I drained the sink in the morning and did it again until after dinnertime.

Then they soaked in bleach over night. Drained again the next morning and did another bleach soak for about 6 hours.

There were still a couple spots but I was so impressed with how clean they were just from soaking that I bought some Resolve Stain Remover and treated the problem spots. I then washed them on the 'Extra White' cycle of the Miele Washing Machine, using the Persil Universal Soap.

I scrubbed the knees after with a brush and sprayed more Resolve on them, then did another 'Extra White' cycle in the washing machine. So here they are- totally wearable again! Amazing!

Before & After Comparison: Pin It!

Taylor says:

Thanks Jenevieve for sharing how you got out these pants stains! They did look pretty hopeless, didn't they? But with patience and time you got them ready to wear again. That is awesome!

I haven't heard much about the brand of soap nuts you used, but I would love to hear more about it. Many people have shared they don't work well for stain removal, but it appears, at least in combination with other things, they may do alright. Anyone can share your soap nuts review here, or read more information about them.

I love before and after pictures too! If anyone else has any from various stains, please share them with me, or ask me your laundry questions here!

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