zillion stains on school shirts. help please!

beemuzed

I always fell back to using bleach, although I know it'll weaken the fabric a bit. White shirts always look so smart - but totally impractical for school really!

narabanekeater

I soak mine in a weak bleach soloution but if your children are anything like mine even that wont shift them all. I ometimes wonder if they paint each rather than the paper

MessyTessie

I've given up with mine, I have a DD 10 and DS 6 and have come to the conclusion that I send the kids to school tidy and with a full school uniform which is more than many others manage so if the odd top has a couple of stains on them, tough.

DD managed to get green paint on her top on the first day of school which has never come out and six years later she's still wearing it(yes and it does still fit). I do have 'better' tops for photos days but if they get stains on them at school then as far as I am concerned they can wear them to school. I don't insist my kids have perfect clothes for any other situation where they meet the same people five days a week.

hilstep2000

If the stains are school paint, DON'T just wash them! Use cold water and hand soap (bar type) and rub the stains. They should come out, them wash as normal. If you use hot water and detergent the stains will set. (I'm an ex teacher, we know these things! lol!)

Austin_Allegro

If it's a white shirt, you're laughing, because if all else fails then bleach will shift anything and everything. I find a cotton wool bud useful for spot application. Yes it will weaken the fabric a bit but for a kiddie's shirt which will soon be grown out of, it doesn't matter much.

building_with_lego

You can use vinegar in the rinse cycle to neutralise the bleach- it won't wreck the fabric then

pollyskettle

building_with_lego wrote: »

You can use vinegar in the rinse cycle to neutralise the bleach- it won't wreck the fabric then

Did not know this, thank you! I think I might try napisan - 3 kids means 15 white shirts a week and the inevitable stains, although the girls aren't too bad, the nine year old boy is a total nightmare!

DollyDabbler

I've used Napisan on white shirts and got good results. I've pre-soaked and used bleach, depending on the stains too and for as much as its a pain to bleach and pre-soak stuff, white shirts are great as you can do this without losing colour. Having had blue shirts to keep clean, which came home filthy and paint spatterd, that could not be bleached, I would rather have white shirts.

meritaten

Either Biotex or Napisan will remove stains and keep white shirts white without damaging the fabric - either that or bleach. Then the hottest wash they will take.
drying in sunlight helps too!

dibuzz

I usually resort to bleach for my son's shirts.
When my eldest 2 went to that school they wore light grey shirts and my daughter started off in blue and white checks then some [STRIKE] idiot [/STRIKE] bright spark changed it to white for both :mad:
My biggest problem now though is rugby kits with white on the top and white shorts, both saying they need a 30 degree wash. I can't use bleach because of the badge on the shorts and other colours on the top so usually end up washing 4 or 5 times. It must have been a man who designed the kit