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I am loving this homemade baby poop stain remover!! I had many readers tell me they were so excited I was having a baby to see what chemist tips I would come up with for baby things. Well, today I am sharing a homemade baby poop stain remover that works so good! This is different than most of the DIY options you see out there for baby poop too.
By the way, if you try something and like it, use #chemistrycachet on instagram to share!
Baby poop is unique, am I right?? It doesn’t come out good and has that mustardy yellow that sets in fast.
I can’t tell you how many blow outs sweet Amelia has had these last 3.5 months….so I have cleaned up a LOT of baby poop 🙂
This homemade baby poop stain remover is great and works for even those stains you have washed many times.
The onesie in this picture was actually washed about three different times, but the stain still remained. I use this DIY, and it got rid of the stain!
Pin Below: Homemade Baby Poop Stain Remover!
Ingredients:
4 oz hydrogen peroxide
2 oz concentrated blue Dawn dishwashing liquid
40 drops lemon essential oil (doesn’t need to be expensive!)
Cream of tartar
Cleansing bottle
Scrub brush
Directions:
- In the cleansing bottle (which has the ounces listed on it), measure out 4 oz of hydrogen peroxide. Then top with 2 oz of dawn and 40 drops of lemon oil.
- Shake the bottle well.
- Saturate the stain thoroughly with this solution.
- Sprinkle cream of tartar on the stain covering all of it well.
- Scrub in small circular motions on both side of fabric until everything is mixed in and combined.
- Wash on a cold cycle in washing machine like normal with laundry detergent.
- That’s it!!
How this Homemade Baby Poop Stain Remover Works
Now for the chemistry! I know our readers love seeing how this works, so I wanted to include this.
Hydrogen Peroxide and Blue Dawn Dishwashing Liquid
Peroxide is one of my favorite chemist inventions (read more amazing things invented by chemists here). This oxidizer works to whiten stains. When combined with a powerful surfactant like dishwashing liquid, it breaks up food based stains really well!
Why blue Dawn? I get asked this all the time. If you own the eBook, I talk about this too. After many years of testing homemade cleaners and solutions, blue Dawn worked better than ANY other dishwashing liquid I used. It is concentrated and a better surfactant than others. I always use it in my homemade solutions. You can use another kind you have on hand, but keep in mind, it might not work as well.
Head over to our DIY cleaning guide for more details on using blue Dawn.
Lemon Essential Oil
Lemon oil contains a compound called terpene. Terpenes are large groups of volatile unsaturated hydrocarbons found in essential oils of citrus. Terpenes do a few things in this solution. They add to the whitening ability and enhance the peroxide. They also break down stains even further! I don’t recommend skipping this step! Check out this very thorough post on lemon for skin that goes into detail on lemons and lemon oil!
Cream of Tartar
This is another compound found in the eBook. I don’t talk about it very often on the website, but it is one of my favorite ingredients for homemade cleaners. Chemically this compound is known as potassium hydrogen tartrate. It is one of the components of baking powder (along with baking soda). The reason I use this instead of baking soda is it has a better ability of breaking down stains that are food based!
Cream of tartar also activates the peroxide and lemon to whiten stains even further! You might be wondering if you can use baking soda instead? I have found it to not be as effective for baby poop! I recommend sticking with the cream of tartar. You don’t need much! Feel free to use anything cheap here.
Can This Be Used On All Fabrics?
Yes! This is great for many types of fabrics. Be sure to check out the label on your clothes to see what it recommends. I have used this on cotton, polyester, and combinations of the two. It has not bleached any colored fabrics I have tried this on either. As always, be SURE TO TEST colors before use!!!!!
What Else Can This Work On?
You might be wondering if this will work on anything else stain wise? It works on other food based stains too!
Mustard stains, ketchup, jellies and other protein based food stains can be cleaned with this! The ratio and proportions aren’t exactly good for things like ink though. I use my all-purpose stain remover from the book for that.
Feel free to try it on other stains you have just to see how it works!
Disclaimer: I always tell readers this, but PLEASE be sure to test small portions of this before using.
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Another great DIY solution from my chemist friend! I have seen plenty of “clean” baby Laundry w that yellow tinge from poop. Don’t have a baby but I bet this will work on “adult” stains – hubby’s coffee spills w commuter cup especially. And probably on the blanket that Daisy the dog accidentally stained with her poop. Will this work on chocolate stains. I love how you explain the chemical properties and interactions… thank you! ?
Thank you Laurie! This can definitely work on other food like stains. I haven’t tried it on chocolate, but I bet it would work! It does work for coffee too
Thank you. I think this would well for us, aged ones or folks with lactose problems.
Sounds like something all parents need to have
Yes definitely!
Does it work on colors without removing some of the colors?
I love that it works on other clothes then baby poop stains. My son is 31 yrs old . lol
I’ve used it on other colors and fabrics without issues, but I would definitely test it out on a small area of your fabric just to be safe. Lol, yes it works for other saints too! 😉
Thank-you! I am sorry that I did not see it in your post, my laptop is a older one that had windows xp on it before I put windows 7 so, it runs much slower than newer ones.
I will definitely give it a test/try! Thank-you for all your wonderful emails!!
God Bless you and your family,
No problem! I hope you enjoy using it!
Hi! Love this blog, so many great tips and I love hearing the science behind it. Just a quick question I looked through my stash of essential oil and I don’t have lemon! Would any citrus work for this I have sweet orange?? Thanks again!
Hi Lacey! Thanks so much, glad you enjoy everything. You can definitely sub what you have on hand. It won’t be as potent, but this solution works pretty well even without the lemon. The lemon is just an added bonus, so you should have luck with trying the orange too.
Have u tried the stain remover without the lemon essential oil? Does it still work? Is there a big difference in how well it cleans without the essential oil?
You can scroll down to the summary of what the lemon does, but it really helps break down protein based stains like this. I have used it without, but it doesn’t work as good. To get the full effect, you definitely need the lemon. If your stain isn’t old or as bad, you can try it without 🙂
I have an aviary with 4 parrots. Needless to say, they can be messy. I have tried a variety of soaps, detergents, including h202, etc. do you have ny suggestions? The biggest issue is bird poop on steel cages and concrete floor is difficult to remove if allowed to harden, which it does very quickly. The birds are sensitive to most harsh cleaners, like pine sol and other aromatic compounds, which can be fatal to birds, if they come in close contact.
I don’t have much experience with birds, so I am not sure what is safe for them…but this cleaner can work for metal. Especially the cream of tartar component which is really good for that. I would also try heating any solution to make it work better.
Can you sub the lemon oil with regular lemon?
It isn’t as potent, but you can use it.
I was wondering if I could use tangerines oil rather than lemon oil?
Yes you can use that instead. I have found lemon to be the most powerful for removing stains, but the solution will even work without it.
Hi! About to try this 🙂
I really enjoy your posts 🙂
I’m wondering how long the mix is good for once made?
Thanks!
I hope you enjoy it! It will last about the same as all DIY solutions, 1-2 weeks 🙂
Hi! Can you use this on carpet? If so would you just blot with water to rinse out the solution?
I recommend using our homemade carpet cleaner instead 🙂
Thank you! Still bookmarking this because I’m sure I’ll need it for laundry items!
What is the best solution to clean lots of ink stain? And also how to unclog kitchen sink with a non-working garbage disposal? I have bought strong Zep but read on both NOT to use on sinks with garbage disposal—–
Sorry for the delayed reply, this comment was in the spam folder. Ink stains in clothing do well with rubbing alcohol. Spray it, soak it, then dab it slowly and try to soak up the ink. To unclog a kitchen sink, I would plunge it if there is larger food stuck in it. Then we do hot water with dawn dish soap in the drain. This breaks up grease. If the clog is further down the line though, a plumber might have to access it.