I buy consignment clothing for DD. I learned to do this after she started daycare and would come home covered in dirt. Don’t get me wrong – I think dirt is a great thing. Dirt means she’s playing, exploring and having fun outside.

But um…as I’m sure you know – dirt stains. So does watermelon, blueberries and if you don’t act quick enough – tomato sauce.

So let’s talk laundry. I’d really like to know your stain removal tips and tricks.

Woman Doing Laundry by Henry Robert Morland. (And yes...I wear my finest gown when doing laundry too.)

I’ve tried the OxiClean route – no dice. I’m told it doesn’t work because I’m not soaking the clothes in hot enough water. That it is the hot water that activates the stain-fighting (ker-plow!) enzymes in OxiClean.

But I descend from a long line of people who believe in cold-water washing. My people taught me that hot water doesn’t release a stain – it sets a stain. (Not to mention shrinks the clothes too!)

So I’ve been sticking to the OxiClean Baby spray. It’s okay but you can’t let the spray dry on the clothes which means leaving the stained shirt/pants/shorts/tank in water to stink up the laundry room until laundry day. Blegh.

I also bought this neat kind of waxy stick that you wet and rub into the stain. Can’t remember the name of it because the label wore off but I got it at Boomerang Kidsin Kanata. It works okay too but isn’t 100% effective. I find I have to do a combination of the OxiClean Baby and the wax stick.

So what gives? How do all you parents – I really want to write mothers but am giving a shout-out to all you dads out there who do laundry – get the stains out of your children’s clothes?

Get them so clean you can drop your clothes off at the local consignment shop feeling tremendous pride over your ability to conquer the toughest grass stain, the meanest ketchup spill?

I’d really like to know so I can do the same thing.