How to Remove Stains From Clothes (Without Harsh Chemicals!)

If your house is anything like mine, laundry stains are a daily fact of life.

For many of us, laundry tops the list of household jobs we’d rather not do. It’s often voted the one job we’d gladly hire someone to help with if we could. Especially with small children, stains make laundry even tougher.

Even some of my most crunchy friends will turn to conventional stain sticks and sprays to get stains out. Yes, even friends who make their own deodorant, toothpaste, and laundry soap still use conventional stain removal methods.

And who could blame them, since many natural stain removal methods don’t seem to work on tough stains?

Why Use Natural Stain Removal Methods?

When you switch to natural cleaning, you can’t just spray it all with Shout, wash it in Tide, and call it a day… so what to do?

Conventional laundry stain treatments are some of the most toxic cleaning products available. They contain harsh detergents, solvents, parabens, and a host of artificial colors and scents.

Then there’s chlorine bleach often used for white clothes that’s a major health concern. A 2010 study reported well over a quarter of a million children under the age of 5 were injured by household cleaners. Bleach was the leading source and can be lethal if ingested (most reported cases were from kids ingesting bleach, usually from a spray bottle).

Pre-Made Natural Stain Remover

Already know you want a natural stain remover, but don’t want to DIY it? Branch Basics has a non-toxic natural stain remover that works really well. You can use their cleaning concentrate and Oxygen Boost to pretreat the stained area.

Another good option is Truly Free. I’ve used their natural liquid laundry detergent for years. Truly Free has an Oxyboost stain fighter, as well as an enzyme stain remover and a laundry stain stick.

Both of these brands offer good non-toxic options if you just want something quick and all-purpose. If you want to create your own stain removers though, then read on!

I borrowed some wisdom from my grandma’s era and with the help of my professional stain creation experts (aka my children). I compiled a helpful list of effective stain treatments for various types of stains. You can keep this list handy for reference when you’re doing laundry. I’ve also included a printable version (at the bottom of this post) in case it will be helpful to you too.