How To Clean Banana Stains From Clothes

I went to a family do at the weekend. I had to look smart for lunch and the baby's routine would be interrupted, so it was likely that I'd need to placate exasperated mid-meal yelps by lifting himself out of the high chair for a mucky cuddle.

Floral 1940s style maternity dress from Asos — A darker, busier pattern such as this floral 1940s style dress from Asos, £35.00 (Buy), will hide stains Photograph: asos.com

This may sound odd but my staple outfit for such an event is a demure, patterned dress. Over the years, I have amassed a selection of such items; Muccia Prada may have made the 1940s tea dress the ultimate frock du jour, but pretty retro frocks (30s, 40s and 50s style) have hardly been out of fashion this century; think Kate Moss' Poppy dress from her inaugural Topshop collection in 2007, and Pearl Lowe removing any hint of prissiness from her trademark tea dresses by adding khol eyes, opaque tights and vampish accessories. Despite their frilly appearance, these frocks can be surprisingly hardy when made in modern, washable fabrics, and you can pick them up endlessly in vintage stores and on the high street, often for between £25 and £50. The patterns help disguise grime if you dry your frock on a clothes hanger you won't even need to iron it.

I seem to get into more child-related gunk trouble at home, when I am least expecting it, and wearing stain-absorbent cotton. Before motherhood struck, bananas always seemed harmless enough to me. Turns out, however, that when you get swiped by those sticky 'nana fingers, unless urgent action is taken, indelible brown smudges will remain on your clothes forever.

Of course bananas aren't the only culprit. Countless times over the summer, I could not resist handing my child a soft berry while holding him on my hip. Foolish woman. Historically, I have been too busy (or lazy, depending on how you look at it) to put a concerted effort into tackling stains. But the time has come for me to research the subject. Here's what I've gleaned so far.

Banana stains
I find that if I wipe the offending item and pop it in the wash straight away, it will probably be OK. The Good Housekeeping Institute recommends you scrape off any excess banana, "flush" the stain under cold running water and then wash on the warmest setting the fabric can take, using a laundry bleach that is safe for the fabric. But if you're not keen on bleach, a post on e-how advises soaking machine-washable fabrics in hot water with some enzyme pre-wash stain remover mixed in, for about half an hour. Then wash in as hot water as possible (bleach is your last resort).

The blogosphere confirms my finding that if you let the stain dry before washing, you're in trouble, although a few posters swear that sunlight helps bleach the stain out.

Berry stains
One housekeeping website has an offputtingly thorough seven-step plan (it is helpful, but the number of steps may prompt a re-evaluation of just how much the stain bothers you). Here's a summary: scrape off excess berries immediately with a spoon or knife. Rinse with cold water. Rub liquid detergent gently into the stain and leave for five mins before rinsing with hot water through the back of the stain (which physically pushes the stain out), over the sink. Apply a stain removal stick, gel, or spray and then wash as normal with liquid detergent. If the stain remains and the fabric is white or colourfast, use a mild bleaching agent like hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar or lemon juice. Apply with a sponge and rinse. Apply stain remover stick, gel, or spray again and rewash with liquid detergent. If you're too busy to tackle the stain right away, they recommend the old trick of sprinkling salt on the stain to help absorb the juice.

Grass stains
American cleanliness guru Julie Edelman says you should soak in vodka, then dab with toothpaste, which sounds hilarious. However, the first part does tally with advice on stainexpert.co.uk: "for washable fabrics, basic rubbing alcohol can be sponged onto the stain as a 'pre-rinse'." You then let the fabric dry before sponging on cool water and rubbing liquid detergent in. Let it dry again, then wash as normal. As an alternative, they say you can pre-treat with with a colourless vinegar (either rubbed in, or diluted in water for soaking for an hour). Then you wash as normal. Fabric permitting, you can also go for special enzyme stain removers or bleach or peroxide. The rule is that if bleach doesn't work within 15 minutes, the stain is there for good.

Baby faeces
If you're lucky, you should only need to wash this stuff out of baby bodysuits. But my oh my, how it stains. As always, act fast. Good Housekeeping reckon the offending item should be soaked in warm water with a laundry product containing enzymes. Then, they say, wash in the machine using chlorine bleach, if permitted, or oxygen bleach. Other experts hammer home the importance of first flushing as much of the poo out of the fabric under running water. Sun bleaching is also recommended in web forums on this topic. But I like best this simple advice by a poster on Mumsnet: "Ecover stain remover and a hot wash. Honestly. It works."

However, I seem to be beyond this stage with my son, so if anyone else has tried this last tip, or any of the above for that matter, let the rest of us know if you agree. I've never used, or liked the sound of, laundry bleach so, has anyone got any green alternatives? I'd also love to know what other mothers wear for Sunday best outfits which are doomed to get clobbered with sticky fingers.