Now that children are back at school, those crisp new school uniforms are already picking up grass stains, pen marks, paint splashes and the odd lunchtime mishap. According to laundry expert Noor de Swart, founder and CEO of Super Label Store, the trick isn’t always another hot wash. Treating the mark itself, quickly and in the right way, can save the uniform from unnecessary wear.
“Most school uniform is being washed often enough already,” de Swart says. Rather than washing an item two or three times hoping a stain fades, she recommends dealing with it directly, since the right approach depends on what actually caused the mark.
Grass and mud stains need different treatment
Mud and grass can look similar on a pair of trousers, but they don’t respond to the same approach. With mud, patience helps most. Let it dry fully, then brush or scrape off what comes away easily. Rubbing while it’s still wet tends to spread the mark further.
Once the dried dirt is gone, rinse the area with cool or lukewarm water and work in a little liquid laundry detergent, leaving it for around 20 minutes before washing.
Grass stains need more attention from the start. Rinse the green mark in cool water and massage in some liquid detergent before the trousers go in the machine. An old toothbrush can help on thicker fabric, but de Swart warns against overdoing it, since heavy scrubbing can leave that patch of fabric looking different to the rest.
Pen marks spread fast if you rub them
Biro ink is one of the easiest stains to make worse. De Swart suggests placing a clean cloth or old towel underneath the mark and blotting rather than rubbing, which gives the ink somewhere to go as it lifts out of the fabric.
A small amount of isopropyl alcohol can help with some ballpoint marks on washable clothing. Test it on a hidden area first, then dab rather than soak the stain, moving the cloth underneath regularly so the ink doesn’t transfer back.
Blazers call for more caution. Between the outer fabric, lining, badges and contrasting stitching, a treatment that’s fine on a cotton school shirt isn’t automatically safe on a blazer. Check the label first, and if it says dry clean only, it’s best left to a professional.
Food stains depend on what was for lunch
There’s no single fix for food stains. Grease, tomato sauce, berries and chocolate all need slightly different handling, so start by removing anything still sitting on the fabric rather than rubbing it in.
For grease, a small amount of washing-up liquid worked into the mark and left for 10 to 15 minutes before washing usually does the job. Tomato sauce and fruit stains respond better to a cool water rinse first, ideally from the back of the fabric. With chocolate, scrape away the solid part before treating what’s left with cool water and detergent.
It’s worth checking the item again once it comes out of the wash, since food stains can look like they’ve gone while the fabric is wet, then reappear once it dries.
Paint stains are a race against time
Most paint used in schools is washable and water-based, which makes things simpler if it’s still wet. Rinse the mark under cool water and add a little laundry detergent before washing as normal.
Dried paint takes more work. Scrape off what will come away without pulling at the fabric, then treat the rest. It’s also worth checking what type of paint is involved, since oil-based paint may need a specific remover rather than a general approach.
Why more detergent isn’t always the answer
When a stain survives the wash, adding extra detergent and running it again feels like the obvious next step, but de Swart says it isn’t always useful. Detergent that isn’t rinsed out properly can linger in the fabric, while repeated hot washes gradually fade darker uniform items and wear down the material.
This adds up quickly with school uniforms, since the same trousers, skirts and jumpers can go through the wash several times a week. Turning darker items inside out before washing can help reduce wear, and checking pockets first avoids a far worse problem than a forgotten tissue, such as a biro or crayon going through the machine.
“Stains are always easier when you deal with them reasonably early,” de Swart adds. That doesn’t mean washing the moment a child walks through the door, but leaving a grass or tomato stain screwed up in the laundry basket for a few days makes the job harder than it needs to be.
