Would You Donate Lightly Stained Baby Clothes?

Most places (Goodwill, Sally Ann, Value Village) won't resell anything with stains, no matter how lightly stained. They will either end up in the trash or cut up for rags. If they are still useable (and I personally would and have used lightly stained baby clothes) I would freecycle them or give them to someone I know will use them. I hate the idea that they will be wasted. Even the really stained clothes could serve as cleaning rags.

If I worked in a donation center I would probably throw stained clothes in the trash. Find someone that wants hand me downs and just give them away. Maybe a friend would love to have them for play clothes.

My first thought is this. Just because someone shops at thrift stores because they can't afford to pay full price does't mean they be grateful to buy stained clothes....Those thrift stores really mark their prices up nowadays too. A simple tee shirt at a thrift store this week was more than it was for sale at Walmart...that's crazy.

A womens shelter will be happy to take them.

Hi :)

Years ago, I worked as a summer student for a charity and we received items of clothing. Those that we did not sell in the shop (proceeds went to charity) we passed on to organizations that were more than happy to distribute to the right places/organizations/people. Definitely donate them. A lot of charities work together, and with churches, etc. If you dispose in the trash, no one benefits compared to it going to a needy family. I always donate - unless not wearable.

Here's the other thing - at the charity place I worked, we had some powerful cleaners. We used to wash a lot of questionable items (they wanted to sell as much as possible, to raise as many funds as possible for charity). We were able to get out many baby stains - food, formula, .. a lot of times people use sensitive detergents now, but you can still get out a lot of stains using Borax, etc. and someone may be willing to go to the trouble.

And quite frankly, from a lot of the shoppers at our charity, they weren't super fussy. They couldn't all afford to eat, so a little light staining probably wouldn't deter them from clothing their babies.

Yes! When I was a low-income mom, I purchased and used such clothing. It's only pristine until the first stain, anyhow. Clean is much more important than unstained.

Some donation locations also sort out questionable clothing and send it to rag companies, who sell bales of rags for industries that do messy work. I used to work at a sign shop that purchased huge quantities of rags to clean up paint.

I don't mean to muddy the waters, and maybe this is a myth, but I have heard that organizations can't sell stuff that isn't in good condition ( again I don't know how to define "good" because I would also used lightly stained clothes) but anyway, if they can't sell it they have to pay to dispose of it etc. and it's a waste of time for them to sort it etc and just bad all the way around.
if someone can speak to this and tell me if it's true or not I would appreciate it.

I have recommended freecycle.org in the past and really loved it, the regs have changed a bit and I haven't liked it as much but maybe you could try giving them away to individuals through that site.

Consider posting them on freecycle. Someone outside of your circle might be willing to take them, even lightly stained and make use of them, even if the thrift shops cannot sell them in this fashion.

I was none too fussy this way, frankly, my kid was going to put stains in most things soon enough anyway, so long as the garment wasn't too worn, faded, or pilling, I was happy to have it.

F. B.

I would donate them to a clothes closet, church, or women's shelter but FIRST at least try to get the stains out with a powerful cleaner like oxyclean. If the stains come out, you could re-wash with a more mild detergent just so they don't irritate the baby's skin. And yes, people are desperate at times but it doesn't mean they necessarily WANT stained clothes.

You know, I would only donate them to a friend, and as 'some get-messy clothes for the baby, if you want them-- they have some little stains but would be great for playclothes'.

Otherwise, no, I don't donate stained clothing.

If you didn't have enough money for food or your bills or a car, I don't think you would care if there were some light stains. You should put them in the consignment sale and if they are not bought they should get donated to a charity. Just out of college I moved to Alaska with absolutely zero money. My now husband started graduate school, I had a minimum wage job and we lived in a tiny one room cabin. I was completely delighted to be given my neighbor's husband's old coat they were going to throw away. It was an old down coat and was very warm...stained some but I could have cared less at that point! My daughter's preschool has a huge consignment sale twice a year as a fundraiser - everything that is not bought is given to charity.

I always use old unusual clothing as cleaning rages.. if cotton, then definitely tear those up and use them.. For donated items, I see it this way.. whether a person shops at a thrift store or not, would they want to put their child in stained clothing.. I mean even if it costs less... who wants what look like dirty clothing, not when you can go Walmart/Target and nowadays, get clean clothing that isn't too expensive..
when I was little and my mom took us to the thrift shop for our clothes, she NEVER would buy stained clothing.. poor or not... we were still kept looking nice, and this was back in the 70s.. I have to think other moms still feel the same way...
clearly from your post, you mean to do well, so donate what looks decent and as mentioned, use the rest for rags..

have a good one!

this reminds me of a question from yesterday. so i'll give a similar answer.
if the stains are very faint, and not right on front/bib area, i'd donate them. but if the stains are in an obvious place, or clearly a poop stain (however faint) i'd use them as rags or toss them.
khairete
S.

Go ahead and donate them. If they aren't used for resale, they can be turned into rags.

Absolutely. Someone who needs those clothes desperately won't care one bit about the stains. Babies grow out of clothes so fast that they don't wear them long anyway.

Seems reasonable to donate.

I would donate them. I still do. If my kids have some things that aren't in perfect condition but they fall in the "don't want/don't fit/won't wear" category - I certainly donate them. We live in an area where there is plenty of low income and I'm sure people would use them.

You might need to find someone specific to send them to though, because like others have said, Goodwill stores may not be able to put them out. Maybe a church? Call the local daycares and ask if they know of a place...or if they could use them?

I would. I would even buy, for cheap of course, lightly stained items because rest assured, my kids will stain them in a short time anyway. So, if I were being given the clothes, say through a charity organization, heck yes that would still be helpful.

I say yes.

The really stained clothes I would cut into rags. I can tell you when I'm shopping Goodwill or Thrift stores I won't buy something if it's stained. However, if your Goodwill has a clearance center it may end up there, they sell that stuff dirt cheap. Also, local consignment stores may have a quarter day or something and it could end up there. In those cases I would buy the clothes and use them as play clothes or pajamas. When you're selling them you could offer them to your buyers free, just tell them they're stained. Or offer them up on freecycle.

I would still donate the lightly stained clothes. There are many options for donating them: goodwill, Salvation Army, other thrift stores, women's shelters, and crisis pregnancy centers (I work at one and we love baby clothes donations!). There is also always freecycle, where you can almost always find someone to take baby clothing. Baby clothes always go very fast on freecycle where I live.

Finally before you donate, I've found that I can get most food/poop/spit up stains out with a combo of scrubbing with Murphy's oil soap and soaking in Oxyclean like another poster mentioned. I've been given many hand-me-down baby clothes over the years and any that had stains I've mostly been able to get out by this method. Scrub with a stain cleaner, some Murphy's oil soap, or even some detergent directly on the stain, then soak them overnight to a few days in an oxyclean and voila most stains will be gone! Soaking in borax works similarly I've heard though I don't use it myself. Then wash/rinse as normal. Final tip.....some stains also will magically come out if you just lay them in the sun. Just wet the item, place in a very sunny spot and the sun will bleach them out. Works magically for cloth diapers. Best of luck!

I have a booth in a "gently used" children's store. The owner goes out and purchases used items. Sometimes she can get the stains out and other times she can't when she washes them. The same rule applies for consignment or purchases from local moms. Clothes are viewed and if there are stains they are set aside to go to charities or to the trash.

A sign is on the door that the clothes must be clean and from a smoke free environment or there will be a cleaning fee charged.

Contact the local women's shelter and see if they are in need of any clothing.

Good luck to you.

the other S.

baby spit up tends to do that. if you throw them in the wash now most will come out. its like a stain in the carpet that you clean but reappears after people walk on it.

First--have you given a go at removing the stains? I'd eyewash & sell if they come out.
Second plan would be to pass directly on to someone with a baby that could use them.
Third, I'd donate & let the charity decide. Maybe first try to find a crisis pregnancy center. Sometimes church nurseries or daycares might need some spare clothing on hand.