Protein family: cold water first
How to get breast milk out
Mostly water, but the fat and protein turn a faint yellow-brown ring as it dries, sometimes days later.
Do this first
Rinse from the back with cold water
Fresh stain
- Rinse from the back with cold water
- Gently work in enzyme detergent and wait 15 minutes
- Wash in warm water
- Dry in the sun if white
Dried or old
- Scrape or brush off any crust
- Soak in cold water with enzyme detergent for 1 to 8 hours
- Then soak in oxygen bleach if a yellow mark is left
- Wash warm and dry in the sun if white
- Fabric care
- Safe on cotton and most baby fabrics. No hot water first.
- Time
- Fresh 15 min; dried 1 to 8 h
- How to tell
- Look: barely visible when fresh, yellow ring when old; Feel: slightly stiff; Smell: sour if old
Where this fix comes from
- American Cleaning Institute, Stain Removal Chart
- Household folk practice, checked against the guides above
We check every fix against these published guides. We do not run a test lab of our own.
Before you start
- Test on a hidden seam first.
- Never mix cleaners.
- Keep it out of the dryer until the stain is gone.