This post is an entry for the BritMums #ACEforSchool Challenge, sponsored by ACE. Get help for all kinds of stains with the ACE Stain Helper. http://www.acecleanuk.co.uk/ or to buy head to your local Tesco’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s.
My daughter started a new school this September. She’s in year 5 but we moved house over a year ago and the school run across town was killing me off.
The old uniform was a sort of faded maroon colour, which looked kind of old-fashioned but meant there was zero pressure on me to keep colours bright. The new uniform is bright blue and could easily look faded if I don’t care for it properly in the laundry.
The change of uniform meant that it was perfect timing when I contacted to put ACE for Colours to the test!
We were also sent some ACE Stain Remover, which we are incredibly thankful for because my son only eats food that will stain horribly and he likes to get covered in it for good measure. He’s at nursery, which has an optional uniform, but we send him in his own clothes.
We reasoned that between his love for messy-play and his hunger for highly pigmented sauces, there was little point in buying him a fancy uniform to soil, when he could continue to wreck his regular clothes. Until I tried these ACE products that were sent to use (the stain remover and the detergent for colours) I didn’t think his clothes stood a chance when it came to staying nice for any length of time.
You need to see for yourself, so I’ve taken photo evidence. This first picture it one of Greg’s tops after he’s devoured some pasta in a tomato sauce (would you believe that this is probably the neatest he’s been in recent weeks?!)
In case you can’t make out the finer details, the above is a photo of genuine encrusted tomato pasta stains! I used the ACE Stain Remover Spray to cover the affected areas and let it sink in for about ten minutes. When the ten minutes were up, I shoved the top in the washing machine with the other laundry and added a capful of ACE for Colours directly to the drum. I used with my normal washing powder on my favourite cycle (the one that’s not too hot and not too long).
I was surprised to find the stain had completely disappeared but the top hadn’t faded. We live in a hard water area and I’ve tried loads of other products in the past to no avail. This is the (quite frankly amazing) result. Try to ignore the creases, this was dried on a radiator.
The stains have gone and the colours are the same as they were before the wash. I’m really happy with the result.
My daughter doesn’t get as messy at school (maybe it’s a girl thing?) but I still have to mindful of caring for the colours in her uniform, especially since we live in a hard water area.
My Top Tips For Ensuring The Kids Have Clean School Clothes Every Day – #ACEforSchool Challenge
- There is no point in trying to stop them getting lathered in paint, dirt and food. I’ve found the most sanity-saving way to deal with dirty uniforms is to take a very zen approach and calmly accept that stains happen.
- Treating stains as early as possible is the best way to get rid of them, but as you can see from my son’s crusty offering above, you can’t always be there to remove the stain before it’s dried on. I advise to just aim to clean it as soon as you spot it (but don’t whip their top off in the playground, the other mum will give you some right funny looks!).
- Get a stain remover that will work well without causing your colours to fade. ACE Stain Remover is available from Tesco, Morrison’s, Waitrose or Sainsbury’s, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you to find a bottle.
- Take extra care for your colours. Use ACE for Colours if you’ve got some vibrant shades in that laundry pile. It kills germs, which I think we can all agree is essential when dealing with anything that’s been in a school.
- Invest in a clothes airer to get more laundry dry. We don’t have a dryer, and it’s not feasible to put the radiators on if the weather isn’t cold. A freestanding clothes airer is free to use and environmentally friendly. You can even stand it near a warm radiator in the winter to get more clothes dry faster!
Bonus tip: ACE can be used for regular household cleaning too! Use a capful in 5l of water to mop your floors with, leaving them hygienically clean and smelling fresh! You can also use directly on surfaces to kill bacteria. Try pouring some onto a sponge and cleaning that bit below the door-handle that always gets grubby on living room doors when you have children.
Like it? Pin it!
Love posts that show the reality of parenting and laundry. Great to hear how you got on – commenting for myself and on behalf of BritMums and thanking you for taking part
I still can’t believe the before & after on my son’s top! Properly amazing!
I need to give this a try. My kids are in their tween years, but looking at their clothes, you’d think they were toddlers. LOL
Haha my tween can be as bad as the toddler!
My kids are a challenge to clean up after! I really appreciate my go-to laundry products to make close maintenance a little more simple. It’s helpful to know what works!
It really is, especially since we have hard water, so some detergents aren’t as effective in our area. I can confirm ACE works though, very pleased with the results pictured!
I need this in my life – my 9 month old has blowouts here and there that seem to annihilate her cute clothes!! Thank you for the tips. Going to check it out.
Oh goodness! You definitely need some stain remover! Maybe leave it on for longer than ten mins before you wash off if it’s a particularly nasty mess!
Glad you found something you like that works. If I remember correctly this was a chore. My kids were hard on clothes.
My kids are! I wonder how they manage to get so messy sometimes!
I love your real life attitude on your blog! Such cute kids, too. That little one has some impishness to him, I believe! 🙂
Haha, thank you, he does indeed! He’s a cheeky monkey!
I don’t have kids, but I can be so clumsy that I need to have great tips just to keep my clothes keen! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I probably remove an equal amount of stains from my own clothes too haha!
Great review. I am not yet a mother but I love reading this. It educated me a lot.
It is incredibly hard to keep clean clothes for small people. I have never heard of this detergent, but I will need to keep my eyes open for it.
You should, it’s really good! I’m still gobsmacked it removed that red pasta sauce!
These sound like great products. I know all too well just how dirty and stained kids school clothes can get!
How do such small creatures make so much mess?!
Reminds me of how messy I would always be as a kid. Can’t thank my mom enough for keeping my clothes clean haah
I was always messy too. I often insisted on painting!
My black clothes fade and I get so bummed out. I’ll have to try this!
Mine do too! My poor black skinny jeans look so tired, so fast!
i have a toddler and they can wreak havoc on clothes. I’l keep my eyes open for this product
Definitely worth looking out for!
Such a cute picture of your littles! I’ll have to give ACE a try it really looks like it does the job and with a five year old of my own I definitely need some help!
Thank you, they’re a bit cheeky! Definitely try it, I was really impressed!
I’ll definitely give this a try! Thank you for your advice.
Fab, let me know how you get on!
Such a great review and I think I need to try this new product as I kids always love to play and touch anything they want because of that they always got stains to their clothes.