Finding the best stain remover for white baseball pants can be tricky. It can be even more tricky to find the best non-toxic stain remover for white baseball pants. We’re entering our fourth season wearing white baseball pants, so I decided to do a little stain remover experiment using only the safest laundry stain removers.
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Choosing the Natural and Non-Toxic Laundry Stain Removers
I mulled this over for a while and checked lots of resources but settled on OxiClean Free, ECOS, Aleva Naturals Laundry Bar two popular baseball pant home remedies: baking soda + white vinegar and dish soap + peroxide and, lastly, the power of the sun.
There were a few non-toxic stain removers that simply didn’t have the best reviews, so I figured it was unlikely they would succeed at getting red clay out of white baseball pants.
There were also a few non-toxic stain removers that weren’t really so non-toxic when I researched the ingredients. Puracy and Buncha Farmers are two brands that seem clean in theory but unfortunately score a D according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) database.
I have tried both at one time or another, and Puracy was really effective while Buncha Farmers was just o.k. Buncha Farmers gets the poor score due to the formula containing sodium borate (Borax), but it comes in a bar form which removes the inhalation risk, which I believe lessens the concern.
I ended up using six safe, non-toxic laundry stain removers. I would consider three of these stain removers to be natural and the other three are fairly non-toxic with everything having an A or B rating from the EWG.
If you’re interested in how to use non-toxic stain remover for white baseball pants, you’ll want to stick around! Several of these options could also be considered DIY laundry stain removers, since most people have the ingredients laying around the house.
Natural Ways to Clean White Baseball Pants: The Experiment and the Methods
I ordered a pair of new white baseball pants and collected some red clay from our local baseball field. I cut the pants into five sample swatches to prepare for the experiment. The samples are roughly 12 x 8 inches so large enough to get a good idea of how effective the stain removers will be.
I applied 2 TBS of wet red clay to each sample and rubbed it into the fabric by hand for almost a minute then shook off the excess dirt. I added the last sample (shown in the 2nd pic.) a few days later once I discovered the Aleva Naturals bar.
The soil sample was different and a bit rockier, so it does look slightly different. Hopefully this didn’t skew the outcome much. I let the samples sit for 24 hours to mimic real life, as it takes me at least that long to get my son’s pants in the laundry.
Next, I applied the five stain removers to the samples as instructed on the label and put the sixth sample out in the sun. I had mixed feelings about washing them together or separate but after checking out a few experiments online, I decided to wash them all together.
I used a permanent marker to label each sample, so they wouldn’t get mixed up, and I took before pictures as backup in case the marker washed off. Since I hand cut the pants, each sample had unique identifying characteristics.
I washed the samples in hot water with my usual detergent, which is Molly’s Suds, then took after pictures when they came out of the washer.
Here are the answers to a few popular questions I found while researching baseball pant stain removal.
Is hot or cold water best for removing red baseball clay stains?
Baseball clay or dirt is considered a protein-based stain. Since baseball clay is protein-based, hot water is more effective than cold water at removing this type of stain according to sources like Arm and Hammer.
Should you Bleach white baseball pants?
While Clorox Bleach and other bleach-containing cleaners are quite effective on stains, they can cause lung damage over time. Studies show that regular exposure to bleach and similar cleaners is as harmful to the lungs as smoking is.
It can also cause skin burns and irritation and is harmful to the environment. Because of these reasons, I choose to avoid bleach altogether. If you do choose to use it, be sure you are in a well-ventilated area.
Best Home Remedy for White Baseball pants
Some of the most popular home remedies for white baseball pants are the sun (you simply put the pants in the sun for the day), baking soda + white vinegar and dish soap + peroxide. For this experiment, I tried all three of these methods.
The peroxide and dish soap and the sun had the best outcomes.
Can You Use OxiClean on white baseball pants?
OxiClean is one of the methods I used in this experiment to remove red clay from baseball pants. I opted for OxiClean Free rather than traditional OxiClean to avoid the artificial fragrances. You can read more about why in Dangers of Synthetic Fragrance and How to Avoid Them.
There is also OxiClean Baby, which is a good safe choice for laundry stains. Molly’s Suds also offers an oxygen whitener similar to OxiClean, but with two additional ingredients. I may give it a go in the near future to see if it outperforms the OxiClean.
I used the OxiClean per label, which was to soak the stained garment for 3-6 hours. Surprisingly, the OxiClean result wasn’t very good, which surprised me. It may have been the worst at getting the clay out of the baseball pants, actually.
Does ECOS Work on White Baseball Pants?
I’m a fan of the ECOS brand and have used several of their products over the years. They typically score well via the EWG database. This particular product, ECOS stain remover, was not listed, so I looked up the ingredients individually, and no ingredient scored below a B.
The natural citrus scent was nice, and there was lots of bubble action. The directions said to saturate the stain and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, which I exceeded.
Ecos did a decent job of removing the stains from the white baseball pants, so it’s something I would use again. I especially appreciate that it doesn’t require any scrubbing and wait time is minimal.
Will Vinegar and Baking Soda Get Clay Out of White Baseball Pants
If you want to get conflicting information read about vinegar and baking soda! Many believe vinegar and baking soda are this magical combination while others say they cancel each other out. After consulting with several sources, I applied the baking soda alone and rub it in with an old toothbrush. I followed with a vinegar rinse a few hours later.
The vinegar and baking soda combination worked similarly to ECOS on the baseball pants but maybe just a notch behind. One upside is it’s a very cheap home remedy that most people have on hand.
How to Use Peroxide and Dish Soap to Get Clay Out of White Baseball Pants
There are lots of articles on how to clean white baseball pants with dish soap and peroxide, so I consulted several. Most of the sources use Dawn dish soap, which contains a few harsh ingredients including, methylisothiazolinone and artificial fragrance earning it a safety score of D.
For the sake of keeping ingredients clean, I swapped it for what I had on hand, which was Trader Joe’s dish soap. Most sources recommend 2 parts peroxide and one part dish soap, so that’s what I used. I rubbed it in and coated the stain but did not scrub.
Peroxide and dish soap was probably the second or third best result of the white baseball pant stain experiment! It certainly didn’t make the pants completely white again, which wasn’t my expectation, but it removed more of the stain than any of the other products.
You can buy peroxide in a spray bottle or mix it with the dish soap and place it in a spray bottle for a simple non-toxic laundry solution that is super affordable. Just remember the ratio of 2 parts peroxide and 1 part dish liquid.
With a little perfecting, I feel like this could be an excellent non-toxic stain remover for white baseball pants.
Will the Sun Remove Clay Stains from White Baseball Pants?
Most of us have heard that the sun is a powerful stain remover, but it just seems too good to be true. I have tried it before with pretty good results, but I have never done a comparison to see just how well it worked until now.
It did better than most of the other stain remover solutions. It’s spring and not super hot yet, so I opted for a full 5-6 hours of sun. It was a sunny day in the 60s when I did this experiment. If it’s summer and full sun, you may want to shorten the time to 2-3 hours.
I simply sat the pants in a chair on my deck in direct sun and voila!
Does Alleva Naturals Stain and Laundry Bar Remove Work Get Stains Out of Baseball Pants?
I found Aleva while I was researching for this post and looking for a clean version of Fels Napatha, which unfortunately is not a clean product. Aleva can serve as a clean version of Fels Napatha, but does it work as well?
Aleva Naturals Stain and Laundry Bar is marketed as safe for babies and scores an A from the EWG. The directions say to wet the bar and apply it to the stained area. It recommends scrubbing, so I gave it a few scrubs but not too many as this is intended to be an easy button post.
The Aleva bar gave me good results, but it wasn’t quite as hands off as the other stain removers. It did well overall but was a bit spotty, which I assume was user error or maybe a result of the slightly different stain (as this was the one I added on).
Either way, it was definitely a top contender, and the bar is super affordable at just $6. I could see the bar being quite cumbersome to use on an entire pair of dirty pants! That’s the downside of this option IMHO.
Conclusion
The best non-toxic stain remover options I found were the Aleva Naturals bar, the sun and the peroxide and dish soap combo.
I think my results support why the Dawn and peroxide stain solution is so popular. One idea is to play around with other clean dish detergent brands to see if the results can be enhanced.
My goal was to find an awesome natural stain remover for white baseball pants that doesn’t require much elbow grease, buy my experiment fell a bit short. I think I will follow up with Molly’s Suds Oxygen Whitener in the near future.
I feel like most of these options would be extremely effective on colored baseball pants, which aren’t nearly as challenging. I’d LOVE to hear from you if you have a scrub-free, non-toxic stain remover for white baseball pants. I know I’m asking for a lot!
