Best solution for removing vomit stains

My son doesn't throw up often, but when he does, he's inevitably eaten something colorful, like strawberries, carrots, or the worst, avocado. Avocados are delicious, creamy, and delightful going down, but if they come back up, just throw out the bib or onesie and call it a loss. It must be the combination of fat and oxidization that causes such a nasty stain.  Most recently, my son overate at dinner and vomited in his crib while he was trying to fall asleep. The sheets, his sleep sack, his PJs, and the mattress cover were covered in his dinner, which included about a third of an avocado.

After washing everything once, it still smelled, and the stains were prominent. I washed them again. The smell improved, but the stains were still there. I soaked them overnight in Oxyclean. No use. I added Borax to the wash. Nothing. After laundering four times (but never putting them through the dryer), I was hopeless that these items would be recovered. That was until I had dinner with one of my nearest and dearest mama friends, and the topic of stain removal came up. She suggested a stain removing concoction that got blood out of one of her pillows and yellow armpit stains out of her friend's husband's undershirts.


1 part traditional Dawn detergent (to break up any lipids)
2 parts hydrogen peroxide (good at removing stains from unwanted bodily functions)

I was skeptical, given that I had tried just about everything, but I gave it a shot. I prepared the concoction and put it in a spray bottle. I saturated the stained items and left them on the porch for a few hours. I came back and sprayed again, just to be sure that every little spot was covered. Holy stain removal, Batman!! It worked. Everything looks like new. The only downside is that when you throw the Dawn-and-hydrogen-peroxide-saturated items in the washing machine, they create a LOT of suds, so I had to wash them twice to get them free of residue (oh, the guilt over how much water I wasted trying to get these things clean!).

So, I can't take credit for this one, Mamas, but I can offer a shout out to Jenn and direct you to her blog. She'll give you better advice about food that I ever will.