How to get haldi stains out of baby clothes

Why haldi is so stubborn

Haldi’s colour comes from a strong natural pigment that clings to fabric almost like a dye. It turns up everywhere in a Pakistani home: in dal and salan, in haldi doodh on winter nights, and in the ubtan paste at a mayun, where it arrives mixed with oil and gram flour. The oil helps it sink into the fibres, which is why a haldi mark often spreads into a soft yellow halo around the original spot.

The good news is that the same pigment breaks down in sunlight. Most haldi stains on white and light clothes can be faded to nothing with patience, even if the first wash barely seems to touch them.

Don’t panic if it turns red

Turmeric changes colour with alkali. Rub a haldi stain with bar soap or washing soda and it can turn a startling reddish-brown. This looks as if you have made things worse, but it is only a colour change: rinse with plain water and the stain returns to yellow, and the sun fades it from there.

It is still better to start with liquid detergent or washing-up liquid than a strong soap bar, so you can see what you’re dealing with.

Step by step

• Scrape off any paste or food with a blunt knife or spoon. Don’t wipe, which smears the yellow wider.
• Blot with a dry cloth, then turn the piece inside out and rinse cold water through the back of the stain.
• Rub a drop of washing-up liquid into the mark to lift the oil, leave it for 10 minutes, and rinse.
• Soak for an hour in cool water with detergent, then wash as the care label says.
• Dry in direct sun with the stain facing the light. White and pale pieces often come clean in one or two sunny days.
• If a faint shadow remains, repeat the soak and the sun. Turmeric often needs two or three rounds, and each one helps.
• Don’t iron or tumble dry until the stain has gone; heat fixes the colour.

Timing is forgiving

Unlike milk, a haldi stain doesn’t set badly just because it dried, as long as it hasn’t met an iron, a dryer or a hot wash. So at an event, blot it, bag it and leave it. At home, a stain that dried overnight can still be treated with the steps above and faded in the sun over a day or two. The things to avoid are heat and scrubbing, not waiting.

Coloured and special outfits

Coloured clothes are trickier, because a long spell in strong sun fades the fabric as well as the stain. Arrange the piece so mostly the stained patch is in the sun and bring it in after an hour or two, repeating over a few days. An oxygen-based stain remover can help on colourfast fabric: test it first on an inside seam.

For a silk, velvet or heavily embroidered outfit, don’t experiment at home. Take it to a dry cleaner soon, and tell them it is turmeric so they can treat it properly. Our guide on washing embroidered kids’ clothes explains which fabrics are safe to wash yourself.

Planning for a mayun

At a mayun or haldi ceremony, children tend to end up with yellow hands and yellow clothes, whatever you plan. Many families dress little ones in yellow or marigold for the day, which hides the worst of it, or keep the good outfit for photos and change them into something washable for the paste itself. If you’re having an outfit made for the event, you can ask for a yellow or mustard shade through our custom orders, and our guide to kids’ outfits for a Pakistani wedding covers what to wear for each event.

Carry a zip bag and a small bottle of water so you can rinse and bag a stained piece on the spot. More quick fixes are in our guide on how to wash baby clothes.

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