# Ideas? Stain on highchair tray?



## Tiffany_PartyOf7 (Mar 1, 2009)

We have Space Saver highchairs from Fisher-Price so our kids can sit at the table with us. The trays after we eat anything with tomato sauce look pretty funky. It takes days for the stain to disappear. My husband thinks that if the stain stays that it can build mold? I thought a stain was just a stain? Maybe I'm wrong? Anyways, he wants to use bleach on them and I don't. In my mind thats too harsh to put on a tray a child will eat off of. He says mold would be worse? Is there any natural way to get rid of the stain? Thanks.


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## Denvergirlie (Oct 22, 2005)

Plastic is porus, so it will absorb and hold stains. Tomatoes are about the worse thing.. maybe beets too.

Stains will not grow mold, for mold to grow moisture is needed, sounds like these are in constant use and clean even thou stained.

I don't have issues with bleach for things like this. Granted I would make sure it was cleaned after using the bleach as well as dried, but excess bleach will evaporate off of a surface like this.

You could swipe the trays with a bit of coooking oil before serving food that stains, the oil will fill the porcus holes and protect the plastic from picking up stains. No need to drown the tray in oil, just a swipe to seal the pours.

When we still used plastic food containers for leftovers, I would always use my spray PAM type oil to hit the inside of the container before adding in things like spaghetti and sauce. It cut down on the staining. I still would occasionally soak those containers in hot bleach water from time to time, but always washed them again after the bleach soak.

Good luck


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## green_momma2007 (Jul 22, 2007)

It's been my experience that those stains go away after a few days of cleaning. You can also try whitening toothpaste. I use it to rub out stains on my white kitchen counter and it works wonders!


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## Oliver's Mama (Jun 28, 2008)

Maybe this isn't good, but my solution to the problem is to not give my ds food that stains, since it will inevitably end up all over him and our house. Luckily, he doesn't mind food without sauce and stuff. If we really want something messy/stainy, I help control the spoon and keep the food out of reach. I also have ds use a corelle bowl for his food which doesn't stain or break; that could help, so long as they keep the food in the bowl!







:


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## crl (May 9, 2004)

Just set the tray outside in the sun and it will take care of the stain! (And I never saw any evidence of mold growing on my child's highchair tray and it was often stained with tomato sauce.)


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## maple_mama (Jan 7, 2009)

I second the recommendation of sitting it outside in the sun--the sun will remove any sort of reddish stain, I've found. I also do this with clothes that have tomato stains on them and they come out in about 15 minutes of being in the sun.


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## UptownZoo (May 11, 2003)

Yup, sunshine. Just a few minutes in the sun and it'll look like new again.


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## Tiffany_PartyOf7 (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks for the responses. Will def. be setting it in the sun tomorrow.

Tomato sauce is staple in our house LOL. My 13 month old seriously will only eat bread and things with tomato sauce - it's driving me insane and I have no idea how to get him to eat other healthy foods. no fruit, no veggies, nothing. I'm going to buy that book about how to hide healthy stuff into foods tomorrow! LOL


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