Removing Tempera Paint from Clothes

How often does it happen? Kids come home from school and you know they've had art class because they have paint stains all over their shirt. While I keep an eye out for kids who show up in their Sunday best or are repeat offenders, there will always be stains in art class.
There are a few things you can do to prevent this. First, encourage your kid to wear an apron. They are available and I remind kids of that every day we paint. Second, pick out a set of art clothes and have your kids wear them on the day of the week they have art. And finally, if they do get paint on themselves, here are some steps to get that stain out, courtesy of the University of Illinois:

Washable Fabrics

What you will need

• Heavy-duty liquid detergent
• Dilute solution of all-fabric powdered bleach
• Liquid chlorine bleach
• Commercial color remover

Steps to Clean

1. Pretreat the stain with heavy-duty liquid detergent. Rinse.
2. Soak fabric in dilute solution of all-fabric powdered bleach.
3. If stain persists and garment is white or colorfast, soak entire garment in diluted solution of liquid chlorine bleach and water. Chlorine bleach may change the color of the garment or cause irreversible damage. Check for bleach tolerance on a hidden seam. If stain does not come out in 15 minutes of bleaching, if cannot be removed by bleaching.
4. If bleaching is not safe or does not work, use a commercial color remover according to package directions. Note that color remover will take out the fabric color as well as the stain. Do not exceed 160 degrees Fahrenheit water with any synthetic fabrics*. Launder.

*Synthetic Fabrics are: Acetate, Acrylic, Polyester, Nylon, Olefin, Triacetate and anything labeled static-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, permanent-press, no-iron, stain-proof or moth-repellent