Wash Baby Clothes

Baby clothing requires frequent washing due to messy eating, accidents, and outdoor play, all of which can lead to stains and odor. The sensitive skin and nose of a baby, however, require you to use special cleaning agents for clothing to prevent irritation and discomfort in your child. Additionally, special care should be taken with washing and drying so as to prolong the life of your baby clothes.

Steps

Washing Baby Clothes

1. Read the instructions. The fabric of your baby clothing might require special treatment for best washing, or may be washable with your normal laundry. Check the tag on each article of baby clothing and note washing temperatures, drying procedures, recommended detergents, and so on.
   • Pajamas and sleepwear are sometimes made of fire retardant material. This material usually requires special cleaning to preserve its flame retardant properties, so be extra careful to check tags on sleepwear.
2. Sort your baby clothing. Divide all articles of clothing into smaller loads of white, light, and dark colors. Keep any flame retardant garments separate to ensure you do not wash these with the regular laundry, as this can ruin the fire-resistant properties of those clothes.
   • If there are any differences in the temperatures at which you should wash the clothing, sort like temperature clothes into a separate pile.
   • You should always wash cloth diapers in a separate load, though you might consider washing these with towels to help balance the washing drum of your washer.
3. Set your washing machine. Now that you've checked the tags on your baby clothing and know the recommended settings you should use, set both the temperature and washer cycle. Then turn your washer on and allow it to fill with water. If garments don't have labels, wash these in warm water except for:
   • Cloth diapers, which should be washed in hot water to improve sanitation.
   • Flame retardant garments, which should be washed in cold or warm water to preserve their flame retardant features.
4. Add detergent to the water. Babies have very sensitive skin, so be sure you use a detergent formulated for infants. Strongly scented detergent, too, should be avoided, as these can be overpowering to very young children. Measure the correct amount of detergent based on the size of the load according to tag and label directions.
   • Baby-friendly detergents are made by most major brands, and are usually clearly labeled as being recommended for babies' sensitive skin.
5. Make your own detergent. You can make your own baby-friendly detergent by combining 1 cup of castile soap flakes, 1/2 cup washing soda, and 1/2 cup borax. Add 1 cup of the mixture to your washer and you're ready to launder!
   • It is not recommended that you use homemade detergent on flame retardant garments. The oils used to formulate castile soap can break down the flame retardant fibers.
6. Load your washing machine. Scatter the load of clothes you are washing into your washer. Submerge each garment into the water and make sure weight of the clothing is distributed equally throughout the washer. Be careful to not overfill your washer.
7. Await the end of the cycle. After you close the washer you will have to allow your baby clothes to run through the normal cycle. This will take some time, usually somewhere around 30 - 45 minutes. During this time, you might want to sort more laundry to prepare for the next load, read a book, or tackle some other chores around the house.
8. Rinse your baby clothes again. Any remaining soap in the fibers of your baby clothing can irritate your child's skin. To be extra sure this does not happen to your child, you should set your washer to run the clothes through a second rinse cycle.
   • If you are using homemade detergent, castile soap tends to leave more residue behind than store-bought detergent. Add 1 tbsp. of white vinegar to the cycle to help with this.
   • If you are concerned your dryer might be too indelicate for your baby's clothing, you may want to consider allowing your clothes to hang dry on a clothesline.

Eliminating Protein Stains

1. Identify proteins stains. Some might think "meat" when thinking of protein, but for a baby, this category includes breast milk, most kinds of formula, spit-up, blood, and most kinds of baby food. Protein can bind with the fibers of the clothing, making these stains difficult to remove.
   • If the stain is fresh, wipe away the excess protein that has gotten onto your baby clothes and soak it right away in cold water. This is best way to prevent the stain from setting into the fabric.
2. Remove any dry residue. If your stain has already dried and left a film, crust, or excess matter, you should try to remove as much of this as possible before proceeding. This will prevent the spread of a stain and lead to the best results when cleaning.
3. Pre-soak your protein stained garments. Heat or chemicals can cause a protein stain to react in such a way that it binds to the fabric you're trying to wash, which can leave a permanent stain. Soak these stains in cold water to help loosen the proteins from your fabric, agitating the soaked garments for best results.
4. Pre-treat the stain. Now that the clothes have soaked in cold water and the protein stain loosened from the fabric, apply a dab of baby-safe detergent to the afflicted area. Allow the detergent to set for a while, and then you are ready to wash.
5. Check tags and set your washing machine. You should check and make sure the clothes that you are washing are safe for a cold machine wash. You should use cold water to keep the protein from binding with fibers while the cleaning agents in your detergent lift the stain.
6. Wash your baby clothes according to the label. After finishing your pre-soak and pre-treatment, you can add baby-safe detergent to your washing machine and run the laundry through a cycle. While waiting for the load to finish, you might prepare the next load of laundry, accomplish other chores around the house, or take a short break.
7. Allow another rinse. To ensure that all potentially skin irritating detergent is removed from your baby's clothing, you should allow the load of laundry to go through one more rinse cycle. Once this cycle is finished, you can remove the clothing and dry according to the garment tag instructions.
   • If you are concerned your dryer might be too indelicate for your baby's clothing, you may want to consider allowing your clothes to hang dry on a clothesline.

Cleaning Body Fluids

1. Remove excess excrement. Cleaning dirty cloth diapers can be highly unpleasant, but these are an economical solution to expensive disposable diapers. Before doing anything, you should wipe or scrape all excess from the soiled spots on your diaper for best results.
2. Utilize a dry pail. You won't be able to wash every diaper the moment it's soiled, so you'll need a container to hold dirty nappies while awaiting laundry day. A plastic pail with a lid is excellent for this purpose, though you may want to prop the lid open slightly to prevent the buildup of potent ammonia smells.
   • Soiled diapers should be washed every two days, three days at maximum.
3. Pre-soak your nappies with white vinegar. You should fill a basin or soaking container with cold water and add a few tablespoons of distilled white vinegar to it. White vinegar is a natural cleaning agent that is effective at brightening whites and erasing odors, making it a solid choice for cleaning cloth diapers.
4. Dab detergent to pre-treat bad stains. Remove your cloth diapers from the cold water and dab the remaining stained areas with your child safe washing detergent. Allow this solution to set in the fabric for about five minutes before putting these in the washing machine.
   • Urine stains can be more efficiently treated with an ammonia/cold water solution. Dilute one tablespoon of ammonia in a cup of cold water and saturate your stain with it, allowing it to set for five minutes before attempting to wash.
5. Set your washing machine and insert your clothing. Most cloth diapers are suitable for washing on the hot setting of your washing machine, but if you are uncertain about this you should consult garment tags. Add your baby safe detergent to the water and then put your baby's dirty nappies in as well.
   • Some modern manufacturers of cloth diapers use synthetic fibers or water resistant fibers that require special washing procedure. If you have bought modern cloth diapers, consult its packaging or tags before washing.
6. Rinse and dry your diapers. To prevent any negative reactions from residual detergent, you'll want to run the diapers through a warm rinse cycle one more time. Then you can put the clothing into your dryer as normal, or follow the manufacturer's drying instructions.

Tips

• Wash newly-purchased baby clothes prior to use. Some clothes are exposed to chemicals and germs while being manufactured and put on display in stores.

Related Articles

• Do Baby's Laundry
• Donate Extra Baby Clothes and Baby Gear
• Wash Diapers
• Buy Clothing for a Baby

Sources and Citations

See also

• Wash Tulle
• Shrink Rayon
• Wash Lycra
• Unshrink Rayon
• Clean Polyester Fiber
• Wash a Leotard
• Wash Clothes by Hand
• Dry Pantyhose in a Hurry
• Wash a Zipper Hoodie
• Wash Silk Garments

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