How To Wash Laundry For Baby

Having a baby just about always means increased laundry. Because of spit-up, diaper “blow outs,” and babies’ general inability to control anything from coming out, you may find yourself changing baby’s clothes several times a day. New parents quickly learn not to leave the house without a change of clothes for their baby. As your baby grows, laundry needs don’t go away. Potty-training accidents and other stain-intensive events mean that extra laundry is going to be around for a while!

So what’s the best way to wash baby’s clothes? Does it matter what detergent you use? Following are some tips on how to launder baby clothes, and what soap is said to be best.

Don’t Fear the Dryer

Some moms are afraid the dryer will ruin their baby’s clothes, but once your baby arrives, you will find the dryer is your friend! In fact, the dryer tends to make baby’s clothes softer, and it will help remove excess lint, dust, or pet hair from the clothes. Another plus is the germ-killing effect of a hot dryer on clothes that were soiled before being washed.

Sunlight Can Help

While the dryer is your friend, hanging some clothes out can really help “bleach” out stains and kill germs. This is said to be especially true for cloth diapers. You might want to run them through the dryer for a while, then take them out while still damp and hang them in the sun.

Soaking

Moms often recommend tossing baby’s soiled clothes in a bucket of water into which you’ve stirred OxiClean powder. Then the powder can work on the stains and you can put off the laundry for a bit. This especially helps with spit-up and/or poop stains.

Do You Need Special Soap?

It depends on whom you ask. Some moms say it makes no difference; they just toss their baby’s clothes in with the rest of the family’s laundry. Other moms whose babies have sensitive skin make sure to use only detergents formulated for sensitive baby skin.

The problem seems to be that the delicate stuff doesn’t remove stains. Here’s an idea for a compromise – if you’re using the gentle detergent, try soaking in OxiClean as described above before washing with the delicate soap. And if your baby does not have sensitive skin, you may not need any special detergent at all.

Mesh Bag

Here’s a tip for keeping tiny baby socks, hats, and other tiny bits of apparel from getting lost in the washer. Put baby’s clothes into a mesh laundry bag (such as one might use for lingerie) and toss it in with the rest of the laundry. This will keep everything together.