How to wash baby clothes before storing?

vtkgirl77

I'm about to put some of DD#2's 9 month clothes into a bin for storage because she's getting to big for them. I remember that when I got some DD#1's clothes out of storage for DD#2 that there were random stains/yellow marks on the clothes which weren't there when I had put them away. I think BH did a post a while back that this had happened to some of her son's clothes.

So, does anyone know how to give the clothes a thorough washing so this doesn't happen during storage? I'm wondering if maybe I should soak everything in a bucket with Oxiclean for a day to loosen up those invisible stains and then wash them normally? Does anyone have any ideas? I know for a fact that these 9 month clothes got lots of puree and spit up on them so I'd like to give them all a really good wash before putting them away.

Hey Jellisy

I wouldn't do the oxiclean soak, it will bleach out some of the color of the garment as well.  Speaking from experience here.  I really don't know though.  A quick internet search suggested adding vinegar to the wash or using bluing.  I wouldn't be comfortable using bluing on infant clothes, but I would definitely try vinegar.  That stuff is the thing of miracles when it comes to cleaning.     

vtkgirl77

Hey Jellisy:

I wouldn't do the oxiclean soak, it will bleach out some of the color of the garment as well.  Speaking from experience here.  I really don't know though.  A quick internet search suggested adding vinegar to the wash or using bluing.  I wouldn't be comfortable using bluing on infant clothes, but I would definitely try vinegar.  That stuff is the thing of miracles when it comes to cleaning.     

Thanks. I did some searching online too (including the Good Housekeeping site) and there doesn't seem to be anything that addresses this. I think I'll try the vinegar idea and do both a pre-soak and a double rinse to see if that will help get all of those hidden things out of the clothes.