Washing Baby Clothes--Tips

Re: Washing Baby Clothes--Tips

• louloutte87 member

  March 2015

  Don't use a dryer - get them out on the line.
  
  I would also wash in warm water as I'm not convinced cold water gets rid of germs.
  
  

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• a316b member

  March 2015

  Why fight shrinkage? If it's going to happen, let it happen and save your time and energy, IMO. I'd much rather shove a load in the dryer than hang every little piece up in space I don't have. If it shrinks, then baby will wear until it doesn't fit and then go to the next size up (after those shrink too.)
  
  Agree with PP about warm water as well. (I even do hot when I do their sheets or if we've been sick).
  
  Also- go for the "dreft-like" detergent if you like, but it has fragrance and dyes that may irritate baby. We used it with out first for a bit, but quickly changed to tide free and clear. And now we don't have to sort out baby clothes from the rest of the family- they can all go in same load together. (Very convenient when you're both covered in vomit, or poop, or both)

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

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• DMEL member

  March 2015

  Fyi- Dreft has fragrance and dyes too.

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• CanadaMom17 member

  March 2015

  Costo has their Kirkland brand that scent/dye free, and seems to clean really well, I've been trying it on my laundry the last couple of weeks.  And, yeah, if they're going to shrink, they're going to shrink.

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• prettilee member

  March 2015

  In terms of shrinkage, the only way to fully avoid it is to wash the clothes in COLD water, and to hang dry them. If you are worried about it not killing germs (which really, if you are using a detergent at all, you shouldn't, the cleaning factor in the detergent is going to help with that), you can wash in Warm, and then line dry. The clothes still potentially could shrink, but you can stretch them out/down as you put them on the line to get them back to a larger size. You will have to do this every time. Washing in warm or hot water is just as much a culprit in shrinkage as the dryer. There just happens to be a way that you could correct/reverse the damage after the washer though. But as PP said, why fight the shrink?

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• scharle3 member

  March 2015

  In laws insist that we dreft.....really, does it matter??!

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• lola2bee member

  March 2015

  scharle3 said:

  In laws insist that we dreft.....really, does it matter??!

  Why do they insist?  What are they saying?

  
  

  Also different brand of clothes are going to hold up in the wash better.   Keep that in mind!

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• a316b member

  March 2015

  Unless they're doing your laundry, use whatever detergent you want!

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

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• supersarah77 member

  March 2015

  Agree with letting them shrink and just moving to the next size up. Plus different brands run larger (Mini Boden) and smaller (Gerber), so no sense making yourself crazy over it.

  Me: 38, DH: 35

  

  
  

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• englishbreakfast member

  March 2015

  My sister gave me a bottle of Dreft that she never used, I'm not crazy about the scent but may just use that up then switch to the Tide Free & Clear. I washed everything I have that's newborn to 3 months today, on delicate/warm water and low heat in the dryer. That was because there were some blankets with frilly stuff on them that said to wash that way. With the clothes I'll just wash them the way I do the rest of ours in the future.

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• MrsWhiteToBe member

  March 2015

  @scharle3 at my baby care class someone asked about dreft, and the instructor said the only reason everyone says to use it is because back in the 70s and 80s it was the only fragrance and dye free detergent, but now any free and clear detergent is just fine.

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