How to Wash Baby Clothes

Before you make the mistake of ruining your child’s favorite toddler coveralls, baby pajamas, or bamboo baby clothes, you should take note of the changes you will need to make when washing baby clothing. Accidents will happen daily, and you need to be prepared to wash those baby rompers and toddler underwear. Therefore, knowing how to wash baby clothes effectively and safely will make your life so much easier and cleaner! Although some basic washing do’s and don’ts apply to baby clothing, you will have to take extra precautions to accomodate for your toddler’s delicate skin and their smaller clothing. Do not stress however, for it is very simple and easy, and the next time your child ruins their toddler pajamas, you will know exactly what to do!

Safe Washing Tips

When washing baby clothes, there are many precautions you must take into consideration. With normal detergents filled with chemicals and fragrances, it can be detrimental to your baby’s skin. Therefore, try your best to avoid that and use a gentler option such as an eco-friendly detergent. By following these five easy steps, there will be nothing to worry about!

1. The first step you take when washing baby clothes is picking your detergent. The detergent you use can have a big impact on your baby, for many common detergents have strong fragrance and chemicals that can be damaging to your baby’s skin. If you know your baby has delicate skin, choose your detergent accordingly. A fragrance-free detergent is always a great option.
2. You may be wondering if you should wash you and your baby’s clothes together or separately, but there are benefits for both ways. Having two separate loads is much more work, and with everything else going on in your hectic life, one load with everything together may be the best on time. On the other hand, if your family prefers a strong detergent and your baby has a skin problem, like eczema, you may want to consider doing separate loads. Also, babies tend to make everything they touch and wear dirty quickly, like your swaddle blankets, so having a seperate load just for your baby may be the most practical and sanitary!
3. Whenever you receive the best baby gift or buy news clothes for your toddler, make it a habit to wash it before they wear it, for you have no idea who has touched it or wore it before. A baby’s skin is more delicate than you think, so you have to be more careful and take more precautions with it.
4. Stains are inevitable, especially those poop ones. When this happens, you will want to soak the stained clothing in warm water and lemon juice for 10-15 minutes. After soaking, grab your old toothbrush and get scrubbing, then you can finally throw it in the washer with your detergent.
5. Before putting your baby’s clothes in the washer, take a quick look at the tags and look for any washing instructions, mainly in sleepwear, for the specific instructions are there to ensure your baby’s clothes last. Another way to keep your baby’s clothes new and fresh is to not overload the washer, for putting too many clothes in one load can put more strain on your baby's clothes and ruin them faster.

Different methods to washing baby clothes

Baby clothes should be treated differently than adult clothing, and that means making changes on how you wash some of the different articles of baby clothing. Whether it is slowing down the speed or changing the style of how you wash, adjustments will be needed so your baby can stay healthy! In addition, you do not want to ruin your toddler’s baby coveralls, so make sure to read the care instructions prior to washing to ensure zero accidents!

Machine Wash

Depending on the brand of clothing you have, there are specific instructions for each on how you should wash them. As parents, most of us are going to be using the machine washer, as it is the quickest and easiest. To prevent any ruining of your boys boxers, girls underwear, etc, always make sure to not overload your washer, for too many items could put extra wear and tear on the delicate baby clothing. Also, to make baby clothes last longer, use the gentle cycle, and always use cold water as it cleans better and is ideal for preventing shrinkage and color-bleeding. Despite the gentle speed not being as powerful as other speeds, it will work perfectly for clothing, bibs, blankets, and baby footies. If your baby has extremely delicate skin, it may be a good idea to use the rinse cycle twice to ensure all the detergent is gone from the clothing. Some other precautions you should take are never using fabric softeners while washing baby clothes, never use chemical detergents, and seperate the baby nappies from the clothes.

Hand wash

Although many parents will not be using this method, due to the time and effort that goes into this, it is better for your baby’s 2 piece pajamas (or any other baby clothing) to be hand washed rather than machine washed. Hand washing clothes will keep them looking fresher and newer, and you will save so much on water! If you do plan on allotting time to hand wash, there are a few simple steps you should take:

1. Wash your hands: You will be using your hands, and you do not want the bacteria transferring to the clothing
2. Use an eco-friendly detergent
3. Soak before and after wash: To ensure all bacteria is killed, soak the clothes in hot water 30 minutes prior to washing, wash the clothes, and then soak in hot water again for 30 minutes
4. Dry the clothes

How should I dry baby clothes?

Many parents may wonder what is the best method to dry baby clothes? The best way is following the instructions on the tag, and doing what it says. For example, many will say “tumble dry low” meaning use the dryer machine on a low heat. Using a low heat is the best way to prevent any shrinkage of clothing. However, heat drying can definitely ruin your clothes occasionally, however, it is much faster than hang drying. The best option is to dry your clothes on a low heat, but more delicate clothing such as a dress with lace, clothing with jewelry, sparkles, etc should be hung-drying to prevent damage.

Easy To wash materials

A flood of dirty clothes, such as those baby onesies, and stains will start to become the new norm when having a newborn, so finding clothes that are easy to wash and stain-resistant will be a life saver. Many already know that cotton is super easy to wash, but there are other materials you may not have thought of that can fight those stains off and are extremely comfy!

Cotton

One of the most common fabrics used in any type of clothing, cotton will shrink if it is not preshrunk or processed. Therefore, always read the care label to make sure you are washing it properly. If it recommends cold wash, this indicates that it will shrink if you use a warm wash. If your cotton clothing is already preshrunk, feel free to use any temperature to wash your clothing, just keep in mind the color of the clothing. For example, you should always use a cold wash for dark colored clothing such as dark jeans to prevent the color from fading, and brightly colored shirts should be cold washed as well. As for drying, over drying can promote shrinkage, so make sure to dry cotton clothing at a lower heat and remove them while still fairly cool to keep your toddler footies looking fresh!

Microfiber

Microfiber is another great material for garments, but there are 2 rules that you must follow: no heat in the dryer and no fabric softeners! Fabric softeners can clog the open spaces in the microfiber; hence, rendering it useless. You also want to stay away from washing cotton and microfiber together, for the microfiber will grab on to the lint. Ideally, washing microfiber clothing with just itself is the best, but if you must mix other types of clothing materials, make sure they are non-linting synthetics. For drying, hang-drying is the best, and it does dry rather quickly as well. If you do not have the time, you can dry it in the machine, just set it on a low heat or no heat.

Bamboo

With Free Birdees bamboo pajamas and children’s underwear, you will find them extremely soft and easy to wash if you follow these easy steps. To preserve your bamboo baby clothes, you will want to wash them with cold water gently, and same with drying. All materials can be damaged if the settings are too high, so make sure to leave your washer and dryer on the gentle settings to ensure your bamboo baby clothes will last and give you the most out of your purchase! Bamboo viscose also makes for the most breathable children’s clothes and best newborn gift sets, so there are many great benefits that come with bamboo.

Free Birdees Care Guide

Since Free Birdees’ clothes are so soft, but they are also of high quality so will last a long time. Put in the small little bit of extra care and the quality clothing can be passed down from one child to another. They will even feel brand new years after your purchase! To help, you should try green detergent, which is only made up of natural materials, so it won’t be as harsh to your bamboo baby clothes. Again, make sure to choose a gentle cycle when using the washer and hang dry if you are able to, but when time gets scarce, use a cooler temperature and low-drying cycle to dry.

Conclusion

Taking that extra step to properly wash your baby’s clothes with safe detergents and gentle modes can go a long way to a healthy and happy life for your baby’s clothing! Getting those soft baby clothes and receiving blankets are great, but you want to make sure they stay in that great condition, so take the extra time to purchase a safe detergent for your baby’s clothes and read the labels on the tags to make sure they last the longest it possibly can.