Babies

The Best Tips for Doing Baby Laundry

November 9, 2020 /

I was so excited to buy baby clothes when I was pregnant, but as soon as the time came to wash them in order to prepare for the baby, I was SO lost. I thought I had found the best way to do baby laundry (and to get rid of spit-up/blowout stains), but I have found a much better way. If you are a mom-to-be or a mom that recently had a baby, keep reading to find out how I do my baby’s laundry and to learn some handy tricks!

Laundry Detergent for Baby Skin

The first laundry detergent that I bought was Dreft. You guys. DON’T BUY DREFT. After washing so many baby clothes in Dreft and having my baby breakout with eczema, I learned that Dreft is literally the worst laundry detergent out there. It isn’t only bad for delicate baby skin, but it’s also bad for humans in general! Dreft is marketed as a baby detergent and it seems like the best one to use because it is so widely used, but it is so dangerous for your baby. My pediatrician recommended that I try using any kind of detergent that is free of scent and dyes. This goes for fabric softener and dryer sheets as well. I really like the TIDE FREE AND GENTLE detergent. It has done wonders for my baby and his eczema has started to clear up. If you use fabric softener, DOWNY FREE AND GENTLE is a great option! If you use dryer sheets, BOUNCE FREE AND GENTLE is the way to go! As long as you are using something that is free and gentle, your baby’s skin will be protected! I really can’t emphasize it enough though- don’t use Dreft!

How I Run a Regular Wash

The first time I had to wash baby clothes, I had to call my mom. Are you supposed to wash baby clothes in cold? Hot? Delicate? Regular? I’m sure everyone does this differently, but I choose to do it this way because I want my baby clothes to last long enough to make it through all of my babies. I wash my baby clothes/blankets/burp rags/etc. in warm water and on a delicate cycle. I then dry them for 60 minutes on medium heat. If I have a fluffy/minky blanket that is more delicate, I will wash it the same, but dry it on low heat or even let it air dry. I also wash all of the baby clothes together. I don’t separate by lights and darks because that would a) take way too much time when I have none and b) would make the loads too small to make it worth washing. I have found this to be the easiest and the best to do the baby’s laundry!

Stain Removal!!

This is the golden section of this post. Everyone is always looking for a good way to clean up stains and guess what? You just found it! This “stain removal routine” has yet to fail me. Here are the steps!

  1. Rinse out the clothing item that has been stained. I usually rinse it out with cold water in the bathroom sink (I keep rinsing until I stop seeing the color of the stain drip when I ring it out).
  2. Lay the item out on the dryer (or an open clean counter, the dryer is just the easiest for me) and make sure the stained spot is easily accessible (not folded/wrinkled).
  3. Spray SHOUT laundry spray on the spot until it is saturated well.
  4. Rub GOOP HAND CLEANER on the spot and scrub the material (around the spot) together. I usually use about a teaspoon amount of goop. I just grab it with my finger- a little bit goes a LONG way with this stuff.
  5. Let the item sit for 5-10 minutes and then wash and dry it like normal!
  6. Your item is now stain free! YAY!

Seriously, this works like a charm! I have been able to get stains out of my clothes that have been there for years! This is the best way to clean up spit-up stains and blowout stains!

Random Handy Hacks

All too often, the washer and dryer turn into sock monsters and eat your socks. If you think it’s bad for adult socks, imagine how much worse it is for baby socks! Baby clothes are so tiny, and they get lost so easily in the washer/dryer. I use THESE mesh laundry bags to put tiny socks and mittens in so that they don’t disappear. I really like using these for any delicate items, but I definitely use them the most for baby items.

Buy more laundry baskets! You don’t need a huge basket for the baby’s laundry because you are having to do it much more than once a week. I have 4 small cheap ones from Walmart that are fantastic! They were all $1.00, so definitely worth it! I don’t always get time to fold the laundry right away, so it’s handy to have extra baskets to organize the clean laundry vs the dirty laundry. You can also organize the baby laundry by “things that can wait to be washed” and “things that need to be washed next load.” There are seriously so many ways that you will use laundry baskets, so I would highly recommend getting some extras! The type of laundry basket that I have been referring to is pictured below.

You’ve Got This Mama!

Even if you don’t read up on how to do the baby’s laundry, you’ll figure it out. I am the type of person that likes to make sure I’m doing things the best way possible though, so I know I would’ve loved to read something like this when I was preparing for my baby. Doing baby laundry keeps you very busy and takes up SO much time, so mentally preparing yourself for that. I probably wash baby laundry 3-4 times a week, maybe more depending on how often there are big accidents haha. ALSO, plan to do a lot of laundry for yourself too. There have been many days where I have gone through 3 shirts because the baby kept spitting up all over me. Laundry becomes a never ending chore once you have a baby! Do you have any other favorite laundry tips? Tell me in the comments!

You May Also Like

The Best Baby Hacks

October 27, 2020
convenient baby clothing

My Favorite Styles of Baby Clothing in the First Year

May 6, 2021
baby's first valentines day

Baby’s First Valentines Day Photoshoot Ideas

February 4, 2021

30 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *