Washing the baby's clothes before he gets here?

[Kimberlee_20]

I was told today, and COMPLETELY unaware that I was supposed to wash the baby's clothes before he wears them. I know to use Dreft, or a "baby safe" kind of detergent, but do I wash everything I get for him before he wears them, even if it's brand new?? Wow, this stuff really IS new to me - what else should I know that I don't?! Haha

[tiredbuthappy]

i think the theory is, in addition to the risk of immediate reaction, the more chemicals baby is exposed to, the greater risk of developing allergies later on in life. our immune systems are bombarded by so many different things from the moment we are born. Most are beyond our control, but there are some that we can limit such as scented detergents. Fabrics are treated for stores- that's why they look so good despite being handled so much. and of course there's the "ick" factor that so many have pointed out.

we use All Free and Clear, or any "free and clear" brand on sale for the whole family, and mix everyone's clothes together.

[1st]

Target makes a generic baby brand type of cleaner.  I've heard it's pretty comparable to dreft...
-1st

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I didn't read all the comments, but I always wash everything before my little one wears it and I use Dreft.  It lasts a really long time.  The clothes are soooo small and you can fit so many in a load, so the Dreft lasts a really long time.  Some people use regular detergent and their babies are fine.  I just don't take chances w/ their delicate skin.  I use the dreft until they are about a year old...maybe a tad bit longer but about a year.

[NicMom]

We wash everything before wearing it. They put so much junk on the fabric to make sure it keeps up it's shape and color. Dreft isn't that bad because if you think about it almost everything a baby wears can go in one load blankets and all. I only used if for the first three months and then switched out to Gain/ All (same company) and never noticed any skin reactions.

[cmoretti]

I would wait for washing. Reason being, you won't know if baby can wear it until he/she arrives. You may have problems returning laundered stuff. I would wash the bare minimum to get you through the first three days and then determine what will or can be used and then wash them before using them on baby.

[pookie1121]

i also wash everything new - half the stuff we buy now a days is made in china and who knows what chemicals it has on it from manufacturing process or packaging.  I prefer to make sure everything is washed once first.

[Riot_Queen]

I wash ANYTHING I get new for me and my daughter.
People cough and sneeze on their hands, itch themselves and for guys, SITUATE themselves and then they go to stores and touch all these different cloths.
There's too many germs going around you can never be too careful.
I like to wash my cloths because people try them on and I've seen some NASTY people out there, y'know?
lol

So yeah anything fabric i.e. blankets, cloths, towels & washcloths. ANYTHING fabric wash before you put them on your baby.

[Kimberlee_20]

Yeah I'm going to wash his clothes too, if they don't fit him or whatever  I have plenty of friends having boys. I'm also going to just use the baby detergent for the first few months or so and then when their skin isn't as sensitive switch back to detergent, I also use gain so hopefully that doesn't irritate his skin! If it does I'll just be using dreft for 18 years haha

[heatherlynn22]

i use gain and have been since the boys were born. they haven't had any skin reactions to it and i love how it smells.  but i wash all new clothes. babies and ours. my mom always told me, growing up, to make sure i washed everything new before wearing it. i guess it just stuck.

[JoyRenee]

I use ALL Baby.

[Kimberlee_20]

I noticed today while DH and I were shopping how expensive that Dreft is for only 32 loads! I think I'm going to try another one, but I'm going to wash a few outfits of different sizes just so I can bring him home in them, and find out how big he's going to be, then wash the outfits for the correct size.

Thank you ladies! :]

[JoyRenee]

Brand new clothes have chemicals on them when they're manufactured. Definitely need to wash all of them or baby will get a rash over their body as their skin is very sensitive.

Don't fret about not knowing all this- we were ALL in that place at one point! How can you know something if you're never told? *HUGS*

[GRose]

I usually use "All free and clear" detergent so I never felt the need to get dreft or anything. Even if I do have scented stuff I still have washed baby stuff in that and Noah was always fine. I think it is more so important right in the beginning.
I also wash everything together, if I waited to make up a load of baby clothes I would be doing wash once a month lol.

[jenkaye21]

I have always washed the baby's things in regular detergent.  Maybe that is taking a chance, but this is baby #4 and I've never had any problems.  I know babies can have senstivie skin, but I really don't believe they are as fragile and delicate as people sometimes think.

Plus, I wash the baby's clothes with everyone else's.
(Do you know how many teeny tiny onesies and gowns it takes to make even a small load of laundry??  LoL)

[Linzola1]

Honey you are not the only person who really didnt know that! I Didnt until my neighbor (old best friend) toldme. Her child is 2 months older than Julian and when she was 8months had this huge cleaning thing so I ound out then. Let me give you a piece ofadvice though Dreft is really expensive! My DH and I bought abottleand it did 32 loads and the nextmonth I bought ALL Baby and it did 64 loads.... If your going to use baby detergant thats the way to go!

[Vic85]

I'm like blueeyedtabbycat, I only washed second hand stuff. The new stuff I never bothered with and its never affected my chldrens skin. Maybe i'm a bad mom too!!!! There was always so much else to organise in the last few weeks. But I guess the truth is i probably should of washed them especialy like the other posters say about other people touching them and stuff.

[chantal21]

I've always washed everything because I'm so paranoid of other people touching it and handling it. Things you aren't sure of size wise, just wait until baby arrives and then go from there. Baby won't need everything at once. Also, I use All Free Clear and Jeremiah never had any problems. I have actually never used dreft before. Another thing I try to avoid are dryer sheets for the baby clothes as that can cause allergic reactions as well.

[colorado_g]

yes you should so many peple touch it in the store plus it will get dusty by hanging in the stoe

[kjbutcher]

I think some dyes in clothes can cause allergies, up to and including death because it is hard for a hospital to determine the cause of illness.  Plus anytime I would buy something new and let DS wear it immediatly it would dye his skin a different color.  I am very glad that did not happen in the first few months or I would have freaked out!!  I found it completely unnecessary to use the very expensive dreft...just all free and clear which was like 1/3 of the price of dreft.  

[blueeyedtabbycat]

I guess im just a bad mother but I never really washed much before baby. If I bought it at a garage sale or something it went straight to the wash. If it was new then no. But I guess with the spread of so many germs and such it would be a good idea, you never know who touched it while desiding not to buy it. You also never know how big or small your baby will be so I woul;dnt ripe the tags off everything and start washing. Just a few should be fine untill you bring baby home and then you can wash another load if you know you will be keeping the stuff. I have had to return so many clothes because we didnt get a big enough size or it was the wrong season and such.

[Grandmatobe]

I always washed new clothes for my kids, and my daughters have done the same with the grandkids.  I don't know if it is completely necessary, but we weren't sure if there were any chemicals or substances on new clothes that could irritate the baby's skin, so we cleaned them first (in Dreft).