Washing baby clothes before they wear them?

MarissaJ - posted on 11/06/2012

my name is marissa. im a new mother as well honestly id wash them. ive always washed them before hes worn them. but ive put acouple brand new ones on him without washing them nd he ended up with some red bumps on his skin. i dont know if that is the cause but he didnt have them until after he wore the new outfit

Nicole - posted on 02/22/2010

personally i would. that is just me because clothes from lets say a second hand store could have been in a an attic and donated with out washing. or germs in stores from people always touching the cloths.....i dont usually wash like new jeans from the store like walmart but would from like a goodwill or something for myself. but i would always wash for my baby.

they say use a special detergent for baby skin cause of dyes and scents being harsh on baby skin...but now wiht the free soaps out there wiht out any of that i would just buy that for the house so you can do the laundry all together. i use ALL free for HE front loader wash machines works great and the baby clothes are still soft as ever. also use snuggle free and and bounce free dryer sheets for softning work great.

Michelle - posted on 02/20/2010

Definitely wash what he is going to wear . If you have some outfits that you would prefer to wash only if he is going to wear it then wait for that and just wash what layette you know he will be using . The reality is we all buy SO much stuff that not everything gets wore .
What some people do not think of when they buy new things is some of the dye can bleed onto your skin if it is not washed .
Something else to think about is we take all this time to make sure everything is clean for our new little ones to come home . Things collect dust from sitting and really should be washed before using to prevent allergins from reaching our babies the best we can .
Now as far as special detergent ... That was something I was kinda feeling like it was some conspiracy that was marketed to gank people . Yes it smells all baby like and pretty . BUT to me it is expensive and have found that purex makes their own baby detergent which is less expensive . ALSO there are some other non-baby detergents out there that are free of dyes and scents . One of my kids broke out with Dreft , and not tide .
Everything is more a trial and error . What ever works for you !

Herlene - posted on 02/19/2010

hi! all i know is you need to make sure that all your baby's stuff is clean to make sure that he/she doesn't get any allergies or bugs through them when he/she wears it. i'm on my 28th week and i've started washing my baby's clothes to make sure i have them all ready when she comes out. if you're not comfortable with the idea, then that's fine. just follow your instincts and everything will work out well..

Marina - posted on 02/19/2010

u should. i gorgot to wash an outfit that i put my daughter in and she got a rash and was very fussy

Abiola - posted on 02/18/2010

i think you should its better to do so and you can iron them after you wash them will look new still ok i do it

Megan - posted on 02/17/2010

I agree, it gets all the extra dye out of the clothes and some babies are very sensitive to the colors. I actually still wsh all of my new clothes before I wear them, it's something my mom did and I guess I have just continued. Because they out grow things so fast pick some outfits that you know you want to keep and wash those, and if you want to add more you can but if you want to return the others you still have that option.



My doctor has told me that we can use any scent free and gentle detergent, however we have chosen to use Dreft. It is made for babies, expensive but I think it's worth it.

Katy - posted on 02/17/2010

Haha- agreed ont he onesies! I guess I am more concerned about washing the nicer, expensive clothes ahead of time. But the onesies and pant sets that I have I am fine washing. And I know he will go through a LOT of them, so that will be good! Sounds like everyone agrees on using a special detergent too. We use a mild, scent free detergent already but I think Ill use a special baby one to start with and see how he does.

Suzette - posted on 02/16/2010

Just to warn you, babies go through onesies like crazy! So make sure you wash a ton of them and not just 7 of them to get them through a week, outfits of course are different. Onesies and blankies and sleepers though, from what I've been told by other mom's, and have seen firsthand, they go through them like there's no tomorrow. So I plan to wash pretty much everything so I'm not running around like a chicken with its head cut off. That way it's there when I need it. :)

Katy - posted on 02/16/2010

I plan on washing some of his clothes, enough to get him through a week or so, and then just doing the laundry as needed. If I know were doing something and I have an outfit I want him to wear- I will wash it ahead of time. But I dont want to wash a TON of his clothes, only to have him not wear them/grow out of them quickly. Thanks ladies!

Kat - posted on 02/16/2010

You should always wash all clothes before wearing them. Clothing is treated with a chemical so that when they are transported & then put up into the stores they are not crinkled looking. Ever notice how all the clothes in the shops are not crushed & crinkled, this is why. If you see something & you know in your heart your baby's not going to wear it then by all means don't bother, just put it aside. I used our normal detergent & when my daughter was born we learned she had eczema, so I have had to change the washing detergent I use. I use a sensitive one now for the whole household. You never know you might be lucky & not need to change your washing detergent.
I also fully agree with Cecelia's comment about people handling the clothes. From the people in the factories in other countries, staff in department stores to consumers touching looking & trying them on.

Suzette - posted on 02/16/2010

I plan on washing all the clothing, or rather my mom is going to when she gets here before our little one is born. She did the same thing for my niece because there's too many stories of little ones catching colds from people who've touched the clothes or the chemicals on the clothes making them break out. We've always used sensitive detergent because my skin is so sensitive, but we also plan on getting special detergent for our little one as well, likely something separate than what we use, just to make sure. :)

Jennifer - posted on 02/16/2010

Hey I always washed the secondhand clothes but not the new ones until after he wore them first. . .I never had a problem until he got to 6months he developed a lil allergy to our detergent, got a little zit like rash all over, so I switched us all to sensitive skin wash like the kirkland brand and never have had a problem since, my mom doesn't wash with sensitive skin stuff and he is 21 months now so he must have gotten over it.

Ashley - posted on 02/16/2010

I washed all the clothes I got, whether they were bought or handed down. Also I used the baby detergent till my son was a little older than used scent/dye free detergent (we still use it).

Jayla - posted on 02/16/2010

I agree... u should wash ONLY the ones u plan on him wearing... like maybe week or so in advance but u should most def wash them in Dreft... Its not that expensive(23.99/96 loads) and it will save the heartache if he happens to be allergic to the detergent that u use...

Stevie - posted on 02/16/2010

It is important to use a mild detergent, you were lucky your babies skin tolerated it but think how bad you would feel if your baby had broken out in a painful rash all over its body :( I would use the mild baby detergent to be safe!

Katy - posted on 02/16/2010

Sounds like everyone is in agreeance then! I think I will just wash things as I go, then what he doesnt wear, doesnt need washing!! Thanks ladies!

Amy - posted on 02/16/2010

You should defiantly wash them, but not sure if you need the special detergent or not, it all depends if your little one will have sensitive skin or not.

We didn't wash any of our son's clothing in the special detergent, we just used what we use for ourselves. There can be chemicals in clothing so washing them would help with that.

SO I second everyone with yes, wash everything, BUT you may not need to wash everything in the special detergent, it's up to you if you want to use it or not.

Stevie - posted on 02/16/2010

They use starches and other chemicals to keep the clothes from getting wrinkled on the way to the store from who knows where and also you never know who or what may have come in contact with the clothing. It's very important to wash the clothes before baby wears them since their skin is so delicate and it is also important to use a gentle detergent like ivory snow for babys clothing and bedding. If you want to be able to leave tags on things you may resell just wash a couple onesies before baby is born and wash things as you need them, theres no need to wash EVERYTHING unless you plan on using it all but yes wash everything you plan to put on baby!

Natalie - posted on 02/16/2010

oh, and you can re-sell them at used baby stores like Once upon a child" That's what i do when my kdis outgrow their stuff and i get them new clothes with the money i get

Natalie - posted on 02/16/2010

I too always wash clothes before we wear them. The clothes are made in chemicals and i think it's safer to wash them first...

Synthia - posted on 02/16/2010

I always wash my daughters clothes b4 she wears them because i dont know if she will break out from the unwashed clothing and just to be safe. Dont worry you can always consign clothes wether you washed them or not as long as they are in good condition its fine

Cecelia - posted on 02/16/2010

I always wash my kids clothes before having them wear them.....lots of people handle the clothes in the store and I never know what could be lurking on the outfits.....