How to wash clothes for newborns

washing newborns' clothes Everyone knows that newborn clothes shouldn't be washed the same way as adult clothes. Swaddles, onesies, and so on must be washed properly. But how? Answering this question outright isn't difficult, but it's quite time-consuming, so we've decided to offer this post as an answer. In it, you'll find information on hand and machine washing newborn clothes, as well as some helpful tips for caring for newborn clothes.

Before washing

Diapers and other newborn items need to be prepared before washing. Some careless mothers throw diapers, undershirts, and onesies in a lump into the laundry basket, and then, a couple of days later, throw a huge amount into the washing machine, sometimes along with some adult laundry, and wash it all with regular washing machine detergent. In our opinion, only a complete barbarian who doesn't care about their baby's health would wash baby clothes this way. The correct approach is as follows:

Before feces, urine, and other contaminants have dried onto clothes and diapers, rinse them in cold water. Rinsing in warm water will leave traces of feces on the items.

If you don't have time to rinse your newborn's clothes in cold water, you can place them in a basin of cold water and rinse them when you have time.

After rinsing the baby clothes, take a bar of baby soap and rub all the stains you see on them. It is advisable to rub the soap on both sides, so that the stain will effectively dissolve and then come off during washing.
Wet, soap-soaked items can be placed in a basin. No need to add water. They can remain like this until they're ready to be washed, which should be done in the evening. Keeping diapers wet for days on end is absolutely not recommended.

Newborns' clothes usually have biological stains that can be easily removed without the use of expensive, super-effective detergents. It's best to hand-wash such items with a bar of baby soap, but you can also wash large quantities of newborn or small children's clothes in the washing machine. In this case, regular bar soap won't work; you'll have to use hypoallergenic baby washing powder, which the manufacturer allows for use in the washing machine.

washing powder for newborns

There are quite a few such powders on the market: Garden Kids, Frau Schmidt Ocean Baby, Vish Baby, and others. They're easy to find, but you need to be careful. Before purchasing powder, be sure to read its ingredients. If the detergent contains surfactants, phosphates, or zeolites in large quantities, it is not suitable for newborns. If you are short on money or don't trust the detergent manufacturers, you can make washing powder at home – this is also a good option, although more labor-intensive.

By hand or in a washing machine?

hand wash After rinsing and soaping your baby's clothes and choosing a good laundry detergent, you can begin washing them. If you have the time and inclination, you can hand-wash your baby's clothes in a basin of water, just like our mothers and grandmothers did. Hand washing is, of course, a hassle, but it is also economical. You don't waste electricity, a lot of water, or expensive baby powder, because you can hand wash with baby laundry soap.

"Poops and poop" are best washed in cold water, but you also want to protect your joints, so you need to wash at a water temperature of 15-18 ⁰C – Don't fill the basin with ice-cold water; your health is more important. Place the baby clothes in the basin and begin rinsing and scrubbing vigorously. Items previously rubbed with soap should first be creased and rubbed, then rinsed, then rubbed again with a bar of soap and scrubbed again. After another rinse, all the stains will likely be removed; if not, you'll have to repeat the process.

When hand washing baby clothes, don't bend over the basin of water, as this will put strain on your lower back and tire you quickly. Place the basin on the floor, kneel next to it, and calmly begin washing.

In an automatic washing machine, washing newborn clothes should also be done in a special way. machine wash

Place enough baby clothes in the washing machine drum. Too few items can cause an imbalance, while too many can overload the drum.
Open the detergent drawer and pour a sufficient amount of detergent into the main wash compartment. You can't pour in fabric softener, or sprinkle in Calgon or similar products.
Close the drawer and the door. Select a wash program. A quick wash for 30-40 minutes is sufficient. What temperature should I wash at? It's simple: select cold water.
If your machine has a double rinse option, select it and start the wash. If it doesn't, you'll need to manually start a second rinse. It's crucial to ensure all detergent residue is rinsed out of your laundry.

After washing

Once you've washed your baby clothes using the methods above, you need to wring them out and fold them into a pile so you can hang them out to dry later. You don't have to bother with spinning; instead, you can simply place all your laundry in the washing machine drum and set the spin program. Some people still have old Soviet-era laundry spinners. In this case, one of these spinners is a great choice. The laundry will come out slightly damp, meaning it will dry much faster.

It's best to dry newborn baby laundry outside if it's not wrung out properly. In winter, be sure to thoroughly wring it out and dry it near a heater or radiator; otherwise, dampness will quickly cause mold to form on your walls.

drying baby's clothes

After thoroughly wrung out, hang the laundry to dry. If you live in a polluted area of the city, it's best not to dry your baby's clothes outside at all. In this case, a drying cabinet or a washing machine with a tumble dryer is ideal. Of course, these appliances are quite expensive, and if you can't afford them, you'll have to install a regular pull-out dryer in the room and a heat source nearby.

Be careful! Don't hang baby clothes or undershirts directly on heaters, especially coil heaters, as this could cause a fire.

Helpful tips

Finally, instead of a conclusion, I would like to give some advice to young mothers who do not yet have sufficient experience caring for newborn children, regarding the care of their things.

At what temperature should I wash my baby's clothes? Stains of biological origin, which are the majority in this case, are best washed in cold water (temperature no higher than 20⁰WITH).
When washing a newborn's clothes, give preference to baby soap; diapers can also be washed with baby powder.
Before washing, be sure to rinse your baby's clothes and rub them with soap.
When washing baby clothes in a washing machine, choose the appropriate washing mode and be sure to set a double rinse.
Never mix children's things with adults' things. Newborn baby's clothes are washed strictly separately.
When washing newborn clothes in the washing machine, do not use any conditioners, water softeners or other chemicals - only special baby powder.
When putting items into the washing machine, rinse them first and rub them with soap.
Do not dry clothes outside if you live in a polluted area.
If you have to dry your baby's clothes at home, do it near a heat source, but do not cover the heat source - it is dangerous!

As a bonus to the information presented in this article, we'll also discuss ironing newborn clothes. Some new mothers neglect ironing certain items, thinking it's not that important. This is actually very important, even if you dry your clothes at home. All baby clothes should be ironed on both sides, preferably with a steam iron. This will ensure you get rid of most of the harmful germs that settle on the drying clothes. Follow the guidelines outlined in this article, and everything will be fine!