09/29/2021

Caring for Baby Clothes

Sometimes I feel like Gray provides an endless supply of dirty clothes, but the truth is that he produced many more dirty items as a baby than as a teenager. At least now he knows about napkins, toilet paper, washing his hands, and how to keep his food down. Between the baby drool, spit up, or poo, he dirtied a lot of his clothes, burpees, and bibs as well as my clothes while an infant.

Quality clothing, whether baby or adult, isn’t cheap, so below are a few suggestions on how to save your clothing and your baby’s clothing from premature retirement.

• Stash burpees everywhere – Babies spit-up, burb, drool, and dribble; it’s just a fact of life. I had piles of burpees when Gray was a baby, and there were a number of times where they saved my clothes. Carry them with you wherever you go, and always have one at the ready.
• Use bibs – When I look back through Gray’s baby photos, he’s always wearing a bib. It was my way of extending the life of his nicer clothes past one wearing. If he got something on his bib, I could quickly swap it out for a clean one, and he’d still look cute – and be clean.
• Address messes quickly – Just as with most adult spills and stains, baby stains come out fairly easily in the wash, if they are treated immediately. Always check the care label before making any stain removal attempts. Different stains will involve different treatment methods, but in general, you should first try to gently remove the excess. Then rinse the area from the back allowing the water to flush out as much of the stain as possible. Treat with the appropriate stain remover, and launder according to the care label’s directions. Check before placing the item in the dryer. If the spot is still there, do not place the item in the dryer; the heat from the dryer will set the stain making it permanent.
• The dreaded diaper explosion – I have a really short gag reflex, and my memories of diaper changing involve a lot of gagging on my part and a lot of laughing on Matt’s part. I can’t imagine anything worse than a diaper explosion. Not only do you have to clean up the baby and the clothes, but you also have to clean up whatever they are on or in – the car seat, a blanket, in a crib, on your lap. When dealing with poo, try to remove the excess, then soak in solution of hot water and laundry detergent. After, wash according to the care labels instructions. The same goes for blankets, the car seat cover, etc. If there is no cover to remove on the car seat, mix a solution of hot water and detergent in a spray bottle, spray on the affected area, and scrub clean. Use clean damp cloths to remove excess soap and water, then allow to dry.
• Detergent recommendations – This is simply a personal preference. When Gray was a baby, I used a natural, fragrance-free, dye-free detergent until he started pre-school. If you have questions or concerns about laundry detergents, check with your child’s pediatrician.

We’ve spent over 50 years addressing some of the most stubborn stains. If there is a baby garment, or any garment for that matter, that’s giving you fits, just drop it off at one of our locations. Stubborn stains are our specialty.