Which are the best laundry detergents for baby clothes? And is it really necessary to use a special soap? Isn’t there something cheaper to clean spit-up and food stains?
Jill R., Astoria, OR
A baby’s skin is sensitive, so it’s actually smart to avoid laundry detergents for baby clothes that have dyes and perfumes. If you can’t afford a baby-safe soap, you can try rinsing the clothes a second time to get out as much residue as possible. But that doesn’t mean you’ll have to live with stains on your little one’s clothing.
Laundry detergents for baby clothes are usually also safe for wool fabrics, too, and can be effective as a homemade moth repellent for items that tend to attract these creatures.
Everything I’m about to tell you about washing baby clothes comes from one source: https://www.tipsbulletin.com/how-to-best-wash-baby-clothes/. There are many ideas there to help you clean all sorts of spots and keep clothes in top shape.
For example, pre-treating a stain is the number one way to make it disappear in the wash. Invest in an enzyme cleaner if you can. It will become your best friend for removing spit-up and protein-based food stains. Or you may have plenty of success using Spray-N-Wash or Shout instead.
Oxi-Clean is another spot remover that’s excellent for getting out poop stains in cloth diapers. And, if your baby clothes have fruit juice or chocolate milk spots, those stains come clean if you pre-treat with vinegar ten minutes before you wash.
A vinegar and baking soda paste can be rubbed into clothes to get baby oil out of fabrics before putting them in the washing machine. You can also add half a cup of vinegar to your washing machine to prevent any static in your laundry and to keep the clothes soft.
Finally, here are the best baby clothes detergents that I can recommend to you. Try Seventh Generation’s Baby Natural, the Honest Company Laundry Detergent, and Babyganics 3X Fragrance-Free formula. The Seventh Generation product already includes an enzyme cleaner in its formula, and that can save you money and time.