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Baby clothes look so tiny that you might be wondering if it's OK to wash baby clothes in the washing machine. The answer is yes, assuming this is for regular baby clothes that are not heirlooms, but you should know what settings to use, which is explained here.
How to wash baby clothes in the washing machine
If you're wondering how to wash newborn clothes or baby clothes, you'll want to set your washing machine cycle as follows. Since each brand and model of washing machine is different, this will be discussed in general terms so that you can figure out what settings it corresponds to on your machine.
- Medium temperature - not the coldest wash (it might not get all stains out) and not the hottest temperature either (which could cause colors to run).
- Set your machine to use a second rinse cycle or at least don't use the minimal water use setting. This is a hidden secret that the washing machine repair technician told me - a single rinse cycle isn't really sufficient to get all of the laundry detergent out of the clothes. You don't want that soap building up and irritating baby's delicate skin. When I asked why a single rinse cycle was the default, he explained that washing machine companies have incentives to have eco-friendly performance and limit water usage. While that is a great thing, the single rinse cycle or default cycle might simply not use enough water to get all the soap out of the clothes by the end of the load. Therefore (if you're not on water restrictions where you live), you should set your washing machine to do a second rinse.
- Use baby detergent. Baby detergents such as Dreft are especially formulated to be hypoallergenic and gentle on baby's skin. If you're on a tight budget, I've written an article that covers cheaper alternatives to Dreft.
Best places to buy baby clothes that go in the washing machine
For baby clothes that look amazing yet can go safely in the washing machine, I recommend The Children's Place, Carter's, OshKosh B'gosh, and Old Navy. All of these have on-trend styles for size newborn and up - and as an added bonus, these brands are surprisingly budget-friendly. Often there's a sale happening at one or more of these, and in that case you can get styles at prices that are lower than discount store clothing. So get the cute styles! - you don't have to choose between style and price at those stores when they have a sale running.
If you want to splurge on styles that look stunning, for example for a formal baby photo or for special occasions, then I recommend Janie and Jack. They're a little more expensive than the other stores I mentioned, but it's worth it for the gorgeous clothing sets that are designed to work together.
How to wash heirloom and handmade baby clothes
On the other hand, if you have baby clothes that are handmade or are delicate - for example, hand-embroidered, you should not wash these in the washing machine. Instead, gently hand wash these pieces and dry them on a drying rack. Your baby likely won't be wearing heirloom clothes every day so you will only rarely find yourself hand washing baby clothes.
I go into more detail about exact hand washing methods in a separate article about why you should never dryclean baby clothes. So if you want exact step by step instructions for hand washing and drying of delicate items of baby clothing, it's covered there.
More tips for washing baby clothes
Always wash baby clothes before use. You don't know what's come in contact with the fabric during the manufacturing process, and you don't want that on baby's skin. Also, washing newborn baby clothes makes the fabric softer and less stiff, so it's going to be more comfortable for your baby.
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