Wash before return or not?

[AndWhat]

My DS (5) wore a brand new pair on trousers at the weekend. The stitching at the crotch came undone and a big hole appeared.
I need to take them back but they now are covered with his lunch! Do I wash them before taking them back?

Wash and return. Item is faulty but better to return it clean!

I’d wash them. I know they’re not going to put them back on sale or anything because they’re faulty, but sales assistant still has to handle them and presumably parcel them up to send back to manufacturer/head office.

Definitely wash!

Ta, I wasn’t sure if they tried to blame me for washing them rather than them being faulty

No definitely not, I'm a retail manager and the only thing worse than bringing dirty clothes back is bringing back clothes you've washed but not dried so we have to deal with damp clothing!