Washing clothes before baby uses them

[LibbyLou123]

AIBU to not understand why my sister washes all of her newborn babies brand new clothes before she will dress him in them? I mean, she literally removes the price tag and throws them straight in the wash. A bit PFBish?

Yep. i've always done it!

We do have sensitive skin.

I once put a new duvet cover on our bed and the next morning i woke up with a nasty rash all down the inside of my leg. ( from sleeping with my leg out iyswim). I had to get cream for the Docs to clear it up.

I now wash everything new, fabric wise.

I never washed the baby clothes. The only thing I wash after buying now is DS's pants, as when he went from nappies to pants he got eczema on his willy and was in agony whenever he wee'd. I still feel guilty now that I didn't wash those first pants. Oh, I do his bedding too.

Seems like I was 'out of the loop' on this - I have never know you were supposed to do this, and never have. I don't think I would do so tbh - most of our stuff comes from the charity shop and it is clean when I get it.

I got myself a new top to wear to a party at the begining of this month and didn't have time to wash it before the party. Next day I had a lovley top shaped rash. My own fault but it was still sore.
As I know how I react to these things I prewashed all the basic baby things like vests etc as I would have reacted even if baby didn't. With the more expensive items I waited to check they fitted first.

Reading this has reminded me of the midwife who critisised me for buying sensitive skin wash etc for i my dd1. Just because I had sensitive skin didn't mean my baby did.
Erm yes but i have sensitive skin and i need to wash her.

I've never done this and don't know anyone else in real life who I know does it (who knows - maybe they all do?!) and no one in our family has ever had a skin rash.

What do you do with anything that needs drycleaned?

I'm so confused about MN - no-one irons but you all (well nearly all) wash new clothes??

I just don't buy things that need dry cleaned. Everything I buy either has a very high cotton content or has to pass the "touch" test. Most manmade fibres don't pass. My work wardrobe consists of cotton tee-shirts with cotton jumpers and cotton slacks. Boring but comfortable.

Only washed the first lot of new baby clothes, while bored on maternity leave before DD1 was born! Decided not to bother after that. Life is too short! I think it's a ruse to get us to use more detergent. Detergent is chemicals too.
I do wash towels though, makes them more absorbent, but without detergent as I think it's a waste if they're not dirty.

I do this too, DD nearly 2, but I think its because I have an addiction to the smell of comfort fabric softner. I don't do it with everything, but anything that goes directly on the skin.

One of my colleagues at work
washes all new clothes. I'd never even thought of washing them before she told me this. But I can see her point about them getting dusty in the shop. Although if you worried about that you'd be forever washing clothes. They can get dusty from just hanging in the wardrobe.

Friend of mine came out in a horrible rash from wearing a new top which she hadn't washed. And she is a grown up.

Always wash new clothes before 1st wear, but definitely babies ones.

Some new clothes smell awful!

I started washing before wear after reading a news story about children's clothes with formaldehyde on them.

Always wash my son's clothes before he wears them but he gets eczema if I just think about him getting it!

I sometime wash my own, sometimes don't. Depends on what it is.

I did it. Even with some of my own new things, definitely with anything close to the skin.

Once dh and I put new bedding on the bed without washing first.
Never did it again. Had to get up and change the sheets in the middle of the night, I think they were treated with something, as we both got really itchy and uncomfortable.

I do try and wash new bedding and towels but as I've said. I didn't even think about washing new clothes before my colleague said she did.

yabu
clothes that are manufactured in hot climates (bangladesh, india) are coated in pesticides and mold killers, or they would arrive here black with mold and moth eaten.
I always wash dc clothes (and mine most of the time) before putting them in their wardrobe for this reason.

I'm 39 + 4 with my first baby. I washed all the new baby things purely because it felt like the thing to do once I started my maternity leave.

I never wash my own or DH's clothes before wearing though.

Reading everyones replies I am feeling a lot better as I sit here on Mat leave with a load of brand new crib sheets, swaddles and muslins going round in the washing machine!

I've also washed the hand me down baby clothes and new gifts but haven't washed anything new that I have the receipts for just in case my pfb arrives and is super massive/tiny!

I haven't ever done it with adult clothes but do with bedding and towels which now I think about it is a bit weird...

I didn't do it & tbh I'm glad. My ds didn't fit in some things as he was 9.7 when he was born. I took quite a lot of stuff back to exchange & I still have to do it as often he has grown before he gets to wear them.