Do I have to pre-wash all baby clothes I've been given in case they cause a rash?

[ilovemyoboe]

I've been given lots of baby clothes for my bump, which is great. A friend told me that babies get used to whatever washing powder you use, and that it's best to wash everything in my washing powder before the baby wears in, in case the baby gets a rash.

My Mum and Mother-in-Law have never heard of this. I know my friends little boy has ezxema, so I was wondering if this could be why she found this. Would like to know if this is general advice, or only for babies with ezxema or other skin conditions.

I washed everything I bought for my baby before he wore it and would have washed anything if I was given it. Just because I am a bit strange though.

The first bit about getting a baby used to your washing powder sounds like bollocks to me, you'd be better off using a gentle non bio washing powder, brand is irrelevant.
However, I would wash clothes in something gentle (ecover or sensitive skin non bio) for a new baby.

I've always washed anything new for my dcs in non-bio (and no fabric conditioner) - I do the same with my new clothes though, as I always get a rash if I don't.

I agree with it being bollocks about getting a baby used to the washing powder, but I would wash the stuff anyway - it's probably been lying around for a while.

I use fairy non bio - mainly for DH but he's a wuss...

Hello all,
Thanks for all you replies. The concensus from yourselves and another friend I spoke to seems to be best to wash first anyhow to get any chemicals out if a harsh powder was used. Tend to use an environmentally friendly non-bio one (Tescos or Ecover) which are supposed to be gentle so will wash in that.

Am looking forward to sorting them all out afterwards - some of the outfits are really cute

we washed all our nb clothes in a brandless non-bio, but stopped doing that for new clothes after about six months. We also used conditioner for sensitive skin (some places specify baby safe but others just say sensetive) to make sure they were soft and non-scratchy.

Once ds was a bit older we eased off, but obvioulsy pay attention to whether your bump has particularly sensitive skin.

Another bit of advice is to tumble things dry, nt so eco-friendly, but at first it's a godsend. clothes aren't cardboardy, and you actually have enough clothes going around. drying time on a line or radiators is huge, and small babies go through clothes like they're going out of fashion.

My mil told me this, I thought it sounded a like an old wives tail and as ds had been given literally hundreds of outfits I ignored the advice. We didn't have any problems at all.