How can I clean my handwash only footmuff?

[ButtercupWafflehead]

I am doing an exciting load of laundry in preparation for my DC2 who is due in 2 weeks - footmuff is handwash only but has seen its fair share of dribble/other baby-related fluids over its time.

So really I want to boil it, it says polyester/cotton so surely should survive a 40 wash with a gentle spin?

Do I need to bother with anything more? I guess I'm feeling a little germ-wary. Advice appreciated!

What make is it?

I washed my M&P footmuff in the washing machine on a gentle 40C wash, it was amsolutely fine. Don't tumble it though.

It's Maxi Cosi.

I might put it through on Bio for good cleaning, and then again in non-bio for the baby.

Am I being neurotic?

I definitely vote for the bio, then again in non-bio [maybe even add some vanish to the bio cycle for stain removal?] I must confess that i used to wash DS's clothes twice in this way until he was about 14 months old - once to actually get them clean, again in non-bio so kind for his skin!

PFB alert!

Having said that, i am about to have DC2, and have washed DS's tiny clothes in bio, and will be rewashing in non-bio for the newborn. If you're neurotic, i'll join ya!

I was contemplating disinfectant

Well at least our children will be clean!

Who even makes handwash-only items for babies, anyway?

Pfft!

I know! It's insanity!

To be honest, I just won't accept that anything in the house, belonging to anyone, is either handwash or dryclean only, or won't go in the dishwasher. I try it anyway, and if it breaks, it wasn't worth keeping...

Actually, i might be really, really lazy?

Really?! You washed everything twice?

I am a bad mummy then because, apart from the mattress cover which was blitzed at 90 degrees, nothing got washed twice for DS2's arrival.

Surely a footmuff is what goes over the pushchair? Would it not come into contact with all sorts of gubbins just by being used?

Honestly, at this stage in your pregnancies you should be resting not doing twice the amount of washing you need to.

Look at it this way, you haven't washed the footmuff before and your first child survived using it, I am sure after a 40 dgrees wash the second one will too.

I should also say that mine are now 9 and 6 so it was all a long time ago for me. However, they are still with us and relatively healthy so seem to have survived my poor housekeeping.

Good luck with your new babies.

I know, I know.

But toddler crud seems different to brand new babies!

Have bunged in the washing machine - as you say, it's kill or cure!

If it looks clean and smells clean then it is clean is my mantra.

Putting a pragmatic hat on for a moment, every few bacteria will survive that long outside of the human body.

However, if I had talked you out of the washing twice thing (bearing in mind that footmuffs aren't next to the skin so Bio would be fine to use anyway) and your newborn got poorly in the first couple of weeks, I wouldn't like to feel it was my fault even though, logically it is highly unlikely. So wash away - you've got to do what you've got to do!!