Washing all the baby stuff

[socktastic]

Had mentioned to a friend the other day about the baby stuff I'd been buying and it came up in conversation that I was going to wash all the clothes and sheets etc first before baby came along. She looked at me like I was mad wasting my time doing all that.
What does everyone else do? I want to know that my baby's stuff is properly clean before he uses it.
Or am I going ott?

Yes I always wash the whole family's clothes before wearing. Apart from the fact that new clothes are starched, we have no idea how many people may have handled them.

Always washed new clothes, am 39wks with Dc6 and have just wasted all our baby clothes, sheets etc. Don't iron them though!

I wash everything before I use it- whether it's baby stuff or my own, I just don't like that chemically smell you get on things when they are new. I find cheap stuff smells the worst but other stuff, that's been sat in a a shop for however long, has other peoples germy fingers touching it and dust etc.

I washed all DD's clothes before she wore them, and still do at almost 4 years old!

It never occurred to me to wash new baby clothes before using them.

I haven't with any of my babies had 4 due another soon never did them any harm.

I think its a waste of time ironing a newborns clothing theyre so tiny really you can't see creases, theres not a great expanse of material.

I don't put outfits on my newborn they sleep so much and so many nappy changes easier in babygrows plus I think they look so adorable in grows. Outfits can wait till a few months old at least.

I didn't, stuff eill see its first wash very soon anyway - we've babygros that are on wash 3 or 4 in the first week alone. I am lazy though, never iron and bedsheets are certainly not done weekly.

I wash almost everything for dd before she wears it (2 years old now). She has eczema though.

I wash all new clothes before wearing - I wouldn't let my kiddos wear something unwashed. New clothes very often have toxic chemical residues on them, which I definitely wouldn't want near a newborn baby's skin!

www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/wash-and-wear-new-clothes-possess-toxic-chemicals-may-lead-severe-allergic-reactions-334254

Don't wash them. Leave the tags on. You will be literally drowning in clothes when the baby is here and if the tags are on you can take them back and swap them for bigger sizes etc!

What about donated clothes? A friend has given me loads of baby clothes which all smell lovely and fresh. Should I wash them?

I wash everything before use.
With baby clothes however I wouldn't wash everything, just a handful of items in various sizings to get you through the first week. I made the mistake of washing everything and my 8lb chunk didn't fit in some of the "newborn" size stuff I'd bought / been bought. Out of packaging, tags removed and washed meant I couldn't exchange for bigger sizes.

I washed most of my PFBs and then as I had less time I stopped doing it. Then I put DS in something brand new and unwashed and it brought out his whole torso in a rash so we are back to washing everything! All babies are different though and some would be fine.

I pre washed stuff until ds was about 28 months, then I stopped.

That was 18 months, not 28, sorry!

I washed everything for ds being born right before he was due because a lot of things had been sitting for weeks, same with this baby ill do one massive load of all the new and used things I have and iron anything that looks like it needs it. I have time since it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours all in.

I just washed and ironed all of my new baby's clothes before he arrives. I wasn't sure how to use the iron (seriously) and I'm not saying I'll use it again, but it felt like a lovely preparation emotionally as well as practically. I don't think it's OTT.

If I'd washed all the newborn stuff bought for DS before he was born, I wouldn't have been able to return it unworn

He was far too big for any of it.

I think it's OTT especially ironing it, cleaning I understand the logic but I still think it's over the top. Baby clothes don't even get creased why iron newborn clothes? I don't tumble dry baby clothes on the line or airer at home beautiful like that.

EGK you know your friend better than us . like you said she gave you fresh smelling baby clothes sounds like it's washed, why wash it again. Seriously I have a hand washing problem and I wash my hands like crazy I know about germs this is just absurd.

What about jewellery how many hands does that go through before you get it, do ppl sterilise it before wearing it?

What about money notes and coins they must be the filthiest articles around, passing through clean hands and darn right filthy hands that didn't see soap in the bathroom. yet it sits in our wallets, we pay for our food and sit down to eat thinking nothing of it. heck we would forget if we picked up a chip with our hands and started eating.

I wish I could say I see the logic but I think its so OTT

I washed most of DD's clothes purely because I wanted to - she only had vests and baby grows but I wanted them to smell of baby rather than shop!

I also washed all the secondhand stuff we were given because it had been crammed into bags and I felt it needed freshening up.

In fairness I haven't bothered washing anything else I've bought before DD has worn it - I do enough washing of her clothes without adding to it

I washed all the baby things because when we were buying sleepsuits in mothercare there was a toddler in there running riot with a snotty cold and it made me really aware of how many people touch the clothes before we do! Since then I've washed all my own & DP's stuff before wearing as well :)
I did wait til baby's growth scan at 38 weeks to see what sort of size we'd need though... The newborn stuff all got exchanged when they said we were expecting a 9-10lb baby!

I still wash new clothes first for my two year old if they go directly on his skin.