Not washing baby clothes

[Katyx3]

Did anyone else not wash baby clothes before going in hospital bag?
They are all brand new the ones I've been given have been washed
cue the hate x

[Aprilshouldhavebeenmyname]

Imo washing the clothes is good psychological preparation for the arrival!

[pumpkinbump]

I've actually washed them three times. First time I felt I didn't get around to ironing them quickly enough. Second time someone had a barbecue so I took the clothes in damp and washed them again. They're all ironed now and put in vac packs. I know I'm mental!

[BubblesPls]

It wouldn't even occur to me not to wash as I do without hesitation with my own clothes. I just think it's a bit icky not to wash.

You never know how many people have handled them and I'm just going to do a 40 minutes delicate wash so I don't see the big deal 🤷🏻‍♀️

No hate for those that don't though, your baby your choice :)

[NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking]

Not at all @arabstrap, I really couldn’t care too much about other parents choices as long as it doesn’t effect me or mine.

I was just curious if people are not washing them due to ignorance (I was ignorant of the full process before my first baby and looked into it) or are fully aware and still choose not to.

Wondering about something doesn’t automatically make it judgemental, and there are far worse things than what is being discussed.

Also thanks for the ethics lesson, but I am well aware of #firstworldproblems 👌 Mentioning the origin of the clothing doesn’t mean I don’t care about that process, but it is relevant to this topic.

[YearOfYouRemember]

I washed everything and ironed it. Washed everything again for baby two and three but didn't iron anything a second time! Used Fairy when they were tiny.

[Girlwiththearabstrap]

@Notsogreen

I'm sure many of us are aware of how clothes are made, transported and stored. But thank you for the lesson! (Which is judgmental btw) Your post exemplifies first world problems by the way. Talking about sweatshops and your biggest concern is that we are endangering lives by not washing in fairy non bio?

Also, find me any official advice from doctors or midwives that says that you have to wash clothes first. Or any actual studies showing harm coming to kids from not washing them. If You want to do it fine. But not washing is also ok.

[NotAsGreenAsCabbageLooking]

For those that don’t wash them... are you aware of the factory process and the amount of finishing chemicals they use on the clothes, whether they are in packets or not?
And that the majority of the time the clothes are made in poorer countries, maybe even sweat shops?

I’m not judging as it has no bearing on me if my life, but I do find it hard to believe that people are aware of all this and still choose to wrap their newborns in this cloth...

[anon99827]

I washed everything but didn't know any better. She's 5 months old now and I never wash anything new. Also I thought pampers were crap and leaked every night. Also expensive. So now I buy Aldi best nappies you can get and I've tried them all. Congratulations by the way! X

[midnight1983]

Having worked in many shop stockrooms I didn't feel able not to wash them! I'm sure nothing will happen if you don't but I had visions of clothes on dirty stockroom floors...

[Katyx3]

All the stuff I have packed for him was in packets and I have washed things at home should he have any reaction to anything x

[Notquiteagandt]

I would. Only as I am a buyer and have worked with baby clothes before and I know what chemicals are put on them to treat them before shipping and spending months and months on a shipping container to the uk.

But that is just personal preferance to be honnest.

[Girlwiththearabstrap]

No I never have. I'm finding all the hand wringing on this thread a bit hilarious 😂😂😂 it's not something that midwives routinely go through with you along with vaccination recommendations so it's really just personal preference. Not a necessity.

[Katyx3]

Thanks for all of your advice girls
Especially on the nappy front! Think I will get OH to chauffeur me to a Lidl tomorrow and have a browse!
Two weeks tomorrow he's due! Keep me in your thoughts x

[melissasummerfield]

I washed everything for all three of mine, and i still dont use biological washing powder and they are 5, 4 and 8mo old

[HushabyeMountainGoat]

I didn't wash DSs clothes before he arrived. I probably would have but he surprised us at 37 weeks so i wasn't ready. He was fine. I also washed him with baby soap

[dinosaurkisses]

Just seconding the recommendation for Lidl nappies OP - I used pampers while DD was newborn but swapped after I did a review on Lidl's for Mumsnet.

They're fantastic- DD had some nappy rash with pampers and they leaked a fair bit. Lidl's are bullet proof leak-wise, don't irritate her skin and great value.

[Figgygal]

Nope never did with either of mine

[welshweasel]

Each to their own peanutty. I had a premature baby and we didn’t know how big he was going to be so bought stuff in lots of different sizes. Once he was born and we figured out what we needed we returned a load of the stuff, it would have been a huge waste of money if we’d washed it all first. We use bio washing liquid too, so shoot me!!

[Peanutty86]

100000% always wash them first. You're not even supposed to use soap when washing/bathing baby the first few times but you're all happy to basically put them in clothes soaked in bug and mould killer? I wouldn't dream of doing that.

[SiolGhoraidh]

I'll probably wash the second hand stuff in non bio. My brother and I had very bad eczema as babies so I don't want to risk a reaction to someone else's washing powder.
It will probably be easiest to sling it all in together, old and new. Gives me something to do on mat leave

[chloechloe]

How difficult is it to wash them!?! It won't even be a full load of stuff. As others have said, new clothes are sprayed with chemicals to stop them going mouldy and getting creased. Babies have been in a sterile womb for 9 months and have sensitive skin. Chances are nothing will happen, but why risk their skin breaking out just because you can't be bothered to turn on the washing machine once? I know it sounds like I'm being harsh, but I think it's the height of laziness!

[Susikettu]

I'm planning on washing all of the new clothes we had. I used to work in the fashion buying industry and each garment can be touched by tens of people, in dirty factories and then are all sprayed with chemicals to treat pests/keep them neat. They can also be on a ship in transit for 6months before they even get to the warehouse here, then on another truck into store. I'm sure it won't hurt them but I would definitely prefere to know all that craps been washed off.

[Pebblespony]

My DH prefers them to be washed but he doesn't wash them himself so I take the tags off and scrunch them up a bit before I throw them in the press. He's none the wiser. Before anyone says anything he does his own washing but I do DD as I'm on maternity leave still.

[Pepper123123]

I didn't even know it was a thing until I saw this post.

Never heard of washing brand new clothes.....

[GobblersKnob]

I wash everyone's clothes before wearing. Guidelines are to always wash all baby and small children's clothes as well as all underwear, sportswear and anything tight fitting or that you will sweat heavily in.

If they are made out if the UK they can be treated with all kinds of chemicals either to add a finish to the fabric, or to prevent damp or mould in storage or transportation, that will then be in direct contact with the skin.