washing new baby clothes

kduffy101

hi my wife is due our first baby on 19/7/10,
we've got a lot of new clothes hanging in his wardrobe,we've been buying these over the last few months.
I`ve been told from a friend that I need to wash all the new clothes before baby wears them,as they have probably come from different parts of the world.
anyone know if this is true?
thanks

shellsuit

I've always washed new baby clothes, you don't know where the fabric has been and then where the clothes have been stored.

Wouldn't want to put goodness knows what on a baby.

raffe

its quite a good idea to wash them and any blankets sheets etc, not so much where they have been made more how they have been stored they could have been just lying in a warehouse for months. If you have bought a lot though i would maybe not wash them all so you can take some back if the baby doesn't get to wear them, babies grow incredibly quickly and aren't in newborn clothes for long.

threemuttleys

Ive been rummaging around car boots/charity shops for our Babys things (clothes anyway) everything has been washed at least 2x (paranoid)

Im picking up bedding this weekend, and that will recieve the same treatment (tho will be brand new)

mustangsal

I've always washed baby clothes. You don't know who's been handling them before you pick them up, or what they've been touching before hand.:eek: Better to give them a wash with plenty of softener, so you know they're clean and comfortable for baby.

hngrymummy

Most clothes, sheets, towels etc have a 'finishing' applied to them once they have been made. It makes them look and feel a bit different, gives them that 'new clothes' smell, and keeps them looking new in the shops. It stops towels, tea towels, bibs etc being absorbant, which is why you need to wash them before first use.

You don't know what has been used in the finishing product, so I would wash first if you can.

One_of_my_Kind

I washed all of mine

Just because as someone said they have something put on them and washing makes them softer and cleans off any unwanted stuff!

It's quite lovely to wash it all and see it all drying it on the line!

ClareEmily

ok not washing any of mine, all brand new or given by friends and has all been washed before.

TBH baby will be in it a short while before being sick all over it and then will get washed.

Apricot

Definitely wash them. New clothes are sometimes sprayed with chemicals for different reasons. Clothes that have travelled a long way may be sprayed with formaldahyde before it is allowed into the county and this is the last thing that you want touching the skin of a sensitive baby.
Also, these clothes have often been made in smelly, dusty factories - they may be new to us but the fact that the material has probably been hanging around in a factory for months should definitely be mentioned.

The "new" smell of clothes is a result of the manufacturer using chemicals - don't forget to wash all the towels and sheets as well!

neneromanova

I guess this makes me a bad mummy then

I never washed anything for my daughter and she's fine and healthy. I'm only washing the new babys clothes because it's been 27 months since my DD wore them and they might be a bit musky from being in storage.

It's up to you really. If you want to wash them then do so. If you're not too bothered then don't worry about it.

floss2

ClareEmily wrote: »

ok not washing any of mine, all brand new or given by friends and has all been washed before.

All brand new clothes whether for babies or not will have some sort of finish to the fabric to make the actual making-up easier (to stop the fabric sliding through a machine) so it is generally recommended that any new baby clothes are washed before putting onto baby, as they have particularly sensitive skin.

You wouldn't want your newborn to come out in a rash all over just because you didn't bother washing it's vests & babygros would you?!