How to Keep Your Baby’s Clothes Soft for Their Sensitive Skin

As parents, our anxiety has no bounds when our baby’s delicate skin suddenly breaks out into rashes or allergies. Even though we ensure they are wearing clean and washed clothes at all times, we have come to realize that may not be enough. Washing with detergent alone makes the clothes rough and lifeless, and then they rub against our baby’s sensitive skin causing unwarranted skin irritations. Along with washing, we also need to ensure our baby’s clothes are disinfected and are free of germs and bacteria. To deal with these concerns, we tried home remedies like soaking the clothes in vinegar before washing. Unfortunately, this only left us with sour smelling clothes which had us wondering whether the clothes were even free of bacteria and germs or not. However, after some amount of trial and error, we have come up with a list of steps that you can follow to keep your baby’s clothes soft and safe.

You will need:

• Laundry Detergent
• Comfort Pure Fabric Conditioner

How to Wash Baby Clothes by Hand

1. Step 1: Disinfect and Sanitize Your Hands

   Dirty hands are the biggest sources of bacteria, which is why it’s essential that we sanitize and wash our hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling baby clothes.

2. Step 2: Check the Garment Label Instructions

   Experience has taught us that reading the instructions on the labels of baby clothes helps understand the material and the manner in which it can react to a wash.

3. Step 3: Measure the Temperature of the Water

   Washing clothes in extremely hot water could prevent you from keeping your baby’s clothes soft. It could also cause rips and tears on them. It could also burn your hands which is why we suggest you check the temperature of the water before washing your baby’s clothes. It should be between 30c and 40c degrees.

4. Step 4: Soak Before and After Wash

   Bacteria can build up before a wash, this is why we recommend soaking your baby’s clothes in hot water before a wash for 30 minutes and again soaking in warm water after the wash. This will ensure that most of the bacteria on baby clothes is eliminated.

5. Step 5: Use a Liquid Detergent

   Our experience has taught us that using regular detergents could harm your baby’s skin and cause allergic reactions and rashes. This is why a liquid detergent like Surf Excel Easy Wash Liquid that is eco-friendly and free of harmful chemicals must be used while washing your baby’s clothes.

6. Step 6: Use a Gentle Fabric Conditioner

   We observed that using only a detergent makes the clothes extremely rough within a couple of washes. Even a baby-friendly detergent may not do the job. This is what made us opt for a fabric conditioner like Comfort Pure. After the detergent wash, we added half a cup of Comfort Pure in a bucket of clean water. We then soaked the clothes in Comfort Pure for five minutes. After this, we noticed that the clothes had a mild pleasant fragrance emanating from them and were significantly softer when touched, which was not the case when we used just a detergent.

   On checking the label, we also read that the fabric conditioner had passed standardised antimicrobial tests, which gives us the assurance that the clothes will be free of bacteria and germs after its use. As parents, we want our babies to be safe and protected at all times, which is why this particular feature appealed to us greatly. Also, the packaging tells us that Comfort Pure is free of dyes and has no added/artificial colourants.

7. Step 7: Dry the Baby Clothes Correctly

   It is imperative that your baby’s clothes are dried well in sunlight. In our experience, damp clothes can cause fungal infections in babies. In addition to using a good fabric conditioner, Sunlight works as an excellent agent to rid your babies’ clothes of all bacteria and germs.

How to Machine Wash Baby Clothes

1. Step 1: Wash the Baby’s Clothes Before You Wash Your Own Clothes

   Washing machines too can be a hotbed of bacteria. We have noticed that in order to prevent transfer of bacteria from your clothes to the baby’s clothes, it's best to wash them first.

2. Step 2: Use a Liquid Detergent

   Follow instructions and use the right quantity of liquid detergent such as Surf Excel Matic Liquid based on the load of clothes. Avoid excessive use of detergent as it can leave a harsh residue on the baby’s clothes, potentially causing skin irritations and/or allergies.

3. Step 3: Know How to Use a Fabric Conditioner for Your Machine

   If using a semi-automatic machine, just add one cup of Comfort Pure into the washing tub during the last rinse of washing. In the case of a top load machine with an additives compartment, pour 1 cup of Comfort Pure in the additives compartment, at the start of the washing cycle. If there is no additives compartment, pour 1 cup of Comfort Pure in the wash tub before the last rinse cycle. In a front load machine add 1 cup of Comfort Pure directly in the softener/dispenser/additive/ conditioner compartment in the beginning of the wash cycle.

   Even after multiple washes in the machine, the clothes still felt extremely soft to touch after using this product. We were glad that we could use Comfort Pure on all types of baby clothes.

4. Step 4: Dry the Clothes in the Sun to Kill Leftover Bacteria

   Once the wash is done, let them dry thoroughly in natural sunlight, which is also known to kill any leftover bacteria and germs on clothing. The ultraviolet rays of sunlight along with disinfection also helps bleach laundry. We have seen that this is particularly useful for white sheets, towels and cloth diapers that are used for the baby. Dark coloured clothes may fade if exposed to extreme sunlight, it's best to dry them in the shade.

If you need a load of clothes to dry more quickly, just toss in a dry towel along with them inside the washing machine for about 15 to 20 minutes. The dry towel will help absorb moisture from the other items.