18 June 2019
Laundry tips for Busy Mamas
Look... we are not a laundry guru but between our Le Petit Society team, we have gone through enough laundry for a lifetime (doesn't it feel like that sometimes?) We've gathered some tips on how to sort out your life, one load at a time.
1. Use baby washing products - When you are in the laundry section, take a look at the products formulated specially for baby clothes. It may cost a little more than regular laundry detergent. However if you have a baby / young kids at home, you should definitely consider buying a baby / gentle washing solution. Depending on product, the unique selling point is there will not be any hard chemical residues on your baby’s clothes which in turn might give them skin-related problems. We typically selected fragrance-free ( = less chemicals) to product their baby soft skin.
2. Sort your clothes - Growing up we always wondered why Mom was sorting things into different piles of clothes before washing. Now we know!! When you make separate piles of dark clothes, white clothes, kids clothes and so on, it helps you determine how to wash them and make sure that the dark colors do not bleed and stain the lighter ones. It will also make it easy to follow the washing instructions of different kinds of fabric (more on that later!). If you use cloth diapers, wash them separately as well as they need to be treated different to avoid transferral of germs. We also suggest using a laundry bag.
3. Follow instructions on the label - We know.. You've purchased from this brand or have something in a similar fabric so you know how it's done. But another important aspect most overlooked by everyone is the washing instruction label! Some clothes need very different cleaning procedure due to treatment / fabric / design. The label will have specific instructions, such as it should be washed only by hand or only in washing machine or that it should be washed with cold water only or with hot water only or that the material is flame retardant and requires special care. Whatever be the case, make sure you wash it separately or pile it along with clothes that require similar care. We love it when our clothes can be passed from Generations to generations. And thats why we pay so much attention to our laundry care labels.
4. Choose Correctly - When choosing the washing machine instructions, make sure you chose the “gentle wash” mode in the washing machine when washing baby clothes as they are softer and “gentler” than the adult clothes. Also, watch out for the temperature instructions and set the water temperature accordingly. As we mentioned before, some clothes require hot water and some cold water. Follow these instructions and wash such clothes separately. Similarly, some clothes will come with a clear guideline saying it should not be tumble dried. Watch out for such instructions and launder accordingly to get the best results.
5. Stain Removal - Your child will definitely stain their cutest outfits. Certain baby food, stains caused by leaking diapers, drool stains are often difficult to remove from baby clothing. If pre-treated before washing, some of the most stubborn stains can be eliminated, leaving the clothing both clean and in pristine condition. One tried and true stain remover is Oxi-Clean. You may want to try different stain removers to find the one best suited for your child's skin. If you're using warm water to help break down stains to avoid bleaches, try using white vinegar instead!
6. Wash New Clothes Before Wear - However excited you are for your little one to flaunt their OOTD, you should always try to wash them first. Although baby clothing may look fresh and clean on department store hangers, it's always safer to give it a quick rinse before wearing it. Minor skin irritations may also result from clothing tags placed on many pieces of baby clothing. We have slowly moved away from clothing tags so prevent that. Special treatment - If your outfit has special prints / embellishments, it's best to hand wash / put your clothes through a cold cycle
7. Inside Out - Not just the popular Pixar movie but we suggest turning clothes inside-out (reverse them) before throwing them in the wash. This reduces friction and rubbing against the front of the clothes, especially if there are prints! Doing so better preserves the colour and minimises fading of colours or cracking of prints
8. Hot trends ok, hot temperature no - When drying clothes: avoid dryers and hanging them directly under the sun to dry as heat exposure can lead to colour fading/bleeding and prints cracking/peeling. If your laundry area unfortunately is exposed to sunlight, turn your clothes inside-out before hanging them to dry. Most clothes do not require warm water for wash; cold water is quite sufficient!
PRO MOM TIP - Get your kiddo to sort clothes into laundry bags and make a game out of it. Everyone is happy and they learn important life skills young! WIN!
xoxo