Soiled Baby and Toddler Clothes

EvenI

Sun, May 23 2010, 4:43 pm

Advice sought from laundry gurus: I have been washing all of my young kids' clothes at 30 degrees, because some of them state that temperature as the max temperature on the care labels. Those that don't state 30, state 40. The thing is, it happens quite often that my son's clothes, esp pyjamas get soiled and/or wet from leaking diapers. I don't want to shrink the clothes, so I wash them at the same temperature when soiled as when not soiled. The thing is, I have been reading around, and I see that the advice is that bacteria is probably not removed if you wash below 60. Well, I want to remove the bacteria, but would the clothes shrink if I washed them at 60? Since these are small clothes for growing babies, the slightest shrinkage is not only noticeable but renders the clothes useless. Similar question with bed sheets, if I suspect they might have dust mites - can I wash them at 60 without causing any damage (I usually wash them at 40)?

mamaleh

Sun, May 23 2010, 5:20 pm

I have always washed bed linens in Hot water (not sure the temp, my machine just offers hot, warm or cold). Never had a problem.
As for kids clothing:
Pajamas and onesies I always wash in warm. Clothing I generally follow the label. If clothing that calls for cold does not come clean (I try to check b4 drying because the dryer will set any stain) I will usually rewash it in warm unless it is something particularly delicate.
I've never had any shrinkage problems. I found things are much more likely to shrink in the dryer than in the washer.
Hatzlacha!!