Baby Clothing Care: Helpful Guidelines to Protect Your Baby from Harmful Germs

We take great precautions with our expensive clothing, honoring "dry-clean" only tags or hand wash warnings. Ever careful not to let cashmere shrink or silk ruin, extra attention is always paid to these fabrics. Yet what about the clothing we put on small children? Babies and young kids are more susceptible to the effects of harmful germs and, without the proper maintenance, mildew, mold, fungus and bacteria can invade the fabric of children's clothing. In order to avoid skin infections and other serious effects, proper maintenance of your child's wardrobe is required. Here are some simple steps that can be taken to protect your little one:

- Always wash your child's clothing separate from adult clothing. Add fungus and moth tablets to the wash cycle to help prevent contamination.

- Handling the clothes with care is a must; wringing or squeezing out excess water can decrease the durability of the garment.

- Soft detergents are recommended for use when washing your child's clothes. Unlike hard detergents, the softer solvents will not damage or weaken the fibers of the cloth.

- While cold water is preferable, "warm" is also an acceptable cycle when washing children's clothing. Do not use hot water.

- Adding a small amount of antiseptic to the wash cycle is suggested as it will hinder infection-causing bacteria from lingering on the fabric.

- If possible, hand wash your baby's apparel. Machine washed clothing is often susceptible to several bacterium, fungi and other harmful organisms.

- Perhaps the most important deterrent of bacteria and infection is constant attention to the child's diaper, especially for those using cloth diapers. If the diaper becomes wet or soiled, it must be changed instantly.

- If using cloth diapers, both antiseptic and a soft detergent is needed when washing.

- When ironing, never set the dial above warm. This protects the integrity of the fiber in the clothing.

- Direct sunlight is preferable to shade for outdoor drying. An increase in bacteria is possible if the clothing is dried in indirect light.

- Check with a clothing expert intermittently to ensure appropriate preventive measures are in place with the care of your child's clothes.

By implementing these guidelines into your washing routine, you will provide a healthy environment for your child while his or her immune system continues to develop.

Sources:

*Essential Baby Care Tips, Scribd

*MaoBao Antiseptic, Anti-bacterial Detergent, Maobao.com