Keeping up with a drool machine
Life with a little one opens up a whole new world when it comes to laundry. The frequency with which you can fill a washer is almost unbelievable, until you actually bring your baby home and experience it for yourself.
Burp cloths, blankies and bibs
Meghan Carr, a mommy of two, is quick to admit that her husband does all of the laundry at the house, and she also admits that it's pretty amazing. Still, she can't help but marvel at the amount of action going on in their laundry room. "We're always washing a favorite blanket for my oldest — an Aden + Anais star swaddle. We're washing bibs all the time for my youngest. He's almost six months old and constantly drooling."
Conquering stains
Regardless of your child's age, if you're a parent, then you're also a stain-fighting machine. There are a few tricks that can help your cause and allow a few cute outfits to see the light of another day. A favorite: presoaking. The moment a stain hits a shirt, throw it in a sink with cold water and a little detergent. You can even use bleach to presoak. It works much faster than any other laundry detergent, though, so it's best not to leave it for over 15 minutes. Also, make sure it's color safe!
Cleaning bibs and burp cloths
Bibs and burp cloths see the lion's share of disgusting messes during the first year of baby's life. From spit up to sweet pea puree, doing the laundry for a little one is a pretty serious undertaking. A natural inclination to cleaning a fully soiled bib or burp cloth is to immediately rinse or wipe wet food from the garment. If it's a really heavy mess, try letting the food dry first. Then scrape it off with a knife or spatula. Once it has been scraped, move to the presoaking step.
Don't let a bad bib damage your favorite pair of yoga pants. Keep bibs and burp cloths separate from any other garments when you put them in the washing machine. Also, make sure the Velcro, snap or hook fasteners are fastened to avoid them snagging on other garments while being washed and dried.
Finally, add bleach to a full load of laundry to help get your bibs sanitized and odor free.
More stories from moms
Better with bleach: 3 Generations of moms share their stories
Real-life laundry: Keeping things together
Real-life laundry: Surprise finds with every wash and dry