You don’t have to be a parent for very long before caring for your kids wear starts to seem like a staggering task. Especially with the fact that kids cannot be restricted to the room which cleanliness you can guarantee, Children always want to go out to play, leaving coming home dirty as if they’ve not had a bath in a week.
If you’re like most people with kids, you’re trying to wash out dirt, food products, a host of gross bodily fluids, and stuff you can’t even identify from your kids’ clothing on a daily basis, and that’s before your kids are even crawling on their own! You want your kids’ clothes to last through as many washes and wear as possible, though, especially if you have younger kids you hope to dress with hand-me-downs. Fortunately, there are ways for you to make caring for your kids wear easier.
Think before you buy
Put down your copy of Vogue Enfants and quit buying your kids garments that are labelled “dry clean only.” Your children should be wearing machine washable, wrinkle free, natural fabrics as their everyday clothing. Only special occasion wear, like holiday dresses or wedding suits, should require special care. Your children’s clothing needs to be comfortable and practical enough for them to play and run around in. You can also save yourself a lot of trouble if you confirm that paints, markers, and other toys you buy for your kids are machine washable. These days, companies even produce markers that won’t work on fabric.
Teach your kids responsibility
Even very young children can be taught to take care of their own clothing and make an effort not to get clothes dirty. Kids can learn to eat, colour, and play without covering themselves in food, art supplies, or mud. Don’t immediately replace clothing that is ruined and your children will be more conscientious about taking care of the things they own. You can also have your kids do their own laundry by the time they are ten years old, or at least start to sort their own laundry by the time they are six.
Uniforms require special care
Unfortunately for parents, many schools require students to wear uniforms that are not machine washable. If your family is in this situation, make it a rule that your children remove their uniforms and change into play clothes as soon as they get home from school. You’ll get more wear from your uniforms and save on dry cleaning costs this way.
A note on detergents
Your children’s clothing will probably need to be washed more frequently than your own. Frequent washing can wear their clothing down just as fast as they can, though. This is especially true if you buy the cheapest detergent, which is usually pretty harsh. You can save money over the long run by buying a slightly more gentle detergent, which will result in your kids’ clothes lasting longer. That said; don’t buy fancy detergents unless you know for a fact that your child has an allergy or sensitivity to regular detergent. These days, you can even find organic and all natural detergents at very reasonable prices, so there is really no reason to spend a fortune on special, scented baby detergents.
Tricks for removing stains
Mums, dads, and generally messy people everywhere swear by the powers of Oxi-Clean. A scoop of Oxi-Clean in every load can remove grass, dirt, blood, washable paints, and most other easy stains kids get without even any pre-scrubbing treatment. If you have a tougher stain, though, like grape juice, chocolate, or crayon, try spot treating with white vinegar or baking soda. For gum stuck on clothes, freeze the gum and scrape it off with a butter knife. A lubricant like glycerin will help you to remove solids like tree sap and WD 40 can remove dried wax. Oils can be taken off by pre-treating the spot with any regular bar soap, like Dove. In case of a leaky pen, leave a cup of whole milk in the sun until it rots. Scrape the solids off the top and place them atop the ink stain. The milk solids will suck the ink out of the fabric. Once the garment is ink free, wash it in the washing machine to get rid of the stinky milk smell.
Scrub judiciously
Some clothing, like jackets or sweaters, can’t be put in the washing machine on a frequent schedule. These things should be spot cleaned on a stain-by-stain basis, and aired out if they begin to smell musty. Hanging your clothing outside in warm, breezy weather can have surprisingly pleasant results. In some cases, you are going to encounter stains that are not going to wash out, no matter what you do. In situations such as these, sometimes you are just going to have to concede and retire these spotted garments from regular circulation in your child’s wardrobe.