Washing Green AND Clean


Babies and toddlers are dirt magnets. It doesn't matter how hard you try, by the end of the day (let's face it, usually by the end of the first half hour), there are usually some pretty dubious looking stains on their clothes. At the same time, if you want to do your bit to save the planet, you need to be washing at 30°.

Over the last few years, we've had to do some pretty serious experimenting in order to be able to wash at a low temperature, get our children's clothes clean and protect the family's sensitive skin. So here are our top tips for staying green and getting it clean:

1. Put fewer clothes in the washing machine
If you avoid over-filling the washing machine (not more than two thirds full), the clothes have more room to slosh around, rub against each other and get properly rinsed at the end of the wash.
2. Sunlight makes baby poo stains vanish
On baby poo stains, nothing works better than sunlight. Sounds unlikely, we know, but try hanging stained nappies and clothes out on the line when they're newly washed and wet. The poo stains magically fade in the sunshine. This works so well that we have even taken to hanging poo-stained things on hangers to dry inside the windows during the winter (the windows at the back of the house - we do still have a tiny scrap of pride).
3. Keep it wet.
If you're experimenting with strong colours while weaning your baby, it's worth having a quick scrub at any really dark stains while they're still wet, before they get dried on. Who has time to do that straight away? Not us! If you haven't got time to be dealing with stains straight after feeding your baby, throw bibs in a bit of water in the sink until you have a chance to wash them.
4. Washing up liquid or baby bath on spot stains
For tricky stains, like smooth carrot or beetroot purees (which could in fact be sold as dyes!), you can have more luck if you scrub the very grubby bits with a squirt of eco-friendly washing up liquid or baby bath.
5. Overnight soak in the machine
For nappies that have been dry-pailed and clothes that have been covered in orange baby food, try putting on a wash in the evening and then switching the machine off as soon as it has filled with water. You can then leave it to soak overnight and set the machine off again in the morning to finish washing.
6. Washing soda for washing and soaking
Sometimes sold as soda crystals (not to be confused with caustic soda!) these are very cheap and very effective. You can either use a cup of washing soda instead of your washing powder, or use half washing soda and half your usual amount of washing powder. It works not only to clean clothes, but also as a brightener, so if your whites are looking a bit on the grey side, this is definitely one to try. If clothes are really mucky, pre-soaking them in a solution of washing soda works well for getting stubborn stains out. We haven't tested this side by side with washing powder in the long term, so it's possible that some colour fading may occur with regular use (we haven't noticed any so far though).
7. Try white vinegar instead of fabric softener
This is a lovely trick to get everything lovely and soft without tumble drying. It's particularly useful when washing cotton fleeces, real nappies, and towels - anything that you want to come out feeling fluffy. Put half a cup of white vinegar in the fabric conditioner slot of your washing machine. It has the double effect of neutralising any traces of urine in nappies and baby clothes and softening the fabric. And no, in case you were worrying, it doesn't make the clothes smell of vinegar!
Do you know any more great tips?
We're always looking for new tips and tricks for dealing with baby stains, so if you know any that aren't mentioned here, do contact us! We'd love to hear from you.