As a parent, laundry (and lots of it!) comes with the territory. But it’s not necessarily as straight forward as haphazardly popping the dirty washing into the washing machine. In fact, there are some important factors to keep in mind in order to protect your little one’s delicate skin and keep them safe and healthy.

Here, Deyan Dimitrov, CEO of Laundryheap, warns parents of some of the dangers of washing their children's clothes and offers alternative advice to follow instead.

1. Skip the fabric softener

While we all know fabric softener leaves our washing feeling soft and smelling oh so fresh, it’s also full of chemicals which can be toxic and irritate your baby's sensitive skin. And it isn’t just baby’s clothing that can cause irritation, but anything that touches their delicate skin, including towels, blankets, bedsheets, and even mom and dad’s clothes.

Using fabric softeners also drastically reduces the flame resistance of clothing. Baby clothes are usually treated with flame-resistant chemicals for safety reasons, but fabric softener reduces its effectiveness and makes the material more susceptible to catching fire in the case of an accident or emergency. This is due to the build-up of chemicals, as well as emulsifiers and alcoholic ethoxylates contained in the product itself – both of which are flammable.

For this reason, Deyan advises parents to avoid using fabric softener on their baby and children’s clothing and sleepwear, or fabrics such as velour, chenille, terry cloth, fleece, or any garments that are labelled as flame resistant.

2. Use a gentle detergent formulated for babies

One of the simplest ways to protect your little one’s skin is to opt for a mild, fragrance free non-bio detergent, which contains no bleach or fabric softener.

Nevertheless, some little ones can even be sensitive to the gentlest detergents. Allergic reactions to laundry detergent can take up to a week to appear, so be diligent and keep an eye on your baby’s skin until you get to know the level of sensitivity of their skin. You can also run the clothes through an extra soapless spin, to ensure the detergent is thoroughly rinsed.

3. Gentle washes for the win

It’s important to check labels so you know if garments have been treated with flame-resistant chemicals. If so, do not wash them at high temperatures as 50 degrees or more is too hot and will reduce its effectiveness.

If you want to keep your children's clothing soft but avoid compromising its flame resistance, a more gentle setting on the washing machine can be used, such as delicate or wool, to make it less vigorous.

The rule is simple: always check the clothing label and follow the instructions. And when in doubt, opt for a cold, gentle wash. Avoiding using a tumble dryer and allowing clothing to dry naturally, where possible, will also avoid unnecessary shrinking or colour bleeding of garments.

4.       Avoid soaking & bleaching baby’s clothes

Avoid soaking baby and children’s clothing for long periods of time as it can cause the flame-resistant chemicals to break down, and you should also never bleach them for the same reasons.

For delicate clothes that need to be handwashed, here are some simple steps to follow:

-          Fill a small basin or tub with cold/room temperature water

-          Add a small amount of mild detergent & run your fingers in the water to create some suds

-          Soak baby’s clothes in the water for 3 – 5 minutes

-          Rinse thoroughly & hang them up to air dry

5.       Outsource to the experts

As a parent, to-do list can feel pretty endless – as can the mountain of laundry. Lightening that mental and physical load can be as easy as eliminating some of the everyday chores from your list.

We live in an age where we have access to on-demand services at the tap of a screen, from cleaning and dog walking, to food delivery and, you guessed it, laundry and ironing. Getting a little extra help and outsourcing your laundry to the experts can be a game-changing way to reduce the daily workload and reclaim that extra ‘me time’ into your life.

Laundryheap’s team of experts not only collect and return your laundry to your door within 24 hours, but its team are experts in their field, so you can relax safe in the knowledge that your family’s clothes are being taken care of with the same level of care and attention that you would provide in your home.