Pre-washing clothes, bedding, etc.

Just wondering about a couple of things, hope this is the right message board to post this on!

I know that you need to wash the baby's clothes, blankets, sheets, etc. before they wear them. But what about the following:

- car seat "padding"

- crib bumper

- anything else I'm forgetting?

Also, I know that Dreft isn't necessary (I use All Free & Clear anyways) but what about fabric softener? Can that ruin any fire retardant that's on the clothes, etc?

Thanks for the help. This is all so new to me but I can always count on the advice I receive here!

My pediatrician said that they do not recommend using fabric softner. But, my mom said it would be fine if I used it(the baby's clothes just were not soft)if I used liquid and ran the clothes through two rinse cycles. I have done this (sometimes only rinsing once) and it is fine. She has had no problems. Your baby may have sensitive skin. You will have to see. I never thought about washing the car seat cover. The bumpers I did not wash because she does not lay directly on them.

I didn't wash anything except clothes, bedding, and burp cloths before use with my baby and we didn't have any problems. If you think about it, you really only need to worry about the things that come in contact with her skin or her mouth. Since my baby was born in February and was fully dressed in the car seat, I don't know if not washing it would have been an issue. I've since washed the car seat padding (due to a diaper disaster!) and it was relatively easy to put back together.

Regarding detergents, etc. I don't know about fabric softener, but I would stay away from it since it's bound to contain some fragrance and you probably ought to introduce such things slowly to your baby, if at all. My daughter got some pretty rough looking skin when we were using regular (Tide) laundry detergent.

My girlfriend sold me on using the Amway SA-8 Baby detergent and I've fallen in love with the product. The SA-8 Baby is a 3 in 1 detergent -- it has a built in pre-treater, a detergent, and a color safe bleach. I use the Amway pre-treater spray for the tough jobs and soak them in a tub with a little bit of the SA-8 until I'm ready to actually wash a load of clothes. Then I fill the washing machine with the clothes, the SA-8 baby and the hottest water allowed for the fabric, let it soak for 1/2 hour, continue the wash cylce and dry as normal and the clothes come out clean. This stuff is so great that I even was able to use it on a piece of clothing that had already been washed and dried and where the stain didn't come out. With the pre-treater and the SA-8 Baby it came out in the next wash. Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this stuff. I've had a box shipped to both my parents and my in-laws so that I don't have to do without it when I travel.