By Zach Pozniak, VP of Operations at Jeeves of Belgravia New York and fourth-generation dry cleaner · @jeeves_ny
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Quick answer: Use a free and clear detergent, pretreat stains right away with an enzyme spray, and wash baby clothes and cloth diapers on a longer cycle. Wash cloth diapers separately, and do not dry them until stains and odor are gone.
Wash baby clothes and cloth diapers with a free and clear detergent, pretreat stains as soon as possible, and use a longer, warmer wash for heavily soiled loads. For cloth diapers, wash them by themselves and make sure the cycle is strong enough to fully rinse out residue.
Choose a detergent that is free of fragrance, dyes, and fabric softener. Those extras are more likely to irritate sensitive skin, and detergent buildup from overdosing is a common cause of residue on baby clothes.
The ones I would buy for baby laundry are 7th Gen ↗, Esembly ↗, Dropps ↗, Dirty Labs ↗, and Tide's free and clear line. They balance ingredient safety, environmental impact, and cleaning performance. On a tighter budget, Kirkland also comes in a free and clear version, cleans almost as well as the expensive brands, and costs about 22 cents a load.
Watch the dose more closely than the brand. About two tablespoons is plenty for a normal load, more suds does not mean more clean, and I would always add an extra rinse. Leftover detergent on the fabric is the leading cause of skin irritation, and it matters most with top-loading machines, which do not rinse as thoroughly as front-loaders.
One label trap is worth knowing. Free and clear means no dyes and no perfume. Unscented does not: manufacturers add more perfume to cover the base smell of the product, so an unscented detergent can carry more fragrance than a scented one.
Esembly Washing Powder ↗ is the powder on that list, and the one I have a number for. It scored 60.6 in my testing, which makes it the fourth best powder I have tested, behind an Ariel and two Tides. Esembly formulated it for their own cloth-diaper service, which washed 15,000 diapers a week and tested every load for sanitization and detergent residue, and it works out at about 30 cents a load. Esembly sponsored the post that test appeared in, and I ran it the same way I run all of my tests. The code JEEVESNY takes 20% off.
There is a lot of fear in the cleaning space about ingredients, and the way I keep it straight is that risk is hazard multiplied by exposure. Apple seeds contain a compound that can turn into cyanide, which is the hazard. Eating a stray seed does nothing, because the exposure is tiny. Two hundred seeds a day would be a different story.
Detergent ingredients work the same way. Powdered enzymes appear on California’s Prop 65 list and on Europe’s ECHA list, and rubbing powdered enzymatic detergent into skin a few times a day really would cause problems. Dosing it correctly, so that it rinses out and leaves the clothes, keeps the exposure minimal. That is also why the dose and the extra rinse matter more than the name on the bottle: what touches your baby is the residue left behind, not the ingredient list.
These stains are easiest to remove when they are fresh. Milk, formula, and spit-up are protein-based, so pretreat them with an enzyme stain remover that contains protease.
If baby food has dried or set, treat it the same way before washing. The longer it sits, the more likely it is to leave color behind.
Cloth diapers need a more thorough wash than regular baby clothes because they hold body soils and residue. Wash them separately, use a longer cycle, and choose a warmer temperature if the care label allows it.
If the color still bothers you after that, soak the diapers in hot water and oxygen bleach. Odds are the color will never come back perfectly. They will still be very clean, and if diapers come out smelling off, the answer is more cleaning power, never fabric softener or a stronger scent.
A laundry sanitizer is a different tool from oxygen bleach, and most loads do not need one. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that water and a good detergent are enough for the viruses behind colds, flu and COVID, so sanitizer is for specific bacteria, like the ones behind a stomach bug, which can survive in fabric for weeks. When you do use it, put it in the fabric-softener slot so it is released during the rinse, after the wash has already done the cleaning.
Grass stains are protein-based, so start with enzyme pretreatment. If color remains after washing, follow up with oxygen bleach if the fabric is safe for it.
For mud and dirt, use a booster such as washing soda, baking soda, or borax in the wash to help break up the soil. These stains often need a full wash cycle, not just a quick rinse.
If a cloth diaper still smells after washing, or if a delicate baby garment has a stubborn stain, it may need a second treatment or a more specialized cleaning method. For silk, wool, or anything with a dry-clean-only label, stop and use the care label first.
Or ask about any laundry or garment care question
Zach Pozniak is VP of Operations and co-owner of Jeeves of Belgravia New York, the Madison Avenue dry cleaner serving New York since 1979, and the fourth generation of his family in the trade. Zach posts garment care techniques as @jeeves_ny on TikTok to over 900,000 followers, and his book The Laundry Book, co-written with his father Jerry Pozniak, was featured on Good Morning America in October 2024. Jeeves NY's clients include the Metropolitan Opera, the Met Museum, and FIT, and the business has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.