The Best Ways to Wash Clothes During Potty Training

When your child starts potty training, you should expect at least a few accidents. If you're lucky, the accidents are contained to soiling her froggy training pants; if you're not so lucky, it leaks out onto pants, dresses or even the occasional shirt. Potty training is a messy process, but at least it's the light at the end of the tunnel.

  1. Quick Clean ASAP

    • As soon as the accident happens, you'll want to rinse off the soiled clothes. If it's only urine, simply rinse the clothing with water. If there's fecal matter, dump as much as you can in the toilet, then flush while holding the pants in the toilet, shaking some of the biggest pieces off. You might also scrub them in a sink if necessary, but disinfect the sink after you do this.

      If you are out and about when the accident happens, it's best to just put the soiled clothes into a bag. According to the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, washing them in the sink can cause contamination.

      Immediately after cleaning the mess, wash your hands thoroughly using an antibacterial soap. Take care to clean between the fingers and under the nails, which may have been contaminated. When you finish, turn off the water with a clean paper towel.

    Treating and Washing

    • If the clothes are very soiled, you'll want to soak them in cold water overnight. Then, you can put them into your washing machine, spin the cold water out, then wash with very hot water. Each brand of training pants and clothing will have its own care instructions you should follow but, in general, it's fine to wash soiled clothes along with the rest of your family's clothes. Many styles of cloth training pants are thicker than regular underpants so, to maintain their absorbency, wash with a pure soap product and don't use bleach or fabric softener.

    Lingering Smells

    • In most cases, a single wash will clean the clothes just fine. Sometimes, though, residues on the pants can leave a strange odor, according to Bummis, maker of cloth diapers and training pants. If this occurs, you may be using too much laundry soap, not using enough laundry soap, using a soap that leaves residue or washing with not enough water in the washing machine.

    Sunning

    • Sometimes, the accident leaves a stain in the training pants. You don't have to toss them. The sun can act as a natural bleach alternative. Simply set the training pants outside on a sunny day and watch the stain bleach right out.

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