Cleaning and Maintaining Baby Bibs

In this article, we will go into detail on cleaning and maintaining the My Little Love Heart range of bibs. This includes;

• Once Received
• Use
• Washing
• Drying
• Ironing
• Storage
• Removing Stains

Once Received

Once received, read the product label to inform yourself about the product. We recommend you wash them when they arrive. They leave our shop clean and well-packaged. But we can’t control what happens during shipping. See the below instructions on how to wash your bibs.

Use

We make a range of styles of bibs and they are all used in the same way. They have a KAM fastener system to clasp around the baby’s neck to attach the bib. All our bibs have two adjustable fasteners so you can adjust the size to fit your baby. Once secured, slide a finger between the bib and your baby’s neck. This should be tight enough to not leave any space for drool to flow under their chin. But it shouldn’t be too tight that it’s strangling or causing the baby distress.

Washing

When washing bibs read the label beforehand. Ours are handmade from cotton and bamboo and can be washed in the machine. You should wash these in a gentle wash at 40 degrees. Make sure you only wash with similar colours. This is to prevent colours from seeping into each other and changing their look. We suggest you wash the bibs with a scent-free baby detergent like the Pigeon Brand.

Drying

To dry, remove from the washing machine and either hang them up or use a machine tumble dryer. Drying by machine will keep the bib softer but will cause it to lose a little of its absorbent properties. While air drying will make them last longer but they won’t be as soft. Bibs should be washed and dried straight away to prevent mould from forming.

Ironing

Once your bib is dry you can either store it immediately or iron it. If you want to iron them there are different ways for the different types of bibs. For the smaller bib, large toddler bib and boho bibs you lay them flat and run a cool iron over the top. The bandana dribble bibs should be ironed to make pleats. These absorb and capture the drool. Making it an important step in keeping your baby dry.

You should only iron the cotton material. And be careful not to place the iron on the snap fasteners. If you do this there’s a chance they will melt and make the bib unusable. To learn more about bibs materials read this article.

Storage

Storing our bibs are easy. They can be stored with other baby accessories in drawers or hung up on clothes hangers. Make sure they are totally dry before storing them to prevent mold from forming. and they should always be stored in a dry environment.

Removing Stains

Babies are messy and your bibs are bound to get stained. Here are some options to remove stains based on what you’re trying to get out.

Milk

The yellow stains you see on your bibs are milk enzymes. These stains occur either from formula or breast milk. When feeding or burping the milk lands on the bib or burping pad. And once dry it creates a yellow colour stain. This will normally occur on the baby style of bib. As this style is used during the feeding stage. These stains are hard to remove so we have written a more detailed article on cleaning milk from bibs. But in general, the best solution is;

1. Blot the milk with a clean towel
2. Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and 2 cups of cold water
3. Gently rub this mixture onto the stain
4. Rinse in cold water and repeat until the stain is removed
5. Place in the normal washing cycle

Drool

When your baby is around 2–3 months their teeth are starting to come through. When this occurs you will need a dribble bib. This is when babies start to drool a lot. But as the bib is getting wet from saliva you don’t need to clean this any special way. Just by the normal washing process. Which is;

1. Sort washing into similar colours
2. Place in machine wash at 40 degrees for 30 minutes
3. Remove and either hang out to dry or machine tumble dry

Food and Grime

As your baby gets older the stains they get on their bibs will differ. You will find that you will have grime and food stains rather than milk or drool. This normally occurs on the larger bibs for toddlers. This is because toddlers are a lot more active and get dirtier. They are also learning to feed themselves and making more of a mess on their bibs.

The best way to clean grime and food from bibs is;

1. Create a vinegar and water mix. Mix 1 part water and 2 parts vinegar and soak for 10 minutes.
2. Wash as per usual in the washing machine at 40 degrees for 30 minutes.

Black Spots

Black spots can appear on any type of fabric bib and this is bad news. These spots are a sign that mould has started to form. If this happens you should throw them out. But if you are determined to try and clean the mold off read this article. It discusses different options to try and remove the mold. These are;

• White distilled vinegar
• Bleach
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Household soap
• Borax

We hope that this article has given you suggestions on how to clean and maintain your bibs. To learn more we have provided additional resources on everything you need to know about bibs. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

This article was updated in May 2023 to include more details on the ironing, washing and general maintenance of our range of bibs.

This article was written by Luisa Figueroa — I am the owner, designer, and maker of the My Little Love Heart range of handmade bibs and accessories.