Laundry detergent that is good with stains but doesn't shrink kid clothes?

[Hannathy]

Are YOU for real?? At home if she's eating something I know will be messy (anything saucy) I take off her shirt. There's nothing confusing about that. My DD is the same age (19 months) as OP's DD and no way will she keep a bib on and hasn't for months.

Mine at a lot of meals in just a diaper!

Why mess up clothes?

 

[bcla]

Line dry the clothes. If you don't expose the clothes to the heat of the dryer it generally doesn't set. Then you get another chance to get it out.

I've found that most cotton clothing feels stiff after being air dried. Synthetics don't, and they can also degrade or get scorched in the dryer.

However, it's typically the cotton that shrinks in the dryer due to heat. However, once it shrinks, that's typically it. Most cotton clothes are sized with shrinkage in mind. However, a lot of clothing is made with preshrunk cotton. There's also the traditional "shrink to fit" clothing - especially Levis 501s. I remember they had a recommendation for which size to get. For my range it was add 3 inches to the inseam and 1 inch to the waist.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I second Dawn as a pre-treater, and soaking the item right after it happens. I just squirt a little right on the spot, rub it in, and soak with water in the sink. Then you can wash it normally with your next load. (Don't put it in the drier until you check that stain is gone, though.)