You Actually Wash Everything that Touches Baby Skin? Really?

Huhhm ... so I'm kinda embarrassed about this but I have to be honest ... everyone that I tell about the practice of washing everything that touches your baby's skin thinks I'm COMPLETELY OUT OF MY MIND (family members - young and old, friends w/children, colleagues, etc.) and have never heard of this practice ... like the bumper (if you decide to use one), blankets, all clothing and sleepers, burp cloths, car seat covers, stroller seat covers, swing seat covers, boppy cover, etc. ... I have to admit that I had never heard of this until I "discovered this practice" until very recently.

When I asked a few moms to talk about their reasoning for washing everything ... of course the reasons ran the gamut ... from dyes that might negatively affect baby's skin to "nasty" fingers that might have touched these items before you finally purchased them ... some ladies even talked about their own sensitive skin and the fact that they always wash their own articles of clothing before wearing ... huhm ... I have to admit that I've NEVER washed anything brand new before wearing it ... that includes undies (apparently that's a BIG no no ... honestly folks, never even thought about it).

What did become apparent to me however, is that far more people seemed to have problems with detergents than the dyes or any pesky "heeby jeebies" that someone might have passed along by touching something that you subsequently purchased. What's even more interesting is that none of the ladies that I "polled" have ever even heard of anyone ever having had any problems as a result of not washing "everything that touches baby's skin." I guess most would rather be safe than sorry. There definitely seems to be two camps ... the "sensitive skin and dye" camp and the "heeby jeeby camp" ... huhm ... it just seems to me that if you're taking either perspective, that you would need to be concerned about a lot ... dyes in carpet, on your furniture, "heeby jeebies" that may have been tracked in on your shoes, anyone holding your baby against their clothing and on and on ... where does it end?

Am I the only person who has never heard of this? Any other reasons to wash everything that comes near baby's skin? Am I crazy for questioning this practice?