Baby Laundry Detergent

gmeyer1019

I know this might seem like a silly question, BUT do i need to use a special detergent for the baby sheets and clothes or will my normal sensitive detergent work?

weezy29

Normal sensitive or "free and clear" works just fine. Heck, I might even use my regular non sensitive stuff this time.

gmeyer1019

Thanks! I know it seems a little silly, but my sister is just so specific about what she used that I figured I'd ask. Not that I don't love DS or anything but any money saved can go towards other stuff

JRod13

I make my own laundry detergent because H and DS are super sensitive- I plan on using that for the baby too.

Eora3

I am one of those crazy people that got a little too fixated on this question with my first baby. (Plus I cloth diapered so it was a much bigger deal.)

Your normal "free" type stuff should be fine unless baby has a reaction to it.

Do NOT use fabric softener. It has been shown to destroy the fire protection stuff that is on baby clothes (super scientific sounding, but seriously look into it if you want).

Also, don't use dryer sheets. They actually come apart and tiny pieces get trapped in the clothes. The fibers can be extremely irritating to newborn skin (or anyone else with sensitive skin). Plus they also have fabric softener in them. Better alternatives are wool dryer balls or aluminum foil dryer balls.

leoandethansmom

Now there are so many things on the market that are free and clear of chemicals. We used dreft with DS but this time around we'll probably use the cheapest "free" detergent.

nopegoat

For the first month or so I usually use a regular free and clear detergent on newb stuff. After that it all of it gets thrown in together. My boys so far haven't had sensitive skin so our normal stuff hasn't bothered them.

Meether

Ainslie325 said:

What @Rileymom1‌ said. We used All Free & Clear with #1. This time, we'll try our regular Tide and switch if her skin reacts poorly. Dreft is marketed for families with babies, but it's no different than many other detergents in that it's standard incarnation is stuffed with potentially irritating fragrances. Given this, I'd rather just stick with our own detergent. Others prefer more natural detergents (and cleaning products, etc.) in their home; this isn't the case with me, but it would sure make more sense than going with Dreft.

Actually that's not true, I a Scientist in the consumer products industry and have a ton of friends at P&G. They claim that Dreft actually has ingredients formulated to help clean spit up, milk, etc.... So it does add a little benefit to using it for babies. Having said that, many of them use regular or more free/Eco friendly/ natural detergents because no one cares that much about that tiny benefit, even though they can get it free. Regarding fragrances, I think the regular detergents are already scented with irritating fragrances, plus you can get dreft un scented now.

Eora3

Ainslie325 said:

Meether said:

Ainslie325 said:

What @Rileymom1‌ said. We used All Free & Clear with #1. This time, we'll try our regular Tide and switch if her skin reacts poorly. Dreft is marketed for families with babies, but it's no different than many other detergents in that it's standard incarnation is stuffed with potentially irritating fragrances. Given this, I'd rather just stick with our own detergent. Others prefer more natural detergents (and cleaning products, etc.) in their home; this isn't the case with me, but it would sure make more sense than going with Dreft.

Actually that's not true, I a Scientist in the consumer products industry and have a ton of friends at P&G. They claim that Dreft actually has ingredients formulated to help clean spit up, milk, etc.... So it does add a little benefit to using it for babies. Having said that, many of them use regular or more free/Eco friendly/ natural detergents because no one cares that much about that tiny benefit, even though they can get it free. Regarding fragrances, I think the regular detergents are already scented with irritating fragrances, plus you can get dreft un scented now.

But it IS true that standard Dreft is no different from other detergents in that it's stuffed with artificial fragrances. That was the only point I was attempting to make. They're the same on that score. As far as other proprietary chemicals they might include, I clearly can't speak to what these are and whether they work as advertised.

Just sayin'

https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/2943-DreftUltraLiquidLaundryDetergentforBabies018months

gmeyer1019

@twolittledogs vinegar? Ive never heard of vinegar for fabric softener, and my sister prides herself on being all sorts of crunchy in that respect.

gmeyer1019

@twolittledogs vinegar? Ive never heard of vinegar for fabric softener, and my sister prides herself on being all sorts of crunchy in that respect.

gmeyer1019

@twolittledogs vinegar? Ive never heard of vinegar for fabric softener, and my sister prides herself on being all sorts of crunchy in that respect.

smack427

We use ALL because MH has eczema and he is sensitive to most detergents. I hope it's "sensitive" enough for LO. If not, I will have to use dreft.

nesenotes

I just use tide free and clear.

nesenotes

MissChristineMarie said:

Is Dreft the same as Tide F&C? Better? Worse?? I was thinking of using Dreft.

This is what I use because I get the big jug at Costco. I noticed no difference personally.

AllTheTeaInChina

We switched from regular Tide to the free&clear before DD was born. I read the dreft has added fragerence and it's more expensive than tide so never bothered with it. DH didn't like that his clothes didn't "smell" clean so we buy both reg and f&c tide. He washes his clothes with reg and I use the f&c for my and DD's clothes.

kellyo0131

Dreft for a few months then we will start using our usual which is Purex.  DH has a recation to Tide.

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Manateearmz

MissChristineMarie said:

Is Dreft the same as Tide F&C? Better? Worse?? I was thinking of using Dreft.

With DD we had to use Dreft. She was allergic to most F&C detergents especially Tide F&C. She would break out in hives if her skin touched anything that was washed in anything but Dreft.

brittandjp

Confession: I still use Dreft for DD's clothes. Now, in my defense she has SUPER sensitive skin. We started with Dreft when she was a newborn, but tried switching to ours (Tide F&C) a few times, only for her to break out on her face (we think it was because of her crib sheets). As soon as we'd go back to Dreft, all was fine.

It has been a while (those huge jugs last forever and a day) and the current jug is just about gone. I think we'll try switching back over again.

Beansjjo

Soap nuts and dr bronners

racheldiaries

We're going to try Tide Free & Clear.

feeshah

I love the way Dreft smells. Soooo that's what we will use till I come to my senses that tide F&C is cheaper and will be fine.

Shortstack06

They had All F&C in the Packs/pods at Sam's Club and I bought it because it was cheaper than Tide, I tried it out on my husband's work clothes and it did well. I went back last weekend and they had it on sale for an instant $3 off so I bought the max I could. If baby doesn't react well to it, at least I can use it on our clothes.

marriedinaugust

We started with All F&C and then switched to Charlie's. I can't stand fragranced soaps so we've never used them. Also we use wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets for everything.

mrsshour

I will say that some of the more natural detergents don't get stains out as well. So if you want to shop around maybe start with small bottles or see if you can contact the companies and get samples and see how they work.

bowlwoman

I use Tide Free & Clear on all our clothes, including when the girls were babies and we cloth diapered. That being said, I got a big bottle of Dreft yesterday at my shower (but no receipt), so I don't know if I want to try to take it back to the grocery store without a receipt or just suck it up and use it until it's gone.

NolanRyanLady

We use arm and hammer detergent. I wonder if that would be safe to use, I'll have to read the bottle. .But just for the heck of it I added dreft to my baby shower registries.

mlee116

We used All Free and Clear too and it was fine.  I just used it for all of our clothes and then when DS was a little older, I went back to my regular detergent.  We had no issues.

I don't use fabric softeners/fabric sheets though.

Serunatu

I use Seventh Generation for laundry and dish soap.. cleans well, smells great, fairly inexpensive!

colliebabe

I use F&C for my clothes and DD's clothes, so I will be throwing the baby's stuff in there as well. My husband does his own laundry and he prefers the regular detergent but it really irritates my skin. 

passionfruit1234

I'm a huge fan of soap nuts.

Google them.

Super cost effective, great for the environment, great for anyone with allergies of senetivities (they aren't acctually nuts by the way)

SeahorseMama

We'll be using Dreft because I love the smell of it. Otherwise whatever free & clear detergent is fine.