We've been using ALL free and clear but I think it doesn't seem to get stains (like poop) out, whereas our regular detergent (Tide) will. I stuck with a free and clear for baby clothes because I thought it was better for LO but I'm not sure it's worth it if things don't come out clean.
What detergent and/or pre-treater do you use on baby stuff?
Re: what laundry detergent do you use for LO?
I use whatever free and clear is on sale - usually Purex or Arm and Hammer. For clothes with stains, I'll either pretreat with Shout or I have a now discontinued Mrs. Meyers stain treatment that I'm hoarding. I also sometimes throw in a scoop of oxiclean for loads with stains.
ETA - this is what I do for our clothes, too. I wash baby's stuff in warm, though, and most of our stuff in cold.
For stains, I pre-treat with Zout. If it's a really stubborn stain, sometimes I have to wash it a second time in hot water.
We used a free and clear until Snuggle was about 9 weeks old. I wanted to see if we could wash his stuff with our detergent since, like you said, things come out cleaner. We put one of his outfits in with our laundry and he did not have any issue with it, so we have been using regular detergent since.
Tide original powder. It's what I used to use, and DD has never had any reaction to it, so I've just continued to use it.
ETA: I use OxyClean Baby on really tough stains.
put the poop-stained clothes out in the sun, the sun gets rid of the bilurubin (sp?), which is what gives poop their brown color. (which is why they tell you to put your jaundiced baby in the sun)