maybe a dumb question...

Kmarsh23 · June 2011

is it safe to use regular washing detergent for newborn clothes or would you recommend using dreft?

labbielover07 · June 2011

Not a dumb question at all. IMO, Dreft is a waste of money. I always used whatever we used on our clothes. We use Gain and a Clorox Stain Fighter in all loads of laundry.

MC+KK · June 2011

I used it for a month I think. Now I'm all about tide, downy, and dryer sheets! I love the smell of downy!!

BLONDIE6FT · June 2011

dreft is so expensive! we use it now that T has developed eczema and seems to have some skin issues. but we started with just free and clear (no scent stuff) and she did fine for a year.

if your child doesn't have any problems, then stick to plain detergent. one thing my mil told me was to add an extra rinse cycle to get more of the soap out. (i didn't even know we had that feature on our washer! Embarrassed )

Angie&Doc · June 2011

I always used the same detergent for all of our clothes.

MrsBeckO · June 2011

If you're going to use Dreft, you might as well use the regular stuff. It has fragrance in it, so its not much better than the regular. We use either Charlie's Soap or free & clear on all household laundry because DD has extremely sensitive skin. If it weren't for her sensitivity, we'd just use the regular detergents.

BLONDIE6FT · June 2011

We've always used free and clear for ours. We tried 3 or 4 different ones but none helped dd. We had to try dreft as a last resort. Charlies is good but I Forget about it because I don't see it at heb

ssinca · June 2011

I remember reading somewhere, and it makes sense, baby is going to be up against you and your clothes so it makes sense to use the same thing for all of you.

Taytee · June 2011

ssinca:
I remember reading somewhere, and it makes sense, baby is going to be up against you and your clothes so it makes sense to use the same thing for all of you.

This is exactly what I was going to say. It's better for your body and theirs to use a "Free & Clear" formulation of any brand. Dreft is a marketing ploy as far as I'm concerned. It's overpriced, overscented and just crappy detergent overall. We use Charlie's mostly. It is a PITA to get sometimes but we just buy a lot at once and try to order ahead. So in a perfect world, in order of preference,

Any organic detergent (Charlie's, Allens, etc)
Anything "Free and Clear"
Anything you can get at HEB
Dreft
nothing

Plus, I know there ARE people who always do all their baby/kid laundry in a different load but that would never work for us. We do family laundry. Their clothes are getting washed with all our clothes, so all have to use the same detergent.

And even though you didn't ask about it - liquid fabric softner, especially scented ones, are also a big no no. Fabric softener makes everything less absorbant overall so bibs eventually become water repellant and so will your burb cloths etc. I could go on and on about the evils of liquid fabric softner.... but anyway... We use a 1/2 sheet of a free and clear type just to cut down on the static. I've tried every other natural and organic replacement including a vinegar soaked rag etc and nothing else works. My scrubs can't be all clinging to my legs and stuff =P

ShernRich · June 2011

We have been using Dreft for a good while on DD's items. (We got three large ones at our baby shower, and never actually 'bought' any.) I've also used All Free/Clear and that works well. DD has had sensitive skin from birth, so we wash everything in it, even our clothes (in Free/Clear, not Dreft.)

SaraLouiseBride08 · June 2011

We use Costco's "Kirkland" brand of Free and Clear for everyone's clothes. It's inexpensive, and keeps all the irritating things off all of us. We don't have sensitive skin, but even people with "normal" skin can be irritated by other laundry detergents.

But no, there was no way I was spending money on Deft.

MrsAJL · June 2011

We use HEB brand liquid laundry detergent. They make a dye free, fragrance free option and we use that. The baby specific detergent I always that was pointless (plus is super scented).

thethomps · June 2011

We used unscented Method detergent for all our newborn clothes. Now I use our CD detergent because DD has really sensitive skin and it really rinses clean. I would say you can use regular detergent, but I would probably use unscented at first, just in case your LO is sensitive to fragrance.

Kmarsh23 · June 2011

thanks all, I guess I'll stick to what I normally use and change if needed.

balihaigirl · June 2011

SaraLouiseBride08:
We use Costco's "Kirkland" brand of Free and Clear for everyone's clothes. It's inexpensive, and keeps all the irritating things off all of us. We don't have sensitive skin, but even people with "normal" skin can be irritated by other laundry detergents.

But no, there was no way I was spending money on Deft.

exactly this.

Want a personalized experience?

maybe a dumb question...

Re: maybe a dumb question...

Choose Another Board

Search Boards