May 2014 Moms

baby detergent and washing new clothes

so my family is telling me not to bother using baby detergent for babies clothes and that they always used unscented regular detergent and it was fine. other people are telling me baby detergent is a must ... so what's the deal! also I was getting the small clothes together from my shower to wash them
for when baby arrives and I'm being told that's not necessary at all. not big issues but I'd love to know what you guys are all doing in this department

Re: baby detergent and washing new clothes

  • I do wash her clothes separately but that's only because I separate all the laundry so that I don't have to separate, fold, and put away in different places everytime I do laundry. We all have our own hampers so it's already separated.
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  • I just bought a small dreft detergent. Will use it till it's gone then do regular detergent
  • ns1ns1 member
    Agree with others. We use all free and clear, same as what we use on our clothes.

    I also wash baby's clothes before using if they're new. If you think you may have too many of one size though and he'll never get to wear it all you may want to keep tags on it so it can be returned.
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  • We use All or Tide Free and Clear. I still wash my son's (18 months) clothes before he wears them the first time, but mainly because I find that a lot of them shrink from too big to the proper size when I wash them once.
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  • We use any of the Free and Clear detergents. Dreft has a very strong scent and I personally don't want that on a newborn. They smell good enough already. :)
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  • I agree it's a waste. Plus it has more fragrance and other stuff in it than most normal detergents, how is that good for baby's skin? I use Charlie's Soap. I wash all baby clothes before use, actually I wash all clothes before use, you have no idea what's touched them in the making, storing, getting to the store and being tried on process.

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  • cbrustcbrust member
    edited March 2014
    I use Kirkland free and clear from Costco on all our clothes. I separated baby's clothes though because I use Downey on all our other stuff. Also a note about Dreft- it is not color fast so especially if you put everything in the dryer the color will fade much faster.

    ETA: now I'm not sure if I'm correct about the color safe part of dreft. All I know is it smells really strong and makes the clothes feel stiff
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  • I would definitely wash anything new before using it, right down to blankets and swaddles. We use arm & hammer free and clear. I hate the smell of dreft and how it makes clothes feel. I think it's a waste of $$
  • I just wash everything first … we're using our regular detergent (homemade/Sunlight/Cheer), if LO ends up having a reaction I'll switch then. We kind of have a mishmash at the moment of things to use up.
  • I wash all our cloths before we wear them. I actually do use baby soap and I don't think there is much of a price difference. I use seventh generation for us and little ones, neither have a strong smell.
    Haven't started washing this little ones clothes but I did wash all my sons before he was born. It was a lot if stuff so I was glad to get it out if the way before he arrived.

     

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  • This question was asked of one of the best pediatrician's in Dallas at my childbirth class the other day. Her response was: There is no need spending extra on special detergent if your baby doesn't react to what you already use. And washing their clothes in one kind and your sheets/clothes in another kind won't make sense because the baby will touch those items too. She suggested switching to free & clear detergents if baby reacts to normal detergent. She also said you should definitely wash all clothes and linens you expect your baby to use before first use - you never know what they've been exposed to and the size could change.
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  • No need for special detergent, and yes to washing before wearing. Just use what you wash your own stuff in, *if* LO has a reaction then switch at the time.
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  • I don't use anything special, just Free and clear, usually purex brand.
    I do wash them before wearing; I do that with all our clothes though so nothing special.
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  • edited March 2014
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  • We also got one bottle of Dreft and when that's done its done. After that we'll use Tide powder because that's what her cloth diapers are washed with unless she has a reaction.
  • I got a large bottle of Dreft at my shower, I might use it. For now we use only F&C detergents for our laundry so I'll continue to use that. And I always wash all my own clothes before I wear them the first time, so I'm also washing everything for LO.




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  • danabsddanabsd member
    edited March 2014
    Are we talking about not using detergent at all or not using Dreft?
    We use the white tide on all our clothes. And we wash then all together. *shock and aw* 
    Works great. 
    FWIW, Dreft sucks, it's not color safe and makes clothes look really dingy after only one wash.

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  • I used the white tide to wash hers and our clothes. Just held off on the fabric softener.I thought it was a waste of money to buy a detergent I would only use for her.

    It's a BOY










  • I just used Tide Free.  The dreft has way too much perfume.

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  • I use All Free and Clear (I think that's what it's called) for all of our clothes. DS is 2.5 and I still wash all of his clothes before he wears them or he breaks out with little red bumps on his chest and back.
  • I never used baby detergent or even unscented detergent. I've always just used the giant bucket of cheap powder from Sam's Club. I think it's called WindFresh. It's scented but not overly so. My entire family has very sensitive skin and none of us has ever reacted badly to it. A few times I've bought regular liquid Purex, when I'm out of powder and don't have time to go to Sam's or whatever, and we do fine with it too.

    I never use fabric softener, though. I use 1/2 cup plain white vinegar in the rinse instead (in a Downy ball) to remove detergent residue and reduce hard water deposits. I think that makes the biggest difference.


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  • ZiegefickerZiegeficker member
    edited March 2014
    Baby detergent has got to be a marketing gimmick. I can't imagine any other reason why a product like this has been deemed necessary and/or exists. Just use what you use for your clothes. Remember, if your baby is going to have a reaction to your laundry detergent, she'll react the same when she's cuddling up to the clothes you're wearing. So there's no need yet to assume she needs something special just yet; but if she does, you'll need to wash everyone's clothes in that kind of detergent.
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  • Im going Tide Free & Clear.  Deft is way more expensive.  
  • thanks guys I'll be doing the reg detergent! I knew that baby det had to be a gimmick
  • I'm using my regular detergent and in my house, everything gets washed before it's used.
  • We use a more natural/Eco wash for our clothes and that's what I've used on baby's clothes, blankets etc. We got a huge bottle at Costco it's called Ecos.

    The only special detergent I'll be using is for my cloth diapers but that's a whole world of its own lol

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  • My sister bought me a bottle of Ivory Snow at my shower, so I will use that to wash all the clothes from my baby shower and then until it's gone. I need to get a Free and Clear detergent for my cloth diapers anyway, so I will probably just start using that on all our clothes and laundry. We've never used fabric softener, but we do use Gain because I like the smell. To save money and effort I'm happy to just switch to one detergent (F&C) once we have cloth diapers to wash (and our Costco sized Gain detergent bottle is finished).
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  • FWIW I've had mild eczema my entire life, and about 12 years ago (no kids at the time) a dermatologist recommended switching to baby detergent for my own clothes to prevent skin rash. At the time "Free and Clear" detergents were not as commonplace, and I suspect this was the best alternative they could give that you could still get at a regular store. So I don't think it's all marketing, he was a pretty good dermatologist.  But now I do just get the dye-free stuff from Costco, and plan to do the same when the baby gets here. 
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  • Since I'm allergic to most detergents, I always used dreft on DS's clothes.  When he was about a year or so old I started using my detergent on his clothes and there were a few other times that I was out of detergent that I used my detergent on his clothes and found that it didn't get the spit up/formula out and left stains, which didn't happen with the dreft, so I'm using dreft again for DD.  I only washed a few articles of clothing and then all of her blankets/sheets and such.  I want to wait and see how big she is before I go washing everything in case I have exchanges to make, but it does definitely help to come home from the hospital and have the baby's stuff ready to go.  The last thing I felt like doing upon coming home fromt he hospital was laundry...

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  • I'm a FTM but we bought Purex baby- I got a small bottle for only $2.99. It smells so good!

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  • I wash everything first. I also have and will use baby all. I like the smell and it makes the clothes feel soft. Also when my first son was lil that's all he could use. Everything else made him break out, just like his dad. So I guess even tho it's a lil more expensive it's worth it for me. My babies have sensitive skin. I usually switch after a year or so. I also just wash our clothes with the babies clothes if I don't have a full load. No one minds the smell. Like I said we like it.
  • Lild09 said:
    We use a more natural/Eco wash for our clothes and that's what I've used on baby's clothes, blankets etc. We got a huge bottle at Costco it's called Ecos. The only special detergent I'll be using is for my cloth diapers but that's a whole world of its own lol

    As long as your regular detergent (not familiar with ecos) is actual detergent and doesn't have fabric softener built in then you can use it on your diapers. Everything in our house is washed with tide, including diapers!

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  • So last weekend I washed everything while I was doing normal laundry. (And, to refer back to my comment here, my mom said I was "nesting." I said I was just doing the baby laundry at the same time I'd be doing normal laundry. HOW IS THAT NESTING???)
    I've been doing it as I go to - its called getting shit done :)
  • That's my concern. What if DS never gets to wear something and I've already ripped tags?! Yeah - I'm holding off on the washing clothes first to see if he actually reacts to the new clothes.
    ns1 said:

    Agree with others. We use all free and clear, same as what we use on our clothes.

    I also wash baby's clothes before using if they're new. If you think you may have too many of one size though and he'll never get to wear it all you may want to keep tags on it so it can be returned.

  • That's my concern. What if DS never gets to wear something and I've already ripped tags?! Yeah - I'm holding off on the washing clothes first to see if he actually reacts to the new clothes.

    Chances are you won't be able to return as they would go on sale with changing seasons and styles and will have been clearanced. Happened to me a couple times with gifts. But that could be Canada for you.
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