Poll: Laundry detergents and newborns

[Janna]

To Dreft or not to Dreft...that is the question. If I make my own using Fels Naptha, Borax and Super Washing Soda, should I be comfortable with that (even though there's no yummy "new baby scent" like Dreft has, :glare:) or should I use Dreft for the first few months?

I know it seems like I'm being ridiculous with these seemingly petty questions - after all, this is my 3rd baby. HOWEVER, I am more knowledgeable now, I am older and would like to think at least a little bit wiser than I was 6.5 years ago. And a lot of excellent information I have, I received from this board (like how to make that laundry detergent for one!).

So what do you do/did you do?

[OnTheBrink]

I'd do the Dreft. When the snugglebunny comes, you're not going to have time to make soap.

[Janna]

Ah! But wait! I have already made a batch that should last me until he comes, and I can easily make more so it's already done before he comes. So there! http://tools.digeratimarketing.co.uk/content/lb/smile/happy/happy0158.gif (http://www.email-blacklist.com)

[GothicGyrl]

I picked the regular stuff because I'm one of those bad moms that doesn't buy into the hype of "MUST NEED FOR BABY" bit.

I'm NOT speaking of those who have kids with genuine allergies, but I think starting from day one with all of this "protection" stuff, just creates more problems than it is worth.

Kind of like the overuse of hand sanitizer has created a super germ that has become resistent to it. kwim?

Anyway--I also fed my 6mos old Herring in Sour Cream straight out of the jar, so ;)

[Colleen]

None of your poll options work for me. I don't have a clue what Dreft is. (Well, I do have a "clue" now that I read your post, but it's not something with which I was previously familiar ~ and not something I'd likely buy.) My regular detergent is irregular in that it's not a conventional brand like Tide, but Bi-O-Kleen. I feel good about that choice both in terms of the environment and our health. Because options like that are available to me, I'm not compelled to make my own detergent.

[Mrs Mungo]

I voted Dreft. I have *horrible* skin allergies. I can't use the vast majority of detergents and cannot use fabric softener at all. I will break out in hives, it's terrible. I can't find liquid Tide Free here on a regular basis and I keep trying other "free" or "free and clear" detergents and nothing has worked. I've had to switch to the seventh generation free. I'm not allergic to it but I don't think it cleans as well. *sigh*.

[pixelroper]

I voted Dreft. I have *horrible* skin allergies. I can't use the vast majority of detergents and cannot use fabric softener at all. I will break out in hives, it's terrible. I can't find liquid Tide Free here on a regular basis and I keep trying other "free" or "free and clear" detergents and nothing has worked. I've had to switch to the seventh generation free. I'm not allergic to it but I don't think it cleans as well. *sigh*.

ditto on Dreft vote
I've questioned some of the brand's cleaning abilities too- Use Kirkland (Costco) Free & Clear with no problems but I don't think any of us are super sensitive either.

[sclisa]

I didn't vote because I wanted to vote "use whatever it is that you already use." :) I have gone through lots of phases: Tide, homemade, environmentally-friendly, and every time I've had a baby, I've just used whatever I was already using. Well, I take that back. Once, I received a bottle of Dreft at a baby shower, so I used it because I already had it. I wouldn't buy it though. I don't buy many "just for baby" items, so I'm sure that affects my opinion.

Lisa

[snickelfritz]

For each of my 2 kiddos, I started with a large box of Dreft(or whatever cheapo sensitive skin detergent the store had.) I only used it for baby clothes. When that box was gone (which is a LONG time, if it's only for baby clothes) I washed in my regular detergent and kept an eye out for allergic reactions. With both, I was able to just continue on with regular detergent.

My thinking was that newborn skin is much more sensitive than a baby that's a few months old. Maybe that's the way the marketing has affected me, but I figure I wasn't really out much by doing that.

[PrairieAir]

I voted regular, but I would never use Tide. It makes me break out in hives. I use Arm & Hammer and almost always have. For a few years I tried some of that detergent in the big 5 gallon buckets from Sams and another kind from the grocery store. I was so scared the first time I tried them because I'm very sensitive to detergents and perfumes. We're back to A & H, now in the more environmentally friendly form. I can't use fabric softener on a regular basis either because the smell is too much for me.

[Shannon]

None of your poll options work for me. I don't have a clue what Dreft is. (Well, I do have a "clue" now that I read your post, but it's not something with which I was previously familiar ~ and not something I'd likely buy.) My regular detergent is irregular in that it's not a conventional brand like Tide, but Bi-O-Kleen. I feel good about that choice both in terms of the environment and our health. Because options like that are available to me, I'm not compelled to make my own detergent.
:iagree:

We use Bio-Kleen too. A lot of companies that sell cloth diapers recommend it.

[Gailmegan]

i didn't vote either b/c i use an eco-friendly detergent

[MichelleWI]

Tide here, and Baby's clothes (not diapers) go right in with ours from the very start. I do not have time for loads of *just* baby stuff! I draw the line at putting diapers in with our regular clothes, though. ::shudder:: I know lots of moms do that, but I just can't be one of them. LOL

Our third and fourth children both had sensitivities as babies and one of them still does. Tide is the only detergent that consistently performs well without causing issues with rashes, eczema or dingy clothes.

[Momto4kids]

I chose Dreft becuase that is what I have used for my kids up until their about 10-12 months old. My first child reacted negatively to regular (Tide) detergent so I tried Dreft and it was fine. So I used that for the next 2. I really hadn't tried anyhting else since that worked. After 1 year though Tide seemed to be fine for them.

[Shawna in Texas]

We had a sample of Dreft before baby and I washed all her clothes/blankets in it. Also had a $2 coupon, so went ahead and got a box because of skin issues with previous child.

I washed our sheets in it. DH loves the smell so much that he does the laundry. He doesn't trust that I won't use Gain on his work clothes because I accidently did it after he fell in love with the Dreft.

So, Dreft=DH doing the laundry.

A heads up for those who also love the smell--there is now a fabric refresher. DH is now trying to find ways to use up our Febreze.

[Ellyndria]

Tide Free here... or I'd use other "Free" type detergents. What I've learned about Dreft is the only thing special about it is it preserves the flame/fire retardant chemicals that are put on some baby clothes...which can be a health hazard in themselves. So yeah, I'd rather wash out those chemicals with a normal detergent.

[Closeacademy]

I didn't vote either because mine didn't fit in any of the categories.

I did cloth diapers and have babies with sensetive skin so I used a Free and Clear detergent. There were no perfumes, no dyes and it was safe to use with the diapers for which I used the dry pail method as described in the book Diaper Changes.

[Plaid Dad]

We used regular detergent for everything, but double-rinsed the diapers. I tried homemade laundry soap for a while but found that things weren't getting clean enough for me.

[Andie]

I guess my vote is regular detergent, but my regular detergent is now Charlie's (http://www.charliesoap.com/) which rinses cleaner than anything I've ever seen, and has worked well for those of us here with sensitive skin. I wouldn't buy Dreft.

You're getting close! :-) Are the kids excited?

[abbeyej]

None of the above.

We switched to All Free and Clear when ds was a baby (and have happily stuck with it ever since for *all* of us). Everything else we tried made his skin break out, and the "natural" ones (like Ecover) were the very worst of all (though I never figured out why).

I wouldn't use Dreft or anything else scented.

[Tap, tap, tap]

I like to wash baby clothes by themselves so I don't have to sort it all later and it helps to keep matching pieces together :001_smile:

[Suzanne in ABQ]

With my three children, I started with my regular detergent (SA-8), and kept an eye open for any sort of reaction. If I'd detected a problem, I would have switched immediately. I even had a Dreft sample sitting there, just in case I needed to re-wash everything. But, there was never a problem. I finally threw that sample away.

[Ellie]

My choice isn't really on your list: Amway's SA8, fabric softener, and bleach. Amway makes a sensitive detergent now, but I used the "regular" one with no problems at all.

We used to do a "magic show" with Dreft and Chlorox 2 (dry bleach). We'd mix a couple of tablespoons of each in a cup with hot water, and then watch as they congealed and bubbled over the sides of the cup, eventually hardening in rivulets, not unlike sort of a plastic lava. This cured me of ever wanting to use Dreft!

Dh had had terrible skin problems since high school (one of his doctors told him it was a s*xually transmitted disease, for goodness' sake!), but it all cleared up after I started using SA8.

We don't use anything else in our home. :)

[Janna]

That experiment makes me think of a McDonald's experiment I did that cured me from eating McDonalds (really all fast food). I bought a plain hamburger and left it out for a YEAR - never refrigerated or anything, just left out on the counter (or in the pantry) and it NEVER molded. It NEVER changed shape. The entire hamburger, including the bread looked the EXACT same as it did when I had bought it a year earlier - and it NEVER smelled bad either. That's some serious preservation. *shudder*.

I'm wondering about your Dreft experiment though. Wouldn't all detergents do that with a bleach compound? What was it about Dreft that another detergent wouldn't do that with? I hope my question makes sense....

[ArwenA]

Homemade detergent.:)

[Chris in VA]

I used Ivory and Dreft for a little while with each child, because I liked using all that special baby stuff-it was really fun for me to pick out stuff like laundry soap, bum cream, baby bath stuff--it just helped me prepare and "nest."

But truthfully, after the first batch ran out, it was back to the same stuff everyone else used--usually Arm and Hammer, or whatever was on sale. I did cloth diapers for a time with each child, and rinsed everything really well, so it didn't matter to me.

[Ellie]

I'm wondering about your Dreft experiment though. Wouldn't all detergents do that with a bleach compound? What was it about Dreft that another detergent wouldn't do that with? I hope my question makes sense....

No, Tide didn't do that; only Dreft. We didn't know the exact ingredients in Dreft that caused that reaction. The point of this particular demo was to show what would be happening in the laundry with products that people used because that were supposed to be better for more sensitive skin; imagine this reaction going on in your clothes :-o

[Ravin]

If I was already in the habit of making homemade detergent, I'd stick with it. We use Tide Free and Clear or Kirkland (Costco brand) Free and Clear, because they effectively clean even DH's aprons and chef coats, not to mention cloth diapers, but no one breaks out in reaction to them. DH breaks out with cheaper detergents and powders. I also use the free and clear over the regular because I don't want any unnecessary scents, etc. in it and my own excema is unpredictable and has worsened periodically so I don't want to push it and get a skin reaction myself.

I never even considered Dreft because I got warned that it can cause build-ups on cloth diapers that make them less absorbent, and I don't like buying/using separate products when it isn't necessary.

[gandpsmommy]

And I didn't want to take any chances. In hindsight, I probably could have just used our regular detergent, but it does have a wonderful baby scent, doesn't it?

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Had to vote for the families regular detergent. That being said--I personally prefer perfume free detergents and just wash everything for the family in one brand. With the most recent addition to the family we switched at about 4 months due to needing to buy in bulk for everyone to the regular-original scent-no frills version of our favorite detergent. Still no problems for the little one. I finally decided that life is too complicated to worry about which kid got which detergent. (Of course I would cater to the needs of anyone in the family if they had a reaction.)

Trying to keep the household running on the keep it as simple as possible principle.

[ACinGA]

I always used Dreft, but that's because my sons all had reactions to the medical tape/latex they had been exposed to in the hospital. I didn't want to chance making it worse.

-Amber