Unscented detergents, soaps, etc.

M

Monica11

Cathlete
Hi all. I think I better get some of the baby's clothes ready, but I don't know what to do about washing them. Dreft is soooo expensive, but if it prevents a rash I'll gladly spend the money. Is it worth it? Are other brands formulated for babies as good? I normally use Free and Clear All, which has no dyes or fragrance. Is that good enough?

On a related note, why is it so hard to find unscented baby products? Babies smell pretty good to begin with, why do we need to wash them in scented products?!?! I will probably buy Paula's Choice hair and body shampoo, which is totally dye and fragrance free, but you have to order that online. I'd rather find something in the store. Any suggestions about unscented, undyed products?

Monica
 
I use free and clear detergents too- Purex makes the cheapest free and clear. All and Tide are good too, but more $. The thing with dreft is, the detergent part is okay, and dye free, but not fragrance free. What are they thinking is my reaction! I would stick to the free and clear stuff. They are fine. If you are really worried, set your washer to 2nd rinse, if it has that option, so you really get any soap out of the baby clothes.

I am a fan of paula's choice. I like the hair and body shampoo, but i also wash my baby with her face cleanser, since all of her products are fragrance and dye free. I have a problem finding fragrance and dye free cleansers/body washes in the store, your best bet is look at the womens' face cleansers in the store. They are more likely to be fragrance/dye free than the body washes and shampoos. You could easily use a face cleanser for bathing your baby. Ponds use to have a face cleanser that I loved, but they discontinued it, I think, since I can't find it. You'll have to read ingredient labels and take a whiff to be sure.
 
At our Caring For Your Infant class, the teacher told us that it's perfectly okay to use something other than Dreft and save the $$. Just as long as the detergent has no fragrance or dye, it should be fine, she said.

She also warned against using fabric softeners in the wash cycle, as they can make fabrics more flammable. (She wasn't sure if this also happened with dryer sofeners like Bounce.)
 
I also use All Free and Clear, or the Purex kind. I think Dreft has about the biggest racket going! Kristan
 
I use Purex for baby which averages the same cost-wise as any other detergent on the market...I have never bought Dreft because I feel it's a rip off...
 
I use white vinegar instead of fabric softener for my baby laundry and every other load or so of the rest of our clothes. (Don't worry, it doesn't leave a vinegar smell! :) ) It's makes the fabrics softer, is pretty non-allergenic and helps remove residue left behind on the clothes from washing and previous fabric softener usage. I use a fragrence-free detergent and brown laundry soap for stain removal and have never had a reaction from my babies. I have a huge container of Dreft (a shower gift from last baby) that I don't use because: #1 It does have a fragrance (agreeing with the 'what are they thinking?!' comment above!!) and #2 It didn't seem to get the clothes as clean, especially stains. Babies may look cute, but BOY can they wreck a nice outfit in record time !! :) :) :)

I got the vinegar tip from a book about natural home care. When we started having children I was worried about all the chemicals that we had in the house so started trying to find replacements where I could. We have hard water, and the vinegar seems to have helped with the 'dingy-whites' problems we were having, too.
 
Thanks for the tip on using vinegar. I will try it. I just need to know, how much do you use and for what size load? Thanks.

(FYI - when I was young, my mom would periodically rinse my hair with vinegar in the laundry sink to remove buildup. My hair would feel so soft afterwards and scalp so fresh. I had not thought to use it on my laundry. There are so many uses for vinegar!)
 
I do use Dreft. The thing with the free and clear stuff you have to careful of is though they are marketed as "free and clear" of dyes and fragrances, they are still LOADED with detergents. When washing clothes it's the detergents that will be left behind, especially if you have a washer that doesn't rinse well. The fact that Dreft has fragrance doesn't bother me because that is not what's going to hurt my baby's skin. It's the detergent part. Plus there isn't enough fragrance in Dreft for me to worry about. When I worry about fragrance is in soaps, lotions, candles, cleaning products...basically anything that is in direct contact with the skin, sinks into the skin or is directly inhaled. I make my own bar soaps and cleaning products and only buy fragrance free/dye free lotions. For my baby, I've opted to purchase a fragrance-free liquid castile soap for washing her skin and high end lotions formulated for babies by manufacturers known for making natural products. Yes, you pay more...but it's better quality. For both adults and babies as well as the environment, it's the lotions, body washes and cleansing bars (which are usually not even real soap) that contain most of the harshest ingredients to skin. And most household cleaning products are awful for the environment as well as the person cleaning with them. Back to Dreft, I find that it cleans just fine. Also, I do agree vinegar is great for a lot of things. I make a lot of household cleaning products with it but I admit I haven't tried it for a fabric softener.
 
I have a front-load washer that has a small cup for fabric softener - not sure of the size, but I think it's smaller than what you'd have for a top load washer since the rinse cycle uses less water. I fill the cup a little more than halfway.

Here's a site I just pulled up that has more info - sounds like you use the same amount of vinegar as you would softener:

http://frugalliving.about.com/cs/tips/a/blvinlaundry.htm

Lots of tips there! I have used the tip #6 regarding pet urine - a cat got closed into a bedroom all day while we were at work and had a panic induced accident on the heirloom bedspread that was folded up at the bottom of the bed - YUCK! I didn't want to use anything too harsh because of the fabric, but the vinegar worked wonders - no odor, no stain. Not sure how the other tips work, but I'll print them and leave them by the washer for future reference.

Hope that helps - I buy a two gallon jug of vinegar at Costco every few months and use it all over the house. It's amazing how much you can do with that stuff!!
 
Thanks everyone for all this info. I am going to stick with my All Free and Clear, unless the doc convinces me otherwise.

Isn't Paula Begoun the best? I started using her skin care products about a year ago and nothing else compares for the price.
 
I debated this myself. I bought a bottle of Dreft when Justin was born & it lasted almost a year (we have a front loader washer too). I figured, since it lasted so long I would splurge and buy it again.

**Melanie**
baby to be 11/28/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

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