Do I HAVE to use Dreft for my newborn clothes?
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at
11:57 am
I just had my baby shower and received TONS of clothes and blankets, of course I want to wash them and have them ready for when my baby comes. Do I HAVE to use baby detergent (like Dreft) or is it ok if I just use my regular laundry detergent???
Filed under: Newborn Baby Clothes
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Nope…you don’t have to use dreft…some babies are even sensitive to that. As for your regular detergent it would depend. If you use something that has few fragrances/colors added to it then you can likely get away with it. If it’s something that has a strong scent or has things like febreze or downy added I wouldn’t risk it on a newborn’s skin. I personally use ALL free and clear with downy’s dye free softener. We used that before the new baby was born any how since everyone in my family has sensitive skin anyhow.
Best way to find out if baby will react to your soap is go ahead and put a few outfits in with your clothes and use your detergent. Have baby wear those outfits for a few days and watch her skin closely. If baby will react generally you’ll notice red, irritated skin or rashy skin in the folds of her skin….elbows, behind the knees, under the armpits, around the neck. They’ll generally react within a day or two of being exposed to something they can’t tolerate.
i advise you to use baby detergent, i used regular and it makes the clothes not so soft.. baby detergent is the way to go! congrats!
I’ve never used Dreft for my daughter’s things (now almost 6 months old). I just find a detergent that is label "free" (or the like) and it works just fine.
use it for the clothes til your baby gets here, if he/she and lay on your clothes with no rash then start using yours, don’t use fabric softener though,that will wash the flame retarding out of the clothes
i personally used Dreft and i liked it, although sometimes his clothes would get mixed in with mine and it never affected him. To be on the safe side with a newborn i would say use the dreft until about a year old, my son is 16 months and i still use it on his…plus it has that baby smell to it =)
I thought it costs to much and used All for baby. I don’t think it really matter though.
I use the regular deterget you can do to, just look for a bleach free and if you can a neutral deterget without escense.
reg detergent is fine and if there new you dont need to.
use a sensitive skin detergent or a generic brand of baby detergent.
i have recently found Purex baby detergent for 1/2 the cost of dreft at a local grocery store. i started using this.
if you have a extra rinse cycle you should use that too.
good luck and congrats!!!
I would use baby detergent to begin with or better still, just put them through a wash cycle with no detergent. Warm water will be enough to get the starchiness out of them and that is really all they need.
You don’t have to be pedantic with babies, you can use regular detergent if you and hubby don’t have any skin allergies. If you do then I would go for the baby detergent just in case they react too.
I still use it for my baby and I like it
it’s not mandatory… but it is more gentle
I used only the Dreft that I got as gifts… but once we ran out I bought one bottle of ALL Baby, then a bottle of the Target brand baby detergent (both much cheaper than Dreft)… once those were done I just used a "free and clear" detergent.
Tide, ALL, Arm & Hammer, Cheer, and Purex also have "free and clear" versions of laundry detergent. We still use those on all our laundry since my husband has a bit of a sensitivity to some fragrances.
I would try your regular detergent and see if your child has sensitive skin. Every child is different, and some might be more sensitive than others.
I always used All free and clear….Its rather inexspensive and seems to be free of perfumes and irritants to sensitive skin.
ref detergent is fine, unless you baby develops some kind of reaction, but until then, jsut use your normal one. They will be cuddling up to you anyways!
You don’t have to but it’s better for the baby… I used it and it was good… My son’s clothes was soft and it felt good for him to wear it… Other ones might have things in it that isn’t all that good for a baby… From what I hear… But it’s up to you
ARM & HAMMER FREE. No dyes or perfumes. My little one has excema, and I use this for him and he has no problems. Dreft is expensive, but, I did, infact, try the Target brand and it was just as good, and a little bit cheaper, but, I decided to try the A & H Free and it worked.
at first just to watch for reactions because newborns have such sensitive skin, it is best to use a baby det. You can slowly try to use items laundered in regular det. like towels after bath, clothes etc..
After a bit then its usually fine to use regular det. just be leary of fab. softeners.
I use the ALL Free & Clear and it works just fine. They also make the Baby ALL and it is cheaper than Dreft. So if you think you must use the baby detergent then use the ALL It works the same and is cheaper. But I would just use yours and make sure it is free of dyes and perfumes and that should work just fine! Good Luck and Congrats!!
Dreft is expensive to me. I used the All Baby it has a yellow duck on it. If you caint find that use just any brand that is dye and frangrant free and use a lil less than normal. But if you feel comfortable you can use dreft for the first month and then change
Any laundry detergent that is free of perfume and dye is alright to use for your baby clothes…Dreft is so expensive! I believe it was Baby Magic that came out with a new detergent if you don’t feel comfortable going away from the baby detergent…it was a little bit cheaper than the Dreft when I bought it. I don’t even use the Baby Magic very often…we have had no problems with our 5 month old having his clothes washed in the "free" detergent.
Don’t use Dreft! It has perfumes in it which are not good for babies. Plus the price is way too high. This is just one more way they get new parents to buy into stuff they don’t really need.
My husband researched the whole soap thing and he found that dermatologists recommend All Free and Clear. It has no things that are harmful or allergy causing and it washes well. It is not expensive either.
At first I would use Dreft because you don’t know if the chem in regular detergent is going to give him some kind of skin rash or irritation. I used Dreft with my son for about a year.
I would only use Dreft or Ivory snow, especially to bring NEWBORN home as you do not want an allergic reaction to occur that young due to laundry detergent! It is your choice though, but I have only used Dreft on all 3 of my children up until they were 1 year old!
It would be best to use baby detergent. A newborn or even a toddlers skin is very new and fragile. It can be easily irritated. I started using Cheer when my daughter was 1 1/2. It is still a mild soap but a detergent the whole family can use.
i would suggest you buy something like dreft. all free and clear is cheaper and works just as great. eventually wash a few items in your usual detergant and see how your babys skin reacts to it. some babies can break out in a rash so its best to be safe than sorry.
the baby is coming and their skin is very sensitive
Heavens no, just use regular detergent. Don’t buy the whole marketing gimmick. Obviously, if your baby happens to react to regular detergent, you can move to a dye and perfume free type, but Dreft isn’t necessary at all.
Just use a detergent that is free of dyes, perfumes and enzymes.
I use Tide Free on all our household laundry. Your baby will be in contact with all your clothes and bedding anyway! I use Tide Free on my cloth diapers too!