Suggestions on detergent, etc. for newborn clothes

[dragonflylvr]

My baby is due in Dec. so I am trying to plan ahead here. LOL.

Do you have suggestions for detergents, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, stain removers for the baby's clothes, etc.?

Thanks so much.

Lori

[Momof3Labs]

Detergent - anything unscented. Babies can be sensitive to fragrance. Tide Free, Cheer Free, whatever.

Fabric softener - big no-no for the first few months, again because of skin sensitivity. Then use whatever the family uses (after testing for sensitivity).

Stain removers - I like Zout and OxyClean.

[Marisa6826]

We use All Free and Clear - WAY cheaper than Dreft and accomplishes the same thing.

NO fabric softener, chlorine bleach or dryer sheets. If you find that you MUST use bleach, try putting the item outside in the sun first. If that still doesn't work, then do a double rinse afterward to make sure there's no residue.

LOVE Shout gel. Oxyclean is also great, although now that we have a front loader, I have no idea how to introduce powder into the wash and use liquid detergent at the same time. Oxyclean now comes in a liquid spray, though.

-m

[dragonflylvr]

Thanks for the info but I have a question as well. How do you keep the baby's things soft. We have horrible water here, on the verge of being hard water. I just don't want the clothes and stuff being scratchy either. Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

[dragonflylvr]

Thanks for the info but I have a question as well. How do you keep the baby's things soft. We have horrible water here, on the verge of being hard water. I just don't want the clothes and stuff being scratchy either. Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

[Momof3Labs]

We have very hard water and Colin's clothes were fine without fabric softener.

[fauve01]

as the others said, no fabric softener (liquid or sheets) for quite a while. we have very hard water and the clothes were soft enough. if you're worried, wash them a few times before baby comes and maybe they will soften up more.

i used (and still use) All Clear. it is at Sams club and costco.

for stain removal, the best thing i have ever found is called Awesome and i get it at the 99cent store. it's yellow and comes in an opaque container with a spray top. another amazing wonderful stain remover is a bar called fels-napfta, which i buy at the grocery.

for stains that didn't come all the way out, i set the baby clothes in the sun for the day and the stain would be gone. (then i washed it after being outside all day).

HTH!

Anne + DD 10-03

[JacksMommy]

I used Dreft in the beginning (just in case) but pretty quickly just started using our regular detergent since DS did not have any bad reactions to it. I've heard that Calgon is pretty good for softening up hard water without using a fabric softener - you just add it in with your detergent. As for stain remover, I like Zout, and use oxyclean for soaking tough stains out as needed.

As with many other things, this is one of those things that feels huge before the baby arrives and then, unless you have a baby with very sensitive skin, isn't a big deal at all. Buy one detergent/stain remover and if it doesn't work, you can always try something else!

Laurel
Working Mama to Jack, 6/4/02
EDD #2 12/24/02