Whats the Best Detergent and Softener to Use in Laundry ?

I love Dreft. My son is very sensitive. I do not use fabric softener at all as that would bother him too.

1/19/10

Greetings A.,I am a Melaleuca Marketing Executive and i would like you to go to this website and look and listen to the presentations, www.Melaleuca.com/DeliveringWellness and put in this password: melaleuca, you might find something call M. Muhammad ###-###-#### or email me :____@____.com

Hi A.,
I have used Arm and Hammer dye and perfume free since my 3-year-old was an infant. He broke out from regular detergent and never had problems with his skin once I switched. I also use Wegmans brand perfume free dryer sheets and have had no problems with that. My 18-month-old has much more sensitive skin and eczema all over. Due to cost, I tried Purex dye/perfume free, but our clothes always smelled funny. I recently started making my own laundry soap (for savings and skin) after a co-worker shared a sample and the recipe. My family's skin has been fine with the homemade laundry soap, our clothes smell fresh (but don't smell like soap) and it even got out a blackberry pie stain after Thanksgiving.

There are several recipes online for laundry soap, most including Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Soap (or you can substitue something else--I have used Ivory and found that it worked nicely), Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda), and Borax, all of which is available in the laundry aisle and probably costs less than a total of $6. Here is a website with several recipes: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-reci... If you make soap, save juice and other laundry soap bottles to store it in--it is easier than leaving it in a bucket. Grating the soap was also not at all a pain. I usually make soap when we're watching a movie, so it is not that inconvenient, either.

I keep hoping the Arm and Hammer detergent goes on sale again, but for now I am pretty well sold on homemade detergent. I hope you find something that works for your daughter's skin. You should be fine with a regular dyey/perfume free soap though instead of Dreft, and make sure that whatever you do, you wash everything with the sensitive soap (especially your own clothing) since she will be in contact with other things. It took us a while to cycle through everything with my son so that nothing he touched had been washed in the other laundry soap. Keep Vaseline around for her skin, too. That seems to be the only thing that helps us.

I love Seventh Generation Blue Eucalyptus and Lavender. But for my almost 4 month old we use the Seventh Gen Baby laundry detergent. Check out Skin Deep for the hazard rating of you products. It'll let you know which products have skin irritants and which don't. The lower rating the better. Good luck.

Hi A.
Sorry your daughter seems so sensitive!! I have children that are sensitive, and the first easy thing to do is to put the clothes through the was a second time with no detergent. Takes twice as long to wash but sometimes no rash, or itchy skin. Next you can put 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the second wash cycle. It worked marvelously for 2 of my children but not the other two.
I use ALL Free for sensitive skin, and no softener(I do use those blue dryer balls) when I run out of the chemical free balls that I have been using for about 15 years now. They may be available at your stores but we live rural and I order them through catalog, usually Home Trends. The balls are green now and you get about 1,000 washes for each ball. No more itchy rashy skin on my most sensitive daughter's skin. She is 20, and she hoped it wouldn't matter, it does.
God bless and hope you find an idea that works for you and your daughter
K.
Hope this gives you some ideas

Hi A.,

I have had great success with Dreft. They have detergent, fabric softener sheets, AND a spray to get out stains. It smells sooooo good that I still use it with my daughter's clothes. She is 22 months old, but we enjoy the smell too much to switch to another detergent. Costco sells it for a great price too.

Good luck,
L.

Hi A., I used ALL free and clear detergent and no fabric softner for baby clothes. I know there are "organic" detergents out there nowadays, but when I had babies, I used the Free and Clear. Many of the "baby" detergents are full of perfume and colors and things that are not good for their sensitive skin. Good luck

Hi A.! I love Seventh Generation and BioKleen laundry soaps. I am so tired of people advertising Melaleuca as "Green" and "all natural" when they are clearly NOT.
Seventh Generation has a full disclosure policy for all of their ingredients but Melaleuca refuses to divulge any ingredient except for melaleuca oil.

Most grocery stores now carry Seventh Generation products. You can find coupons online at www.seventhgeneration.com and www.vitacost.com also carries cleaning products at a discounted price.

Good luck!

Sensitive skin has been an issue in our family too. I use All dye and color free and skip the fabric softener all together, it works by leaving a residue.

Hi A.,

My name is J.. I have a small child as well. My mom friend recommended me a brand called "SNAP" (stand for Safe, Nature, for Animal and People. Snap Laundry Detergent is made with phosphate-free, nontoxic, biodegradable, plant–based ingredients and bottled in recyclable plastic).

I copy the links for you to check out below -

http://www.marketamerica.com/mjatmarket/product-1181103/s...

http://www.marketamerica.com/mjatmarket/product-2295/snap...

Beside the great natural product, another advantage with buying from the website is that you get 2% CASH BACK FOR ALL YOUR SHOPPING!

If you like to try out the product, and want to know how the 2% cash back work. Please email me (____@____.com) or give me a call ###-###-####).

Hope the info is helpful, and have a nice day!

I would buy Dreft. This is known to use for babies.

If she's sensitive you may want to stick with Dreft for awhile.

I highly recommend All Free and Clear. My daugther (now 13) has eczema and I have sensitive skin and that's what we use.

You may also want to try Purex.

Avoid the harsh detergents like Tide and Gain.

As far as fabric softeners/dryer sheets. I like snuggle and downey (the original). The less scent the better.

My daughter has eczema and we used All Free & Clear, it was cheaper than Dreft, and we used it for the whole family. Now that she's 30 months, she's much less sensitive, and we use other detergents, too.

Hi,

I use Arm and Hammer Free and Clear. It's basically baking soda. It comes in a liquid and a powder. I also use Bounce free and clear dryer sheets. I looked at the Dreft that everyone recommended and it was expensive, plus, it has perfumes and dyes!! I don't understand why people recommend it so much.

I would use Dreft if she is sensitive.

Hi A.
There is nothing better than Get Clean by Shaklee. Shaklee was making nontoxic, safe products before the word biodegradeble existed. The products are also less expensive than anything else because they are so concentrated.
You can find them at http://www.shaklee.net/healthforlife
Victoria

Hi A.,

We don't have sensitive skin in my family but I buy my laundry & cleaning products from a wellness company called Melaleuca. They don't use any harmful chemicals in any of their products. You only need 1/2 oz to do your whole load of laundry. You can purchased everything at 30-40% off for joining their wholesale club. If you are interested, send me an email or visit my website www.DontPayDayCare.com.

A.

Hi A.,
Both my boys have sensitive skin and eczema. Dreft or ALL free and clear. I agree with the other post - NO fabric softener.

I use Tide free and clear on baby clothes, no fabric softener and Bounce dryer sheets. No problems for baby!!!! Ali

Hi A.,
Have you heard of Conklin? They make a hypoallergenic laundry detergent called Waush. I've been using the regular Waush for about a year, but have several friends that use the hypoallergenic formula.
This detergent works great in cold water, is safe for the whole family and the environment, and you use 1 OZ (at the most) for really big or heavily soiled clothes. The most I use is 1/2 oz per load. We live on a farm, where we raise horses, so our clothes can get pretty dirty lol.

You can check it out at http://diamondmenterprise.com

Oh, and you can save up to 40% off retail price on any product they sell. I've been very pleased with everything I have used, and the savings are the best. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!

I use detergent that is Free & Clear. Do not use softner. Too many chemicals for sensitive skin. use deteregent with no fragrance.

My daughter has always had eczema and sensitive skin so i have spent money on every single free and and clear detergent out there as she is 4 now. With all the money spent on all the national brands, I have found wegmans brand free and clear laundry detergent and dryer sheets work very well, don't have that weird smell that some do, don't irritate her skin at all, and cost a fraction of the name brands. Most of wegmans products are just a name brand witha wegmans label on it anyways.

I do not use fabric softener, as i think that would irritate her skina nd its really uneccessary for her.

Good Luck.