Please share your experiences with Purex Free and Clear

[amybird]

I'm expecting my first baby, and am going exclusively with prefolds and covers. I already use Purex Free and Clear, and know it works for my skin. It would sure be nice to stick with this detergent!

If you've used Purex Free and Clear, please tell me how it worked/works for your diaper laundry, particularly prefolds. TIA!

[*Karen*]

Lots of people use it with good results. I'd stick with it. If you run into problems, deal with it then. :

[alegna]

It's pretty much all we've ever used. Works great. We strip every couple of months and run an extra hot rinse or two, but with our water we would need to do that with anything.

-Angela

[rmzbm]

That's what we use...works great!

[Code Name Mama]

have used it from day 1, no problems, no stripping!

[lab80]

i got stinkies with it which was unfortunate! but if it works for you now then might as well try it out, like pp said. i also had some stinkies with tide f&c so i'm now trying all f&c but my skin can't handle it so when this bottle is out not sure what i will try next. :

[alegna]

I get stinkies with purex if I don't use enough or don't strip. So stripping is just mandatory here with our water. That may be the case for you as well.

-Angela

[Altair]

How much do you use of the purex then? Do you use between 1/2 and the full recommended amount? Do you do an extra hot rinse every time?

[Code Name Mama]

Originally Posted by Altair

How much do you use of the purex then? Do you use between 1/2 and the full recommended amount? Do you do an extra hot rinse every time?

i think with any brand you need to use less than the amount you normally would, i don't even use 1/2 - closer to 1/3 or maybe? i do an extra rinse but it's cold - my washer doesn't have a 2nd rinse option in hot and i'm too lazy to make 3 trips downstairs (first trip is prewash, second trip is regular wash)

this tutorial says:
Wash on hot. On average you should use ½ manufacturer's recommended amount of detergent for the size load you are washing. Use less for soft water and maybe more for hard water.

[bscal]

Purex F&C works fine for prefolds and covers. For all in ones it does not do a good job. I have a dozen BG all in ones (only way DH will do CD) and they were nasty when I used Purex F&C. If I used 1/2 the detergent then they still smelled like poop pee. If I used more than that I had to rinse them FIVE times to get all the detergent out or DS would break out in a contact rash everywhere the diaper touched him. Rinsing that many times and wasting that much water takes away from the whole using cloth dipes are greener idea, kwim?

We're still in the trial and error stage to figure out the best detergent to use. My oldest has sensitive skin and it would be easiest to just find one detergent that will work on dipes and on her skin (without dropping too much $$). We're trying the Costco Kirkland brand organic right now for our clothes, I haven't tried it on diapers yet. So far DD isn't itchy and she's been wearing freshly washed clothes all week.

For prefolds though, Purex F&C worked fine.

Beth

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by alegna

I get stinkies with purex if I don't use enough or don't strip. So stripping is just mandatory here with our water. That may be the case for you as well.

-Angela

Same here. I've also heard that Purex can leave residue on your diapers. I switched to Charlies soap with better results , although I know some people don't like Charlies .

[RGsMom]

We started out using it and even after stripping, the first wash or two after back to the Purex, the diapers would still come out stinky - but it seems it works great for others. We switched to soap nuts and that is what has been best for us. We probably used it for 5 months b4 switching.

[amybird]

Great feed back!

What I'm hearing is...it depends. Is it just me, or is that the case with every detergent? Seems for every brand, some love it, some hate it.

I think I'll go ahead and give the Purex F&C a try with my prefolds. If it doesn't work...then I'll search for something else.

Thanks for all your help!

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Altair

How much do you use of the purex then? Do you use between 1/2 and the full recommended amount? Do you do an extra hot rinse every time?

I use around a quarter of the suggested amount. I do an extra hot rinse every time.

-Angela

[alegna]

Originally Posted by MahnaMahna

i think with any brand you need to use less than the amount you normally would, i don't even use 1/2 - closer to 1/3 or maybe? i do an extra rinse but it's cold - my washer doesn't have a 2nd rinse option in hot and i'm too lazy to make 3 trips downstairs (first trip is prewash, second trip is regular wash)

this tutorial says:
Wash on hot. On average you should use ½ manufacturer's recommended amount of detergent for the size load you are washing. Use less for soft water and maybe more for hard water.

IME extra cold rinses do NOTHING.

Originally Posted by bscal

Purex F&C works fine for prefolds and covers. For all in ones it does not do a good job. I have a dozen BG all in ones (only way DH will do CD) and they were nasty when I used Purex F&C. If I used 1/2 the detergent then they still smelled like poop pee. If I used more than that I had to rinse them FIVE times to get all the detergent out or DS would break out in a contact rash everywhere the diaper touched him. Rinsing that many times and wasting that much water takes away from the whole using cloth dipes are greener idea, kwim?

We're still in the trial and error stage to figure out the best detergent to use. My oldest has sensitive skin and it would be easiest to just find one detergent that will work on dipes and on her skin (without dropping too much $$). We're trying the Costco Kirkland brand organic right now for our clothes, I haven't tried it on diapers yet. So far DD isn't itchy and she's been wearing freshly washed clothes all week.

For prefolds though, Purex F&C worked fine.

Beth

We use all aios. Though they have snap in soakers so some now call them ai2s

Originally Posted by slsurface

Same here. I've also heard that Purex can leave residue on your diapers. I switched to Charlies soap with better results , although I know some people don't like Charlies .

We can't do any scents here.

-Angela

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by alegna

We can't do any scents here.

FYI, Charlies Soap has absolutely NO scent. I am severely allergic to most detergents, I can't even stand the masking perfumes added to most "free and clear" laundry soaps. I used Purex (free and clear) for a few years, but it eventually started giving me hives. That's when I found Charlies soap. It is extremely mild and has no dies or perfumes AT ALL. You can read more about it here: http://www.charliesoap.com/

[alegna]

Thanks for that info- but geez that's way more expensive... but at least I have another option if I need it.

Though I have a vague memory that it might not work well with hard water?

-Angela

[Llyra]

We like Purex. We've never had buildup or stink or anything at all with it. We do a cold prewash, a hot wash, and a cold rinse, then do a sniff test. Then maybe another hot wash and cold rinse if needed. We use the full recommended amount each time.

I've never used it exclusively for a long period of time, though. I mostly switch around between several conventional free-and-clear brands (All, cheer, Era, etc) depending on what's cheap when I'm shopping.

[MoonStarFalling]

I've run into lots of people who get bacterial build up with purex f and c. I needed the full recommended amount just to get rid of the bacteria but then that caused build up which meant lots of extra stripping. So it didn't work for us. We use prefolds and have hard water. Like the pp said I think the issues have been with people with hard water.

[yamilee21]

Originally Posted by bscal

Purex F&C works fine for prefolds and covers. For all in ones it does not do a good job. I have a dozen BG all in ones (only way DH will do CD) and they were nasty when I used Purex F&C.

...We're trying the Costco Kirkland brand organic right now for our clothes, I haven't tried it on diapers yet...

Purex doesn't work well with microfibre; it always left our microfibre inserts stinky, but for us it has worked fine for all other cotton and hemp diapers, including AIOs. The Kirkland brand did give us terrible build-up on every kind of diaper though.