Laundry Questions... so many options.

[LeaAline]

I need a little help, because I can't sort through the info! So, I ordered Charlie's to wash the diapers in (despite some horror stories I found AFTER I ordered). Then I was given Dreft to wash the babies clothes in. And I bought TIDE to wash the the unbleached diapers in to prep them.

So, what do I do? Here is my plan... is it flawed?

1. Wash the unbleached dipes in Tide 4-5 times until they are quilted up and stripped.

2. Wash the babes clothes and blankets in Dreft.

3. Once the dipes are quilted switch to Charlies and wash before using and between wearings...

Does that sound right?

Do you ladies (and gents) wash ALL of babes clothes in Charlies?

Please help!

[phatchristy]

Hmmm...I don't know about the diapers.

I did get some dreft samples from the midwives in their freebie packets, however I generally use use all free and clear to wash the baby stuff.

[jrabbit]

dreft is icky

[Shelbyscout]

My (limited) understanding is that Dreft is no better than any other mass-market produced free and clear detergent (actually I think Dreft does contain a scent). That said, I know this isn't very "crunchy" but we use Kirkland Free and Clear (Costco brand) for our clothes and I plan to use that for the baby's clothes as well, unless we get some sort of reaction. We also have a front-loading machine and use very little detergent to start with, so I feel okay with that. The exception will be our cloth diapers which I'll wash in a different detergent (haven't decided on one yet).

[Shelbyscout]

Forgot to add--someone posted this link to a detergent chart for cloth diapering that I found helpful:
http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

[Starfish11]

We use an all-free for our clothes and use that for baby's stuff, too (i.e. the initial washings). We did research and are going to try ECOS for the diapers.

There is this unbelievable chart somewhere that goes through all of the different brands and gives pros and cons and warnings. I have it bookmarked at home so I will try and post it later.

[LeaAline]

So, you would just ditch the Dreft and use Charlie's for everything? After the stripping of the dipes?

[wild fire child]

The problem with Charlie's is not Charlies' reaction to the baby's pee, it is the combination of other detergent residue plus Charlie's plus pee. So if you want to use Charlie's on the diapers, use only Charlie's on them, ever.

I plan to use Ecover's powder, when living with my mom and her baby in diapers we found it worked best. For my clothes I use all free and clear, but for baby clothes and diapers will be Ecover. If I can't get my hands on Ecover it'll probably be SeventhGeneration.

[jrabbit]

if you're washing diapers, you'll really do better if you use one detergent for everything. no matter how good you think you're doing, limiting the "other" soap, you will always have a residue build-up in the machine. Same goes for fabric softener sheets in the dryer.

With Charlies, you don't want it reacting with residue in your machine, either.

Even "free & clear" doesn't mean that the soap is free of "stuff" - for example, All Free & Clear has something in it that messes with the way fleece works in pocket diapers.

I preferred Ecover to 7th Generation, for what it's worth - and Allen's Naturally was good, but I really prefer powdered detergent, so I didn't like it being liquid.

--janis

[theboysmama]

I use the kirkland free and clear detergent as well. I have very sensitive skin and react to dreft and any fragranced detergent. I use this w/ all my laundry including my diapers and mama cloth and have not had any problems. I used to use ecover on everything but laundry for 7+ people sure used up a lot of detergent even w/ a front loader. It just wasn't financially feasable.

[pantufla]

We use Country Save or BioKleen on everything. Diapers, kids clothes, adult clothes, the dog bed... Everything. I really haven't liked Ecos. I am very sensitive to perfumes, so I'm very picky about laundry detergent.

[annettemarie]

Moving to Mindful Home Management. You could also repost in Life with a Babe.

[Lemon Juice]

BioKleen on everything in our house. We are a family of 6 (soon to be 7) and dd uses cloth at night still and we use BioKleen on all of it w/ no problems at all.

I lurve BioKleen! Some natty food stores carry it in bulk in powder form and it's much more affordable that way. Plus it's made in the NorthWest and I've seen the facility w/ me own eyes

[OkiMom]

We use whatever free and clear detergent I can get. Not the best solution but Im not always able to get the same detergent since the comissary often sales out. Right now Im using All Free and Clear on all our clothes and the diapers.
I don't really like Dreft, its just like any other detergent but it has this perfume that makes my stomach turn. I washed one load is a sample I was given and then had to rewash it in a different detergent because the smell was making me sick.