How Many of You Used Dreft with Your Infants?

I would not use dreft or any other grocery store brand as they all contain either chemicals or dyes of some sort. There are products avaialble on the market today that have NONE of these. The neat thing is we switched stores to Melaleuca the Wellness Company a few years ago. I did not have to baby proof my cupboard for poisons or worry about diaper rash or the little prickly heat stuff that babies supposedly get. When we had a beatiful little boy 8 months ago it was a great thing! We shop at a different store and SAVE money off grocery store brands. By the way - never had a diaper rash thus far.

I did not use Dreft at all. I used All Free detergent as my regular detergent because it's the only one we can use without my husband breaking out with any kind of rash or allergy so I recommend that.

I have never used Dreft. I always thought it was too expensive. With all 3 of my kids I use baby All or the free and clear. Its no where near as expensive as Dreft and my kids don't have any problem with it.

I just use (and have used since birth) a dye and perfume-free detergent. Never had any problems with it! Also, just washed baby stuff with our stuff.
Best of luck with number 3!
:) M.

I used Dreft with my first 2 children also and when my third was born I was price shopping and they now make an All baby detergent and that seemed to do the same thing for much much less then dreft. Good Luck!

I used the Target brand of Dreft and it worked fine. I didn't feel comfortable using detergent that was scented etc. After he was a year or so, then I switched to regular detergent. Baby's skin is so sensitive so I think it is a good idea to use something similar to Dreft.

I used it with my first for the first couple of weeks and then switched to ALL CLEAR...now I use ALL with my 2nd child. Much cheaper!

I used it up until my daughter was around 1 when I started mixing her clothes in with the regular laundry. I always washed hers seperately in Dreft and Downy. The other laundry, I always used(and still use) Tide and Oxy Clean, and Downy Softner. My daughter never seemed to have any skin problems with the regular stuff so I just wash her stuff with ours now.

I used Baby ALL with my kids stuff when they were small. It is almost the same thing and it costs half the price of Dreft. I think is took spit up stains out better then Dreft as well.

I think I only went through one bottle of Dreft when my daughter was an infant. Then I used regular Tide, however since last year I have been using All Free because of sensitivities with my daughter and I. Now there are so many choices with detergents, I would think that just using any one of them would be fine. Just possibly use the fragance free kind, I know there is All, Cheer and Tide. I am also using Bounce Free dryer sheets. Neither my daughter nor I have had any trouble so far with using the detergents and dryer sheets that are free of fragance and dyes. And this way you can use it with your whole families laundry instead of washing the baby's separately.

I used Dreft for about 2mos. with my first and only child. If I had more kids I guess I would try and not use it only because of price. I do love the way it smells though.

My daughter has eczema and really sensitive skin and Dreft or Tide I've seen no difference.

No Dreft. I just used regular old Tide and it was fine. I always make sure the 2nd rinse option is on when I do my baby's clothes, though. We've never had a problem.

See the thing with Dreft is, they tout it for being so gentle, yet its totally laden with fragrance and color, and if a kid is going ot have a reaction to detergent, tis going to be to Dreft! Its NOT good for babys skin, and it fades clothes terribly!

I've always washed our kdis clothing with ours, in regular detergent. My oldest has eczema very badly and detergent doesn't cause it to be any better or worse.

IMO its a waste of money, and time to do seperate loads.

Use All Free detergent!

I would say it will just depend on your baby. Dreft is expensive. I have found that All Baby and All Free & Clear are great alternatives that are much cheaper. Washing the babies clothes with the rest of the families would make things easier so if you can get away with it (if your little bundles skin doesn't object) then I say go for it.

I did not use Dreft. I just used a detergent that was free of perfumes and free of dyes, Pediatrician said that was what caused the skin reactions. You can try it and see what happens. I even found a natural laundry detergent, liked it much better then dreft. Good luck,
F.

I had used Dreft with my first 2 and then with my 3rd & 4th I just used the Tide that we had been using. I now use the big bucket of Sam's Club "Wind Fresh" soap because it works well, is cheap and I can use it on my cloth diapers too without getting a bunch of build-up. I think with my 5th I'll just keep using the Sam's brand because if it's recommended for cloth diapers it's good for just about anyone :o)
Congrats on the new baby,
J.

We never used Dreft - I couldn't justify the cost, and we wanted to do one load of laundry! We used All Free & Clear and it worked great. Neither of my kids has really sensitive skin, though. I would try regular detergent, and if it becomes a problem, deal with it them. You may as well save the money and wash full loads!

With my first two children I used Dreft but my husband hated the perfume smell. When I became pregnant with my third we switched to All Free and Clear because the kids and I all have very sensitive skin and have had no problem. What's nice about using All Free and Clear you can do wash for all the people in the house which is nice when you are a family of five. Trust me you will be doing wash ALL the time. Good luck.

I have a six month old and have not used Dreft. We use a fragrance/scent free mild detergent. I don't think it really matters what you use as long as your baby doesn't have sensitive skin or allergies (which you would have to find out as he grows). It's much easier to just do all the laundry together and not having to worry about separating everything since there isn't any reason to. Plus it will save you money since you won't have to buy two different detergents!

I used it with my first one and after a couple weeks I just used normal stuff, which my mom nearly had a cow about. With my second I used normal detergent but when we were getting ready and bought sheets and stuff I used dreft for that only. We didn't have any problems with either of them having skin conditions. Hope this helps.

I had to chuckle at your question because I was debating the same thing. I just went to Target yesterday and bought their brand of baby detergent and it is comparable to Dreft. It was 9.99 for 200 fl oz. I figured I could use Gain (my second son has a mild allergy to certain detergents and Gain is OK for him), but I just like the way baby detergent makes the clothes smell so I got it.

I never used Dreft and the big reason is it really isn't that great for babies (can cause skin irritation). I switched all of us to Bio-Kleen powdered detergent (expensive but I only need less than a tablespoon per load). If you use liquid detergent in your washer it is really easy to make your own for very cheap. I just learned how to make my own powdered detergent so I will be doing that when my Bio-Kleen is gone.

Well I used Purex Baby for the first year..you can find it at Cub for around $4. I couldn't believe the price of Dreft either!

late response:

with my first I used Dreft and Oxy baby... with my second I used ALL BABY...didn't make too much of a difference, except for on the tough stains...so I also used the Oxy Baby again and that helped.

I have always used regular detergent for my daughters clothes and blankets, even when she was a newborn. We never had any issues with skin sensitivities. However, we are blessed with an extrodinarily tough young lady. She has no alergies and has never really been sick. I guess every child is different, but I think I would save the money and at least give the regular detergent a try.

I also used Dreft with my first born since it was recommended by friends and family members, and even one of the nurses when I delivered. We used it for a good portion of her first year...then I got smart! Many of the laundry detergents come in dye-free and fragrence-free (i.e. All Free and Clear, Purex, etc). So we switched to that, and its as cheap as the regular kinds, so we can use it for the whole family without having to split our clothing loads. When we had our second, I didn't worry about washing everything with Dreft, I just continued to use the fragrance-free/dye-free kinds in common brands. (and if your really money-conscience like me, you can even get cheaper by waiting for sales and using coupons!)
Hope this helps! Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy and delivery.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
I am a SAHM of two beautiful girls, ages 2 yrs. and 7 months, and a wife to the greatest husband!

We used All Free & Clear most of the time. Much cheaper than Dreft. I think Target and a few others have a no perfume or dye brand too. Blessings!

As a first-time mom due in 6 weeks, I am using Dreft for now. If you want to use it, look for it on sale, try the store brand, or see if you can find it at a place like Costco, if you belong. If it's too expensive, I wouldn't feel bad for not using it. Good luck!

I know you have had a plethora of responses so I'll keep mine short...I shelled out the cash for Dreft for the first year, but then I discovered the Target brand baby detergent and I love it. It smells really good, just like Dreft, her room still has that awesome "baby" smell, and it is less than half the price. Our little one is now 2 and we still use it and will continue to do so once our next bundle of joy is born in November. Good luck!

I used it for my 1st one only. We switched to free and clear kinds and never had a problem with 2nd or 3rd baby. I plan to do the same with our next one too, due in a couple of weeks.

I used Dreft with my first, now 11. With my second I used regular detergent. Now I add Borax to my laundry. It's only a couple $'s a box and can be purchased at Walmart. Using Borax also allows me to use a cheaper detergent. I like Tide but it cost to much, so now I can use All which is cheaper, and my clothes come out nice and clean. There's also instructions on the Borax box for baby clothes. Check it out.

Hi K.,
I used Dreft to start, but then found that All "free" (big white bottle with I believe a yellow duck on it) with no dyes etc. works just as good and seems to be a little less pricey. I just use that detergent for the whole family instead of dividing out the baby clothes.
Hope that helps!
J.

We use Purex dye and fragrance free because my son had eczema as an infant. Since baby spent so much time up against our clothes, we needed to use the same detergent on our clothes as we used for baby's clothes. Our ECFE teacher said that the fragrance in Dreft can irritate some babies' skin. Purex is cheap, and it's worked well for us. Our son is 13 months old now, and we still use the Purex because it's a good value.

ALL FREE & CLEAR

My daughter was very allergic to DREFT when she was a baby so I used Ivory Snow, but it's expensive so as soon as the ALL came out I gave it a try and it works great - which is fantastic since my son's skin is just as bad as my daughters.

I use the target brand it smells the exact same and it is almost half the cost. Just in case you are worried about irritation at least it is still for babies.

I did NOT use it. Used regular detergent, and perfume-free stuff for the cloth diaper loads.

I never used anything but regular detergent with both of my boys. Neither of them have sensitivity issues so I never bothered with different detergent.

I used Dreft w/ both of my boys, and would use it again with another child. I started using regular detergent and Downy once the boys were about a year old.

Didn't even try it here. I just used All Free and Clear and washed everyone's clothes together. I skipped the dryer sheets for the first few months, but I wasn't about to do separate laundry for the baby's clothes. I'm due in November with #2 and I'll do the same thing this time around. There are some baby products that are worth splurging on, but baby detergent isn't one of them, IMO.

I am facing the same decision. My first two kids are now 6 and 4 and I'm due in Nov w/ #3. I used Dreft with the first two but have decided that I'll just use regular Tide for baby #3. Of course if the baby develops a rash or seems irritated by the detergent I'll switch.

I got a kick out of your string of Oct birthdays. Our b-days are 9/19...9/19 and 9/23.

Good luck!

I use dreft with my infant right now, but have heard stories form other moms that they used it with their first, and just their regular detergent with the rest of their kids. This seemed to work fine for them.

I used Dreft with my first two. I do agree the price has gone up alot. With the third i used the Target brand Baby Detergent. It is comparable to Dreft right down to the smell. I really liked it. Now that my son is one i use all free and clear.