When to Stop Using Dreft

My son is 11months and we still use dreft for his clothes. My grandma washes his clothes in Tide far as the best one try them out and see. Far as washing together I don't see any problems with it.

I use Tide w/ Bleach Origional Scent, and always have with both my children. Neither of them ever had an allergic reaction to it. I've never used Dreft or any other baby detergent so I couldn't tell you what switching could do. Perhaps asking a pediatrician or going to babycenter.com and asking about detergents there. Some mother may have already asked that same question and an "expert" there may have an answer waiting for you!

When my boys were babies I never used any detergent just for babies. I found that using Cheer Free (has no perfumes, or dyes in it) worked wonderfully. My kids never broke out in any rashes when I used that detergent and I was able to wash my whole families clothes all at once.
I hope this advice helps.

I never used dreft. My daughters clothes were washed in tide with ours from day 1. however, we dont have sensitive skin problems and my daughter never had any type of reaction from tide.

I've used All Free since birth. I've been told that a dryer sheet is worse than the detergent so I would just stay away from those for your baby's clothes.

I use ALL on my our clothes and wash them together. It is in the white bottle so it it fragrance free...I wouldnt recommend doing this until your baby is 1...My doc said to use Dreft until then because they can still develope allergies...

Hello -
Both of my children suffer from sensitive skin and ecezema, so I had to be very careful, and still do. I found that using (and this may sound funny), SUN detergent from the dollar store (the liquid kind), never bothered my kids, as well as Arm N Hammer has a new one out for sensitive skin (works great), and the only softer i found that didnt bother my kids, was the dollar store brands that had no dyes or scents in them. And yes I have always washed my kids clothes with mine, with no problems.

Actually, Dreft is basically the same as all of the "Free" detergents out there. Tide Free, Purex Free, All Baby, etc. They are all basically the same. I've always been told to use perfume/dye free detergents until the baby is about a year old, and then if I wanted to, I could switch to regular detergent. If you use a perfume/dye free detergent like Tide Free (I use it and it works very well), you can wash all of your clothes together. You will still want to use a perfume/dye free fabric softener, or it will sabotage your efforts, but the only one I found was Bounce Free dryer sheets. There may be other ones out there, though. Once your baby is older, you can try regular detergent and see how she does. The reason to use the dye/perfume free detergents now is because their skin is so sensitive, and to prevent a possible allergic reaction. Hope this helps.

Just wanted to let you know the whole Dreft thing is a rip off... you can any detergent that is fragance and dye free... All is popular. But also, I have NEVER washed my daughters clothes in that as an infant. I only used Tide and she was fine. She does have exzema (not from that) and the dye free stuff actually makes it worse. I have used Tide, Cheer, and All (regular) and she has been fine. I am sure that yours will be as well. Though I will admit there are some kids who are allergic to some of it... SO maybe start with washing just one piece of clothing in your soap and see if there is any irritation. Good Luck!

I never used Dreft with my three kids and never had any problems. I used whatever is on sale. One of my daughters even has sensitive skin to some lotions but never had any problems with me washing her clothes in cheap detergent. Make the switch and then keep an eye on the baby to see if there is any problems. The majority of children should have no problems.

I never used it with any of my three. I used my regular detergent and fabric softener, mixed their clothes with mine, and it was easy (and way cheaper than "special" detergents that aren't necessary).

You can stop any time. We never even used it. If you babe has some reaction to the regular detergents you might want to look at the hypoallergenic ones, but hopefully that will never be necessary. :)
Just don't use fabric softner at any time on a baby's clothes. It reduces the flame redardency (sic). Also put there baby socks in "panty hose" bags. Those things are the number one reason repair men have to come out to fix washer/dryers.

I never used Dreft, but I used All Free & Clear for a while. It's an "adult" detergent, but it doesn't have fragrance or color added to it, so it's more gentle on sensitive skin. That might be a good option until your baby turns 1.

I only used dreft for the first three months and thats because it was given to me from my shower. But you can wash the baby clothes with yours.

I only used Dreft with one of my kids, who reacted to everything else. By the time she was about three months old, though she was able to have her clothes mixed in with mine.

If you are concerned, I'd recommend buying trial size packs of a few different kind at a laundry mat to check for allergies.
That's what I had to do. Turned out my Husband gets hives from the very anti-allergy stuff that is labeled "free and clear". lol. I break out from the downy indulgences dryer sheets in lavender (but not the liquid- go figure).
My kids don't seem to have any allergies to anything at all or any skin irritation from their laundry detergent.

If you notice she starts getting dry skin or bumps, you can try a different detergent.

Mi M.!

I'm a mom of two boys who both have sensitive skin but never had any allergies to anything. I never did use Dreft. When my boys were little, I always used All Free and Clear. Most brands now have a detergent that has no dyes or fragrances. It's a heck of a lot cheaper and saves more time since you don't have to wash the baby clothes seperate from your clothes.

I hope that helps!

M.,
I don't blame you for being concerned about using safe products for your baby's clothes. So many products (including most that others have mentioned) have toxic ingredients that even adults would be better offf if they weren't exposed to. There's lots of good information on this web site: http://getclean.blogspot.com. Many, many children's poisonings come from cleaning products so I've chosen to eliminate all of them from my home. These products were tested against many of the popular brands and they outperformed them all at much less cost. If I remember correctly, you would spend over $3,400 for typical brands available in stores for what you would pay less than $150 for this brand - and be doing both the environment and your family a favor. Let me know what you think.

I stopped using dreft when both of my kids were about 6 months. You can use the detergents that are dye free as well they are cheaper. I use the Purex Free and Clear its hypeallergenic so you dont have to worry about your child breaking out. But whenever you switch your childs laundry soap you should test it first. Wash a couple of items in the new soap and then while your child is wearing that clothing watch for allergic reactions or rashes any thing like that. If there is no issues then it should be okay to use on your childs clothes. Good Luck!!

Hello-I used Baby All for a while, it's a lot cheaper than Dreft. I now use Purex Free and Clear and have had no problems. I still wash my son's clothes seperate from ours though.

Hi M.! I use All (free of allergens) it is in the white bottle, and everywhere has it. It is a lot cheaper than Dreft and it has worked great since my baby was born, around 6 mo. I started washing our clothes together. Hope this helps, it has saved us a lot of $$.

I only used Dreft to wash new clothes that came in, but after that I never used it! My kids never had a problem.

I use regular detergent and have since my daughter was 4 months old. I was told that if my baby was laying on me and being exposed to my clothing and nothing happened, then I should be fine. A good way to test it is to wash either a blanket, or a couple of articles of clothing in regular detergent. If there is no rash, you are fine. As for dryer sheets though, I use bounce free that has no chemicals. I think babies are more senstive to the sheets. I know as a baby I had an allergic reation to snuggle dryer sheets, so I am more catious with those. I wash my clothing with my daughter's all the time.

At six months - I switched to Tide with Bleach Alternative to help with some of the baby food stains.

I would try to wash something of hers in the regualr wash with your clothes and then let her wear it.... If she doesn't have a reaction then I would switch her. I used dreft with my daughter until she was about three months old and ever since then her clothes get washed in whatever detergent the rest of the house is using (which is whatever is on sale!)

PERSONALLY I WASHED 2 OF MY DAUGHTERS OUTFITS WITH MIME WHEN SHE WAS A WEEK OLD AND SHE WASN'T ALLERGIC AND THEREAFTER I ALWAYS WASHED OUR CLOTHES TOGETHER. YOU COULD ALSO BUY THE FREE AND CLEAR DETERGENTS AND WASH YOUR CLOTHES TOGETHER

I used Dreft for at least the first year with all three of my children. I have extremely sensative skin (I'm even very allergic to aloe) and was concerned about my children having similar problems. Because of this and the long standing reputation of Dreft, I chose it rather than another dye/perfume free detergent. My sister has no such allergies or sensativities and used a regular detergent (Tide or something) from day 1 with her son with no negative effects. After that first 1+ year of using Dreft I slowly switched (mixing Dreft with the Arm & Hammer I use for the rest of the laundry, using less Dreft and more A&H each load until I no longer used Dreft)and never had any problems. So far none of my children show any signs of sensative skin or allergies like I have (they are now ages 3,6, and 12).

I agree with the other moms who say it's really a personal choice and/or dependent on your specific situation. When deciding what to do, consider family history or skin sensativities and allergies, if there really isn't a family issue, it's much less likely that your child is going to be adversely effected by your choice of laundry detergent. In the end, my pediatrician always said to use my best judgement, there are just some things that are best left up to Mom rather than a doctor.

Good luck!

I think I used dreft with my first child to wash all her clothes before she was born.... after that, her clothes were washed with mine in whatever detergent I had at the time. Each of my next 3 children were the same, minus the dreft before birth.

You can use ALL free and clear and you can wash your clothes together, that would be a money and time saver.

I wash my sons clothes in regular detergent and with my clothes as well and haven't had a problem...just try it and see if your baby shows any sign of a reaction. More than likely you'll have no problems!!

Hi M.,

I have used ALL Free since the very beginning with both of my kids. My doc said it isn't necessary to use dreft-I think it's just a hype to get people to buy a detergent ONLY for babies. ALL Free is safe with no dyes or perfumes. I have to use it because of my husbands allergies anyway. Good luck!

K.

My son is 18 months and I still use dreft and wash his clothes seperately. I personally would use it for his clothes til at least a year, just because their skin is so sensitive. On the other hand my sister in law washed her daughters clothes in it for the first time only, and she survived!! I would say it is just a more personal choice! Good luck and I am sure whatever you decide, will be fine and the right choice.