I wrote yesterday about how I went to go check out the back of the Dreft bottle at the grocery store and compare it with other brands of detergents, only to find that every single bottle said the same thing. I have written to Dreft to ask specifically why their detergent is more gentle so I will be able to once and for all lay to rest the question of my own laundry negligence as a non-Dreft user.
I am now going to turn my ‘investigation’ towards other pressing Dreft questions: Is Dreft hypoallergenic? Does it rinse thoroughly out of clothing? And don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the answer to the ‘burning’ question: Is Dreft better for flame retardant pajamas?
Is Dreft hypoallergenic as some pediatricians claim?
Interestingly, Dreft does not claim to be hypoallergenic. Nowhere on their website, nor on their product do you ever see the word hypoallergenic. What they claim is that the product rinses baby clothes more thoroughly thus it’s good for baby’s skin. After some further investigating and an interesting phone call I found out this: Dreft is NOT hypoallergenic. Dreft will do nothing to help with allergies, to prevent them, or to decrease their symptoms. I will say that to my knowledge, Dreft does not contain perfumes and so in that sense, if your baby happens to have sensitivities to perfumes. . .it helps with ‘allergies.’ But so does anything else without perfumes. . .and there’s a lot of detergent out there without perfume.
Does Dreft rinse better?
Dreft actually claims to do nothing ‘better‘ than any other brand. We believe it does it ’better’ because when we read it’s gentle for babies, we assume that the other detergents are not.
It does claim to simply, “rinse thoroughly.” This is probably true. Sometimes powdered detergents ‘clump’ with the soil and don’t rinse as thoroughly as liquid detergents. So any liquid detergent will rinse your clothes thoroughly. It’s probably not a bad idea to use liquid detergent for a baby’s clothing rather than a powdered one.
Also, there is a very simple (and much cheaper) solution to getting powdered detergents to rinse just as well as its liquid counter part. Use a cup of vinegar per gallon of water and voila–thoroughly rinsed clothing.
In case you’re just jumping in and wondering why I’m writing a series all devoted to that lovely white bottle with the pink picture. . .the topic came up in the forums. I am posting the links to my blogs there. And as always, you’re welcome to join in on the conversation about whether or not you are a Dreft user and why!