In the forums there have recently been several questions about laundering baby clothing. Moms want to know: do you use dreft or do you just wash the baby clothing with everything else? Do you use fabric softener or does that just make it worse for baby’s skin. One mom even said her pediatrician recommended Dreft because it was more ‘hypoallergenic.’
I had never considered using Dreft. I have seven people in my family and I already do substantial amounts of laundry. Dreft for us is over kill. Then I had a child who had severe eczema. So I figured surely Dreft was the answer right? It would make her itch less. In actuality it didn’t matter.
So I started to wonder? What’s all the hype about Dreft? Is this really some facet of child care that I’ve neglected all these years? Is Dreft really more hypoallergenic than other detergents? And what makes something hypoallergenic? I suspected that Dreft was nothing more than the same old brand name detergent with a cute baby slapped on the front.
So I have set out to answer my varying questions. As you will see, my initial research was inconclusive to an extent so I am planning on writing to the makers of the almighty Dreft. However, I did find out a few interesting things just by asking some questions and reading some labels.
Dreft says their product is milder for babies, rinses thoroughly and does not damage the flame resistance on children’s pajamas. So I went to find out. . .
Is Dreft really different and more mild for babies?
I picked up and carefully read the back of the bottle of Dreft. I was hoping to find percentages of actual ingredients but I could not. However, I read the following on the back of the Dreft bottle: surfactants (anionic and nonionic), enzymes, and other ingredients. Now for the moment of truth. I picked up and carefully read the back of Tide and guess what it said? Surfactants (anionic and nonionic), enzymes, and other ingredients. Again and again, I went down the laundry aisle looking for some definitive proof that Dreft was safer for babies. . .and again and again I read the exact same ingredients on all the bottles. Some bottles of detergents did have extra perfumes but basically, there is no difference in ingredients between Dreft and any other laundry detergent on the shelf.
Check back soon to find out whether or not Dreft is hypoallergenic as is claimed by varying pediatricians, whether or not it really protects flame retardant pajamas, and whether or not it rinses more thoroughly leaving your baby’s clothes virtually detergent free.
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