It may come as a surprise to you, but you don’t need to do two separate loads of laundry; one for your clothes and the other for your baby’s. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should use any kind of detergent to wash your child’s clothes. In fact, you should probably consider changing the laundry detergent you use for your own clothes.
Have you ever thought about how much time your baby spends nuzzled against you? Or rather, against your clothes?
For this reason, it makes no sense to wash your baby’s clothes separately from your own. It only adds to your workload and has no benefits whatsoever.
What baby detergent should you buy?
If you’d like to find the right detergent for your baby’s, as well as for your own clothes, you need to consider several factors. Finding the right detergent requires the product to tick all the right boxes.
Find a gentle detergent
Babies are fragile beings with soft, sensitive skin. They’re prone to allergies more than most adults. Also, make sure to look for a laundry detergent that won’t cause any breakouts or irritate any eczema your baby might have.
If you’re not careful, your child will break out into hives each time you put on their newly-washed clothes. Check the ingredients of each detergent when you go shopping. Don’t hastily pick up the first thing you see. Also, remember that even if the brand you usually buy is considered to be the best, doesn’t mean that it won’t cause any allergies or rashes.
It’s best to look for a detergent with as many natural ingredients as possible. In fact, the more natural, the better. However, don’t forget to check ALL the ingredients, natural or not.
Natural VS. Safe
A common misconception is that the word natural is synonymous with the word safe. Well, it’s not. Even if you stumble upon a detergent with a label that says “dermatologically tested” or “plant-based”, it doesn’t automatically mean it is safe.
You need to check ALL the ingredients before throwing the detergent into your shopping cart. Even a plant-based detergent can include some harmful ingredients that can cause skin rashes or respiratory irritation.
Up until your baby was born, you most likely didn’t bother reading the ingredients on your laundry detergent. However, now that you’ve got a fragile life to care for, it’s time to get serious. Read all the ingredients and check their safety. You’d probably be surprised at what they put in some of them.
Efficient stain removal
Obviously, babies make pretty big messes. Every piece of clothing you put on your baby will end up stained at some point. So, if you don’t want to throw out your child’s clothes after a couple of washes, you need to find a good stain removal detergent.
A good detergent needs to be able to get rid of tough stains. Of course, you may need to pre-soak sometimes, but a quality detergent should get rid of any type of mess, no matter how stubborn the stain is.
If you’re buying laundry detergent, then it’s safe to assume that you want it to get the job done right. After all, that’s the whole point of washing clothes.
Diaper-friendly detergent (optional)
Now, this applies only to cloth diapers, of course. If you use disposable diapers, then there’s no need for a diaper-friendly detergent.
An excellent way to start searching for a detergent that does a good job cleaning diapers, and doesn’t wear down the materials is to avoid laundry detergents with oils.
The top laundry detergents for you and your baby
Hopefully, you now understand exactly what to look for when shopping for a laundry detergent. To help you out a little more, below are the top laundry detergents that are safe to use for your baby’s clothes, as well as on your own clothes.
#1: Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder
For starters, this laundry detergent is completely free from harmful ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate. That means that Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder immediately ticks off an important box.
As for its stain-removing abilities; they’re amazing.
Charlie’s soap detergent comes highly recommended, as it gets rid of skid marks without any difficulty. You’ll be happy to know that cloth diaper manufacturers recommend that you use this laundry powder to clean their diapers. That means it’s also diaper-friendly.
#2: Eco-Me Laundry Detergent
Eco-Me Laundry Detergent has all natural ingredients. Just like Charlie’s Soap Laundry Detergent, it’s completely free from harmful ingredients. However, you may want to pre-soak, if you’re trying to get rid of any tough stains.
#3: Method Concentrated Laundry Detergent
Method Concentrated Laundry Detergent is exceptionally great for babies with extra sensitive skin. Since this detergent is made with all natural ingredients, it doesn’t produce many suds. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t clean well. On the contrary. This detergent works wonders on tough stains!
Also, if you want to buy a fragranced version of the Method Concentrated Laundry Detergent, you can do so. It smells wonderful!
#4: Biokleen Laundry Liquid, Free & Clear
Yet another dye-free detergent that’s proven to be gentle on baby’s skin is the Biokleen Laundry Liquid. Also, like Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder, it has no fragrance. The best thing about this detergent is that it lasts quite a long time. You don’t have to use a lot of it while doing laundry, and it’s a great stain remover.
Summary
Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll have no trouble finding the perfect detergent for your baby. All in all, forget about separating your baby’s laundry from your own. If you buy the right detergent, you can use it to wash everyone’s laundry in the house.
Overall, the best detergent on the list is Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder. Although it’s actually a powder and not a detergent, it meets all the requirements that a quality detergent needs to have. It’s safe, has natural ingredients, gets rid of tough stains, and it’s great for washing cloth diapers.
