Best washing powder for babies?

[Angelico]

This is possibly the stupidest question I have ever asked in my life but is there some kind of special washing powder you are supposed to use on babies? Bio or non-bio or some special brand?

We ordered a new washing machine today and once it arrives in house I want to wash all the bambino stuff before she puts in an appearance...

Thank you from a complete novice :o

Non bio is better for sensitive skin. I used Ecover when mine were tiny but find it doesn't quite deal with the horrendous stains now they are bigger.

I've heard of loads of people having probs with baby eczema from using fairy non bio. I'd look for something specially formulated for sensitive skin, maybe fragrance free. I use all eco cleaning stuff myself (no kids yet, pregnant) so will prob continue with that.

We put DS in the bath. We never washed him in the machine.

Oh dear... I'm tempted to report Tigeress' post just to give Mumsnet HQ a laugh... can you get banned for reporting false alarms, like people who set off fire alarms... I was laughing so hard when I read out the OP to DH that I think I gave away the joke.

I've wondered about this too... we tend to use bio as it seems to be better for the machine and does the job. We also don't use fabric softner...

But I'm wondering whether it would be better to do something different for the baby clothes. I mean, I've heard that non-bio is meant to be better for sensitive skin, but bio is meant to be better on the sort of stains that babies produce... so would washing in bio and putting the baby's things through an extra rinse cycle in the early days make sure that there's less residue on the clothes. But then... do fabric softners really make clothes softer... and... why is everything about babies so difficult?

< returns to trying to decide what sort of mattress to get for the cot high tech COOL Max and Space Tech versus Natural, foam versus sprung versus pocket sprung... argh! >

We have continued to use ariel as it is what me and DH use, so thought it easiest for DS to be treated the same. I always wash his clothes seperately and use less powder. His nappies get washed in it too. So far (15 weeks) all has been ok - 'touch wood'

Sorry grammer error - what DH and I use not me

Tigress are you my DH masquerading as a MNer? Because that is exactly what he would have said... :o

So plan so far seems to be non-bio and not too much of it? New machine has a 'baby cycle' which I think rinses lots and doesn't use much soap.

Saw this and wanted to add that with DS I use a non-bio detergent + fabric softener, but I also put a dose of Napisan in too. Baby's clothes are generally being washed because they're covered in poo, wee or vomit, and the Napisan is not only good as a stain remover but as a disinfectant too. Do a load to check it's ok on your baby's skin, but it's non-bio and was fine for DS - really gets rid of those poo stains too!

Hi, I have a household of sensitive skin types.... I would recommend a non-bio powder with no perfume. Currently we are using surcare but we switch between this and filletti (available at waitrose) as these are the least harsh on the market. Plan to use same for baby. If I use a fabric conditioner it is the ecover one but not for every wash.

I used Fairy non-bio for the first couple of months then included dd's washing with ours and used our usual Ariel. Poop doesn't come out easily without a bio powder!!

Think about getting some Napisan. God send! Any pooped clothes went into a bucket with Napisan for a soak overnight and then into a standard wash when I was ready for the next load. You can also add it into your washing machine with your usual powder. Got all the poop out and kept dd's whites properly white!!

I use Surcare with a tiny drop of Ecover.

I missed the 'clean' smell after using just Surcare for a while.

I am planning on using soap nuts and adding lavender oil for my DTD's clothes and soap nuts and Tea Tree Oil for their nappies as it is apparently a good antiseptic.

Just a non bio to start with, but like has been said it doesnt shift stains like a bio does. I changed over at about 6 months and both DCs so far were fine with bio at that stage, they might have been ok sooner but didnt want to risk it.

Excellent advice thank you! Where do you buy Napisan? I think my mum said you can fire bottles into it as well? Is that right?

We have used Surcare for our children (sensitive skin, eczema) and find it very good. You will need to wash things hotter than with a non-bio and sometimes soak stained things before washing. Filetti is even better in my experience but we can't always find it.

Filletti is stocked in Waitrose...

We don't have Waitrose here :( Where do you get Surcare and Napisan?

Our local one never seems to have it West. It is very annoying.

Tesco and Sainsbury's both do Surcare though.

And Napisan? Not trying to be stupid but can you just buy it anywhere?

I've used fairy since ds1 was born 6 years ago. The only thing that made eczema flare was the concentrated liquid version.

Most supermarkets sell Napisan - my local Tesco and Morrisons do. It's not with the washing powders though, it's with the baby stuff in the toiletries bit, usually next to Milton, nappies etc.

Yep, our Tesco does it. And like PP said, it's usually in baby care section. It's most commonly used for soaking cloth nappies but is great with poopy clothes. I add some to DPs white work shirts too to mske them bright white. Not that they're poopy mind!!!