Baby clothes are the cutest, but what is the best kind of baby laundry detergent to use?
Here's a look at our top picks, and why we like them.

Best laundry detergent for baby clothes
1. Tide Gentle free & gentle pods
The free and gentle pods from Tide have no scents and dyes. It's gentle while still getting every piece of clothing clean.
Use it with cold water, so no need to worry about the pods not dissolving.
2. Seventh Generation EasyDose laundry detergent
This liquid laundry detergent smells amazing, free of dyes, and is very concentrated. A little goes a long way.
It has a couple of great scents like mango and mandarin. They are made from real ingredients and essential oils. So, it's still gentle on even sensitive skin.
3. Draft Liquid Laundry detergent
Our third choice is Dreft liquid detergent. This is one you will find in a lot of baby stores, and it smells heavenly.
It's hypoallergenic, but some babies with very sensitive skin will still get rashes.
My daughter had very sensitive skin as a baby and we loved using Dreft. Unfortunately she would get rashes all over which is why we had to switch to Tide free & gentle.
How to pick the best one
- free of dyes-this is great for babies and kids who have sensitive skin.
- no synthetic fragrances-a lot of scents that are in laundry detergent can be problematic for a baby sensitive skin. If you want a scented detergent make sure it's from a natural source like essential oils.
- pods-pods are the easiest way to do laundry because all you need to do is simply put one in and start the machine.
- cold water washing-some pods won't dissolve properly in cold water. Make sure they are able to be used with cold water if you opt for a pod form of detergent.
Best baby detergent FAQ
The safety laundry detergent is free of dyes and artificial fragrances. Unnecessary additives can lead to rashes especially little ones with sensitive skin.
While you can use regular detergent on baby clothes, it's better to use a gentle formula.
These gentle formula are better for everyone not just baby, so you could even make the switch yourself and notice better skin health.
Yes and no. Yes in that the fewer the ingredients, is usually better for sensitive skin.
If however you use a detergent that gets it scent naturally from essential oils, you might not have as much trouble with sensitivity.
Avoid fabric softeners. While they can make clothes smell great, they add more unneeded scents and chemicals that can irritate baby's sensitive skin.
We always used cold water under a gentle cycle because it seemed to get out stains while not shrinking baby's clothes.
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