Washing Powder question - these new 2x concentrates

[snowchickie79]

I have allergies to pollen, mould, dust mites, dust, numerous grasses etc and my dermatitis caused from these is pretty much with me the majority of the time (i may get a week or so gap between flare ups).

I've pretty much always used OMO Sensitive but a week or so ago I had to get the new OMO sensitive 2x concentrate as I cannot find the old one anywhere. In the last 3 or so days I've broken out in a rash up my arms and it's now progressing across my shoulders and my back.

I'm wondering if it could be the 2x concentrate is causing it??? Has anyone found that the 2x concentrate powders on the market are causing an allergy whereas the standard strength version was fine??? I guess the week or so gap could be just that I'd only just started wearing clothes which I've washed in the new stuff but i'm not sure..

DD also has eczema so I want to be careful of her skin also. What alternative do I really have to use in my wash?? If i could use a natural product that would still clean clothes and help with stains (DD is almost 10 months and food stains are a HUGE problem in her clothes at the moment).

Would LOVE any feedback or suggestions..

[Tinks]

I hate the 2x concentrate too.

Maybe try using a tablespoon full? I always used less than half a scoop of the old stuff because of my allergies and found it fine on my skin and got the cltohes clean.

[Liviam]

Another one who doesn't like the 2x concentrate. DD and I both get exzema if we use the wrong washing powder so I use Amolin liquid wash on all our clothes/sheets, well everything. It gets the stains out of DD clothes. I've used Amolin since she was born and neither of us have a problem. It is designed for babies and people with sensitive skin. I find it really good.

[LimeSlice]

There are a whole heap of other washing alternatives to store bought washing powders.
Have a look at some cloth nappy sites for these - they are very effective and designed for use with cloth nappies and for eco friendly folk, so rarely contain allergens or irritants .

check out the bum genius (australian - google it) website - they have some great washing powder made from mineral salts and plant materials.
There are also soap nuts etc...

You could also wander over to the Cloth Nappy Genreal Discussion thread and ask the girls what they use

[Gigi]

Omo Sensitive makes me itch.

i swapped over to Aware Sensitive and Ecostore (whichever is on special that week) as both of those met my list of requirements, as gentle detergents - last year i spent a good half an hour in the supermarket aisle, reading and comparing all the ingredient lists of every clothes washing detergent i could find.

a few brands had nearly everything i was after, bar one thing, but the only two that ticked all the boxes, were Aware Sensitive and Ecostore.

so they are my two suggestions.

i originally started looking into this, to use a mild detergent on my child's modern cloth nappies, but then started using it on our clothes as well, and both dh and i stopped feeling itchy. up to then, our clothes had been washed in omo sensitive.

read the full list of ingredients on omo sensitive ( i can't believe i bought it for so long, without reading that list closer before then ).

sometimes the word "sensitive" is just a marketing ploy, it's not always true.

[MantaRay]

I'm wary of the big brands also. A few years ago I had a friend staying and she asked for all her clothes to be washed in Omo Sensitive as she got a rash from anything else. I did, but her sheets had already been washed in normal powder and she didn't react to them.

[~Raven~]

While I don't have super sensitive skin, I don't like the smell of washing powder on clothes. I find it makes me feel sick!
For a couple of years now I've been using Euca and can vouch for it. You could always give tri-nature a go too.

[SJL]

Hi,
I am currently doing the elimination diet for behavioural issues etc for my daughter, part of it includes using sensitive washing powders.
I was recomended the OMO sensitive, Planet Ark, Lux or the Amway washing powder.

We haven't had any issues with the OMO but by the sounds of things a lot of people are having issues. I only use 1/3 - 1/2 of the recomended dose.

Hope you have found something that works.

Sjl

[Curly]

I have always had washing powder issues with my family's skin. Bio-Zet works well and I don't think that is a 2x concentrate - I haven't bought it in a couple of months (see below!). We have also used Omo Sensitive (pre 2x concentrate) which was fine for everyone's skin but I didn't like it...I don't know why...I just didn't feel like the clothes were clean. Ironically Eco-Store gave both DD and DS eczema flare-ups.

However, I did try Radiant 2x concentrate and there has been no reaction at all. So then I tried Drive and Omo out of curiosity and the eczema started to rear its ugly head on DS so went back to Radiant, once again no problem. I personally love the smell of Radiant though, and just feel like a change at the moment but will probably stick with Bio-Zet and Radiant, depending on which is on special.

Otherwise perhaps you should look into using a liquid. A friend of mine with very sensitive skin uses Amolin with some of that Napisan in-wash liquid thrown into each wash (with a family of messy boys the washes seem to need a boost, she says) and has no skin issues and no stain issues.

And with the food stains, chuck the foody stained clothes into a bucket asap and you won't have nearly as many stain problems if the stain isn't allowed to set. I use Sard rather than Napisan in the bucket because of skin issues.