Least irritant washing powder/liquid

morganlefay

So many helpful answers, and I'm trying Surcare now and will see how that goes, then work my way through others if that's no good. BUT the best thing was seeing the dr who was completely matter of fact in the face of my embarassment (what was I expecting, I wonder ? ) and has given me a good cream. Memo to self: DONT PUT OFF SEEING THE DOCTOR HOWEVER EMBARASSED YOU MAY BE FEELING. Thank you so much everyone !:T

kingfisherblue

Thank you for the update - so glad that you decided to see your doctor and have a decent cream for your needs.

Piplin

Have you tried Eco Egg? Available from QVC, Holland and Barrett and online.

queengoth

I find even the smell of other people’s washing powder used to make my skin burn, mum used Persil for years until they change the formula, I now use Asda’s own none bio, £4 for a huge box, I use their own brand fabric softener too. I did give the eco nuts a try but wasn’t convinced my washing was getting as clean.

Soap is still a big trigger for me and Imperial leather can strip my skin off ! So I stick to the unperfumed simple soaps. Hope this helps.

Savvy_Sue

I know this is an old thread but thought I'd update my own experience. We've moved on to supermarket own brand non-bio liquid, usually the coop, and we seem to be fine. No longer use fabric conditioner, white vinegar instead. DH has changed from using E45 wash to Dove, and that has made a HUGE difference to the laundry, there are no longer flaky deposits everywhere, I used to have to wash most of his clothes twice before the change.

Anthorn

If you are using fabric conditioner consider that it might not be the laundry detergent but the softener. Looking at it logically detergent rinses away at the end of the wash and you can also top it off by using an extra rinse cycle. But softener stays on whatever it is added to. That's why everything feels softer when fabric soften/conditioner is used.

Personally I use a thin consistency of laundry liquid. I'm environmentally conscious so I use Ecover non-bio but I have had good results with Wilko and Tesco brand non-bio laundry liquid. I find that the thicker consistency laundry liquid doesn't rinse away properly even with an extra rinse cycle.

Loubyloux

My daughter is allergic to everything and has had really bad eczema since birth, the only washing powder she can have is Persil Non-Bio but I have since found that the Eco Egg doesn't irritate her either.

You can get it from Holland and Barratt or places like Amazon and it usually works out cheaper than washing powder too. I generally buy from Holland and Barratt when they have the buy one get one half price sales on

Andy_83

Hi all, this is my first post to MSE Forums!

My wife has eczema, my late mother did too and when our daughter as baby (now 9yrs) had rashes similar to eczema, we decided to find what we can do to change things around.

Here are things that I found to affect:
-Perfumes in the washing powder/liquid irritate the skin
-Usually, most fabric softeners irritate the skin too
-Some powders contain zeolites, it is a type of clay-stone that is used to soften the water. This irritates the skin too.
-Bio powders aren't actually different than non-bio for sensitive skin. Usually, it is the perfumes and additional chemicals inside bio/non-bio that irritates the skin.

We've been using Caring Panda's powder for 9 years now, and we will never change from it.

I hope that the short list above helps people with sensitive skin.

Regarding money saving: it costs 0,35£ per wash to use the powder, which is less than some sensitive skin powders.

coffeehound

A few product placements in this thread methinks ...

Moi: Asda own-brand bio powder gave me a horrendous painful rash on the unmentionables. Took months to heal.

As others said, I find an extra rinse cycle is helpful for reducing residues. You really notice this when using a spin dryer as the water that drains out smells much stronger without the extra rinse.

Also I think it's important to leave plenty of room in the washing machine drum so things can move around and rinse well. My mum used to stuff the drum full and clothes still smelled really strongly of detergent when they came out.

@Savvy_Sue I'm surprised your OH finds Dove soap helpful as it's pretty harsh compared with additive-free soaps.

Savvy_Sue

coffeehound wrote: »

@Savvy_Sue I'm surprised your OH finds Dove soap helpful as it's pretty harsh compared with additive-free soaps.

It's not the bar soap it's one of their liquid washes with moisturiser added. Not going to re-experiment any time soon as it took so long to wean him off the E45!