You're also not supposed to use any type of fabric softener on them.

I agree if you read the labels its not to use fabric softener not homemade laundry detergent.

Get your story straight and show us the link with so info homemade laundry is not safe?

mara 2008 is correct. Manufacturers of flame retardant clothing specify you must use a synthetic detergent to keep the flame retardant in the clothes. Soap cleans too well, and will remove the chemicals that make the clothing flame resistant. Homemade laundry detergent is safe, it is just not compatible with all clothing sold. You can use it on infant clothes, as anything for 9 months and younger has no flame retardant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flame resistant clothing care

I had to chime in about infant clothing sizing. How many of you have found huge variability in the size of, say, garments labeled 9 months? So there are plenty of 6 month old babies out there sleeping in jammies with flame retardent. If the stuff is harmful to them, maybe said jammies should be laundered using a soap product.

Chipshot, I'm not sure, but maybe the reason they don't put fire-retardant in clothing for infants less than nine month old, is because a baby that age or younger isn't likely to be roaming around where it would come in contact with something that would catch its clothing on fire.

Children die from smoke inhalation more often than from being burned to death in a fire. So stop fretting about your laundry detergeants and make sure you have working smoke and CO detectors in your homes on all floors.

I don't know, I guess times are diferent.When my kids were little, I worried about them spitting up and choke while sleeping. It would never crossed my mind to worry about them burning. Their bedrooms were next to ours and detectors were working. Kids were not left alone.

I have seen warnings on baby clothes labels - which say to use detergent, not soap - for years. Even when my kids, now grown, were babies.

I think the burning concern may be partly for when babies are wearing their sleepwhere while not in their cribs.

On a related note, I'm pretty sure my wife misses the smell of Dreft. I wonder if there will ever be an HE version. I checked Dreft's website and found the following in the FAQs:

Q: Can I use Dreft in a High Efficiency (HE) washer?
A: We don't recommend using Dreft in a high efficiency (HE) washing machine. HE machines need low sudsing detergents and if regular detergent is used, the excess suds could lead to washer problems. Unfortunately, just using a smaller amount of regular detergent does not fix the issue. Only the use of a HE detergent ensures the proper performance of your washer. If you have an HE washing machine, look for 2x Ultra Tide HE Free, which is made without dyes or perfumes.

So heavily-perfumed Dreft is recommending a detergent free of dyes and perfumes as an HE substitute. Hmmm...

Here is a link that might be useful: Dreft FAQs

So heavily-perfumed Dreft is recommending a detergent free of dyes and perfumes as an HE substitute. Hmmm...

That is kind of interesting, but I'm guessing that they have a concern that some of the Tide perfumes and dyes could cause trouble with sensitive skin. Hence the free/sensitive recommendation. I have no knowledge but just a guess that Dreft will slowly fade away as HE machines become more common. My guess is that someday there will be a "Tide Baby" formula or something with a Dreft-like smell, HE, and more of a low sensitivity formula. Maybe Gain? Maybe put it in the Cheer line, but I'd doubt that personally. Since Dreft isn't a big seller, they'd put the R&D into Tide or Gain since they're the bigger sellers.

bumping for parents with little ones

"Manufacturers of flame retardant clothing specify you must use a synthetic detergent to keep the flame retardant in the clothes. Soap cleans too well, and will remove the chemicals that make the clothing flame resistant."

Personally I'd try to find out exactly what chemicals are being used to make them flame retardant. Hopefully it's a nice safe chemical coming in contact with your young one, but don't assume just because it's "approved" that it's without risks. If you don't like what you find, that home detergent will sure come in handy.

Even permanent press uses chemicals like formaldehyde. I'd check it out too, along with the potential for their clothing catching fire. I believe it's required by law to have the sleepwear treated, so it would seem there have been enough cases or potential to warrant it.

bumping for parents of little ones - and adding that naptha is a petroleum product (see thread about problem caused by ink).

naptha = a petroleum-based liquid like paint remover or kerosene

this whole flammable pj issue is such a crock, IMHO. if your kid is in the crib during a fire, he's going to die of smoke inhalation not his pj's catching on fire. if he's running around the house, reaching across the candle you've left burning, he should be wearing his jammies, so he won't catch on fire?? what?? what if it's midday? do we not protect them then? yes, we do! we don't burn candles where they can reach, or pull on top of themselves, or maybe not at all.

my DD is 14, so when she was a baby the laws were different. there was no exception for close-fitting cotton pj's. there was no exception for under 6mo. we had a heck of a time finding cotton clothes for the kid, and she sweat like a pig when dressed in poly.

i'd say wash your kids clothes the way that works best for your/their noses and skin. keep your smoke detectors working. practice reasonable safety practices (ya know, like not letting the 3 yr old play with the lit candle). i'm sure you can think of something better to worry about than your kids' pj flammability (just in case you really need something to worry about)!

The chemicals that make clothes inflammable are NOT safe to for children, or any other humans, I am sorry to say. I was just looking around the net for a way to REMOVE the chemicals because of their toxicity. The chemicals they use have been banned in Europe, and one of them has been banned in California.

For more information, see this article from Environmental Working Group (a nonprofit organization that works to protect public health): http://www.ewg.org/node/27071

The title is: "Young Children in U.S. Among WorldÂs Most Polluted With Fire Retardants"

You can find crib mattresses online that don't have the flame-retardant chemicals in them (look for organic cotton wrapped in wool, which is NATURALLY flame-retardant). Look for organic sleepwear, too. Seriously, if there's a fire, the chances of your child dying by smoke inhalation are FAR greater than them being burned. That's what kills you in a fire, the smoke from all the toxic crap in your house burning. Anyway, my two cents. Hope it helps.

Sabrina, naptha = a petroleum-based liquid like paint remover or kerosene.

Naptha is a soap commonly used in making homemade laundry soap.

Yet it too is comprised of chemicals.

Mara,

Despite the name "Fels Naptha Soap", there is NO naptha in the product, it has been naptha free for years. If you look at the most recent MSDS (material safety data sheet) on file with the federal government, Fels Naptha contains "terpene processing by products". Terpenes are a class of complex hydrocarbons produced by plants and animals. Terpene (the word) is derived from terpentine. So Fels Naptha Soap in now an entirely plant and animal based product. Our own bodies are a complex soup of complex organic chemicals, and terpenes are a major part of them. Steroids, which our bodies produce, are based on terpenes.