What Do These Ingredients in Baby Detergent Mean?
If you feel like you need a degree in chemistry to understand what all these ingredients are, then don’t worry! We’re here to help decode them with our quick guide that explains what all the important laundry ingredient terms mean.
Your detergent is made up of several components: surfactants, enzymes, bleach, builders, and polymers. These work together as a team to leave your baby’s clothes clean and stain-free.
Surfactants
These are the core stain-removal ingredients in the detergent. Surfactants remove grease stains and food residues from fabric, which is especially useful when your little one spills baby food all down that bib! Detergents like Dreft Powder Detergent contain several different surfactants to help remove different types of stains.
Enzymes
Enzymes are naturally-occurring proteins that help break stains down into smaller, easier to remove pieces. Washing detergents often include several different enzymes, each working to break down different stain types, from grass stains picked up by your active toddler to messy food stains.
Bleach
Bleach brightens your whites and helps remove pigmented, colored stains. Dreft Powder Detergent is color safe, so you can use it effectively on colorful clothes − not only whites.
Builders
Builders work with hard-water molecules to enable the surfactants to remove stains. If you have hard water, you’ll need a detergent with builders in the ingredients list.
Polymers
Liquid laundry detergents, like Dreft Stage 1: Newborn and Dreft Stage 2: Active Baby, have a few different polymers. Each of these polymers has a different task, like stopping the stains from redepositing onto other garments, for example.
Laundry detergents also come with other ingredients, such as brighteners to make the colors on your garments pop and perfumes for that fresh, laundry smell. Buffers are used to balance acidity in the water, and suds suppressors prevent excess suds from spoiling your wash.
Removing baby formula stains or grass stains is a daily challenge for parents like you. Luckily, Dreft not only helps you do the laundry, but we're also here for your little one to help ensure soft, huggable fabrics that are gentle on sensitive skin. Make your life even easier with our stain-removal tips for all kinds of baby stains, and know that when your curious baby makes a mess, Dreft is here for the cleanup.