Non-Toxic Household Products I Switched to for My Baby’s Eczema (What We Use Daily)

When your baby has eczema, you quickly realize it’s not just about skincare.

It’s about everything that touches their skin directly and indirectly.

The detergent washing their pajamas. The cleaner on the floors they crawl on. The soap on your hands before you pick them up. The scent lingering in the air long after a candle is blown out.

When P’s eczema escalated, I knew I couldn’t control genetics, but I could control his environment. And that realization changed the way I looked at our home.

This isn’t about fear. This isn’t about perfection. These are the non-toxic household products I use daily that I intentionally switched to in order to be more mindful of my baby’s eczema and sensitive skin.

Why Household Products Matter for Baby Eczema

Babies with eczema already have a compromised skin barrier. That means everyday exposures especially fragrances, detergents, and chemical residues can quietly worsen inflammation over time.

Eczema management isn’t just about what you put on your baby’s skin. It’s also about what surrounds them all day, every day.

Reducing constant triggers helps lower the overall irritation load their body is carrying.

Laundry Routine for Baby Eczema

Fragrance-Free Laundry Detergent

Laundry detergent was one of the first things I changed, and it ended up being one of the most impactful. Your baby’s skin is in constant contact with washed fabric. Clothes, pajamas, sleep sacks, towels, crib sheets. For babies with eczema, that means whatever is left behind in laundry can become a 24/7 trigger. Traditional detergents often contain synthetic fragrance, dyes, optical brighteners, and harsh surfactants that do not fully rinse out. Those residues sit against compromised skin barriers all day and all night, quietly fueling irritation.

When we met with our pediatric dermatologist, this was one of the first environmental changes they emphasized. They specifically recommended Molly’s Suds, which is what we’ve been using ever since.

What I appreciated most was that the recommendation was simple and practical. Molly’s Suds has a very short ingredient list, is truly fragrance-free with no masking scents, and is free of dyes and optical brighteners. There is nothing extra clinging to fabric, which matters so much when you are dealing with eczema-prone skin.

What I look for now in any laundry detergent
- Truly fragrance-free with no masking scents
- No dyes or optical brighteners
- Minimal ingredients

Wool Dryer Balls > Dryer Sheets

I also eliminated dryer sheets entirely and switched to wool dryer balls, which ended up being a win for both P’s skin and the environment. Traditional dryer sheets are typically single-use and coated with synthetic fragrances and softening agents that transfer onto fabric. Those coatings do not just disappear. They build up on clothes, towels, and bedding over time, which can be especially irritating for eczema-prone skin.

Wool dryer balls, on the other hand, are reusable, fragrance-free, and completely free of chemical coatings. They naturally soften fabric by improving air circulation in the dryer and can be used for years, which significantly reduces household waste.

From an environmental standpoint, switching to wool dryer balls means fewer single-use products going into landfills and less chemical runoff from synthetic softeners. It felt like a small but meaningful way to be more mindful of both our home and the world P is growing up in. No scent. No coating. Just clean, breathable fabric.

This one change alone helped us feel like we were no longer unknowingly working against P’s skin every time we got him dressed or put him down to sleep.

Non-Toxic All-Purpose Cleaners for an Eczema-Friendly Home

Babies don’t just crawl on floors. They touch them, roll on them, and then put their hands straight into their mouths. Once I truly processed how often P’s skin and hands were coming into contact with freshly cleaned surfaces, I knew I could not keep using conventional cleaners. Many of them contain harsh disinfectants and synthetic fragrances that may clean well, but leave behind residues that sensitive, eczema-prone skin has to absorb over and over again.

This is when I made the switch to Branch Basics. I want to be honest. Branch Basics is expensive. There is no sugarcoating that. But it is also one of the best household switches we have made, and I genuinely believe it is worth every single penny.

What sold me was how clean the formula is and how multifaceted it is. I use Branch Basics for EVERYTHING. My floors. My counters. My bathroom. My sheets when Phoenix throws up in the middle of the night. Anywhere P touches, crawls, or plays, this is what I use.

The concentrate is fragrance-free, free of ammonia, chlorine, and harsh chemicals, and designed to clean effectively without leaving behind irritants. Instead of needing multiple products for different surfaces, I use one system throughout our entire home, which means fewer chemicals overall and fewer opportunities for hidden triggers. Knowing that the surfaces P is crawling on and the fabrics touching his skin are cleaned with something gentle gives me so much peace of mind. Clean does not have to mean aggressive. Especially when eczema is involved.

Gentle Dish Soap for Sensitive Skin

Dish soap touches your hands constantly, and whatever stays on your hands eventually transfers to your baby’s skin.

It also leaves residue on bottles, utensils, and anything that goes into their mouth.

I switched to a dish soap that is fragrance-free, does not dry out my hands, and rinses clean without leaving a film.

If a soap leaves my hands tight or irritated, I do not want it near my baby.

Fragrance-Free Hand Soap for Baby Eczema

Post-baby life means constant hand washing.

Harsh hand soaps were drying out my skin, and that was my sign to change. If it disrupts my skin barrier, it is not eczema-friendly.

Now we only use hand soaps that are fragrance-free, moisturizing, and free of antibacterial additives unless medically necessary.

Healthy skin barriers matter for parents too.

Removing Candles, Air Fresheners, and Artificial Scents

This was one of the hardest changes for me emotionally.

If you know me, you know I LOVE a cozy home. I love scent. But airborne fragrance can be a major trigger for eczema and sensitive skin, so I made a decision early on. My baby’s skin comes first. I eliminated plug-in air fresheners, artificial scented sprays, and conventional candles. Even products labeled as clean or natural often still rely on fragrance components that can linger in the air and settle onto skin, fabrics, and surfaces.

One important thing I want to share is that P was tested internally for mold exposure, and his results came back okay. That gave us peace of mind. At the same time, I learned something valuable along the way. Traditional doctors are generally not going to emphasize the role mold can play in skin issues. They just don’t. Functional doctors, on the other hand, will absolutely flag this as something to be aware of, especially when you are dealing with chronic inflammation like eczema.

That awareness changed how I think about air quality in our home.

On most days, I rely on fresh air, open windows, and keeping our space clean without added scent. Over time, my nervous system adjusted, and now strong smells feel overwhelming instead of comforting.

But on the days I truly miss a candle and want that cozy feeling, I am very intentional. I use the Remedy Environmental Candle, and only in the bathroom, because that is the area in our home where we tend to see the most mold. What I appreciate about it is that it is designed not to help remediate mold and support cleaner air, rather than adding another layer of fragrance for P’s skin to react to.

It feels like a thoughtful compromise. One that respects both my love for ambiance and my commitment to protecting my baby’s skin.

What I Did Not Do

I did not replace everything overnight. I did not aim for perfection. I did not shame myself for what I used before. I swapped products as we ran out, one change at a time.

Because parenting a child with eczema is already exhausting, and guilt does not help anyone heal.

Final Thoughts on Creating an Eczema-Friendly Home

Living with a baby who has eczema teaches you to slow down and pay attention. It reminds you that healing often comes from removing what quietly makes things worse, not adding more.

These non-toxic household swaps did not cure P’s eczema, but they lowered the baseline irritation his body was fighting every day. And for us, that mattered.

If you are walking this road too, know this. You are not doing too much. You are responding to what your child needs, and that is always enough.

Affiliate Disclosure and Personal Note

Some of the links in this post are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you choose to make a purchase through one of these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I want to be very clear about why I share what I share. I have been on this eczema journey with P for over a year. Every product mentioned here is something we personally use in our home, based on our own trial, research, and lived experience. I am not a doctor. I am not offering medical advice. I am just a mama doing her best to create a cleaner, gentler environment for her child. If you choose to purchase through my links, those earnings go directly back to Phoenix and help support his care, his needs, and this ongoing journey we are navigating together as a family. Thank you for being here, for trusting my voice, and for supporting our little family in this season 🤍