Branch Basics Laundry Kit (Fragrance-Free) for Baby Laundry

Important note on baby laundry detergents

When I’m choosing a baby laundry detergent, I’m thinking about what’s sitting on fabric that touches sensitive skin all day — onesies, pajamas, sleep sacks, sheets, towels, and cloth diapers. Baby laundry gets washed often, so I care a lot about formulas that rinse clean and don’t rely on unnecessary additives to feel or smell “clean.”

I prefer simple, fragrance-free options that do their job without leaving residue behind.

What I avoid in baby laundry detergents

In this category, I avoid synthetic or undisclosed fragrance, optical brighteners, harsh surfactants like SLS and SLES, preservatives such as methylisothiazolinone, and formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (a common example used in detergents is DMDM hydantoin). I also steer clear of quats and fabric-coating additives. For baby laundry, I want clean to come from the formula itself, not from extras that linger on fabric.

Product description

The Branch Basics Laundry Kit is a fragrance-free system that uses a concentrated base cleaner you dilute for laundry, paired with Oxygen Boost for stain support. I like this setup for baby laundry because it stays very simple, but still handles real-life messes like spit-up, blowouts, and early food stains.

Instead of a heavily “boosted” baby detergent, this feels more like a build-your-own approach — use just what you need, when you need it.

Ingredients

Concentrate: purified water, decyl glucoside, coco-glucoside, sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium phytate, organic chamomile flower extract.

Oxygen Boost: sodium percarbonate, sodium bicarbonate.

Certifications

MADE SAFE certified
Leaping Bunny Certified Cruelty-Free
EWG Verified (Oxygen Boost only)

What I like

I like how transparent and pared-down the ingredients are, especially for baby items that get washed over and over. There’s no added scent, no optical brighteners, and nothing in here that feels unnecessary. I also like that Oxygen Boost is truly optional — it’s there when stains need extra help, not built into every single wash.

Things to keep in mind

This is a dilute-it-yourself system, so it’s not quite as grab-and-pour as a traditional detergent. Once you get your routine down, it’s easy, but you’ll want to follow the mixing directions and adjust based on load size, water hardness, and how messy the laundry is.