I am a fan of COmbi washing detergent. The smell is nice but it is a little bit more expensive than the other brands I think and also it is often out of stock. As for softener, I think Chicco softener is very good. However, only buy it when it is on promotion (orig price $96) and promotion price is about $45-48. THe clothes come out much softer than using COmfort. FOr bbs that are too young, I would not recommend you use softener though as I think for bbs so small, the more simple the better