I have tested and reviewed several detergents that are good for the environment & cloth diapers. For obvious reason I was not able to review every detergent on the market so I chose the most eco-friendly or most popular brands. Diaper Jungle (again- fabulous for resources) has an amazing chart that will allow you to compare almost every detergent on the market, and the chart is broken down so you can see what's in the detergents. Please check it out by clicking here: DIAPER JUNGLE DETERGENT CHART
Without further adieu...
Planet Ultra Liquid & Planet 2x Ultra HE Liquid: LOVE both of these. Planet contains no enzymes, no brighteners, no fragrance, no bleach, no softeners and no dyes! This is the recipe for perfection in the cloth diapering world. The diapers came out clean and soft. We had no leaks, stinks or rashes while using Planet liquids. I would definitely recommend Planet for cloth users. Certified 100% biodegradable, never tested on animals, non-toxic for aquatic life, phosphate free and comes in recycled packaging. Planet is also available in an ultra powdered version. Find it: Planet's website Diaper Jungle rating: not yet rated in liquid; the powder got 4 stars.
Charlie's Soap: Charlie's soap is a staple in our household. We heart Charlie's Soap and we use it for all of our clothing & diapers. Charlie's is also recommended by most cloth diaper companies, because it's free of the "bad stuff". Here's why WE love it: giant 3lb bag for $8 at Whole Foods, how long does 3lbs last? 80 full loads or 160 diaper loads! You read that right- 1/2 tbsp of detergent per load for diapers and you can wash diapers 160x! We also love that it's non-toxic, residue free, biodegradable, environmentally safe and even flame retardant! Find It Here: Charlie's Soap
Diaper Jungle Rating: 4 Stars
Seventh Generation Free & Clear: In the famous words of Scooby Doo,"ruh-roh". We gave Seventh Generation a chance because it's so readily available and well known. Seventh Generation is carried in most stores, even grocery stores. We love so many of their other products. Because of that I really hate to say this (and I truly do) but this detergent is NOT diaper friendly or baby bottom friendly. Our experience: we got the first leaks in our Bumgenius one-size diapers in over 1 year of use while using Seventh. Our little test guy also ended up with a blistered bright red bottom. I had to wash the diapers twice with Charlie's Soap before I got all of the Seventh Generation rash causing residue out of the diapers. Overall- not a good experience and I would not recommend this detergent to other cloth diapering parents. :( I'm so sorry Seventh Generation!!! I promise to make up this review with another one of your fabulous products in the future.
Diaper Jungle Rating: 2 stars (contains both enzymes and softeners, see chart for further info.)
Ecover Laundry Wash: We love that Ecover's plant based, biodegradable, not tested on animals, free of the "bad stuff" minus fragrances which are all plant derived scents. Overall, I liked it and it worked well. It's comparable to the other detergents we tested except in price and Ecover is little more expensive but you can find Ecover in a lot of super stores and grocery stores, which is more convenient than the other brands. Only flaw- the fragrances, even though they are plant derived they can still cause issues for children with sensitive skin. Our sensitive tooshie had no problem. Find Ecover products.
Diaper Jungle Rating: 3 stars (contains fragrances)
Sun & Earth: I was surprised to find that Sun & Earth is available in two of our local grocery stores here in NC. That is a big selling point for me, personally. Sun & Earth is very clean smelling with natural lemon in the detergent. Lemon is also a very powerful cleaning agent. Sun & Earth is free of enzymes, brighteners, softeners, fragrances, dyes, and bleach. Very Affordable and did I mention the yummy natural lemon smell?? Find Sun & Earth
Diaper Jungle Rating: 4 stars
Charlie's Soap: Charlie's soap is a staple in our household. We heart Charlie's Soap and we use it for all of our clothing & diapers. Charlie's is also recommended by most cloth diaper companies, because it's free of the "bad stuff". Here's why WE love it: giant 3lb bag for $8 at Whole Foods, how long does 3lbs last? 80 full loads or 160 diaper loads! You read that right- 1/2 tbsp of detergent per load for diapers and you can wash diapers 160x! We also love that it's non-toxic, residue free, biodegradable, environmentally safe and even flame retardant! Find It Here: Charlie's SoapDiaper Jungle Rating: 4 Stars
Seventh Generation Free & Clear: In the famous words of Scooby Doo,"ruh-roh". We gave Seventh Generation a chance because it's so readily available and well known. Seventh Generation is carried in most stores, even grocery stores. We love so many of their other products. Because of that I really hate to say this (and I truly do) but this detergent is NOT diaper friendly or baby bottom friendly. Our experience: we got the first leaks in our Bumgenius one-size diapers in over 1 year of use while using Seventh. Our little test guy also ended up with a blistered bright red bottom. I had to wash the diapers twice with Charlie's Soap before I got all of the Seventh Generation rash causing residue out of the diapers. Overall- not a good experience and I would not recommend this detergent to other cloth diapering parents. :( I'm so sorry Seventh Generation!!! I promise to make up this review with another one of your fabulous products in the future.Diaper Jungle Rating: 2 stars (contains both enzymes and softeners, see chart for further info.)
Ecover Laundry Wash: We love that Ecover's plant based, biodegradable, not tested on animals, free of the "bad stuff" minus fragrances which are all plant derived scents. Overall, I liked it and it worked well. It's comparable to the other detergents we tested except in price and Ecover is little more expensive but you can find Ecover in a lot of super stores and grocery stores, which is more convenient than the other brands. Only flaw- the fragrances, even though they are plant derived they can still cause issues for children with sensitive skin. Our sensitive tooshie had no problem. Find Ecover products.Diaper Jungle Rating: 3 stars (contains fragrances)
Sun & Earth: I was surprised to find that Sun & Earth is available in two of our local grocery stores here in NC. That is a big selling point for me, personally. Sun & Earth is very clean smelling with natural lemon in the detergent. Lemon is also a very powerful cleaning agent. Sun & Earth is free of enzymes, brighteners, softeners, fragrances, dyes, and bleach. Very Affordable and did I mention the yummy natural lemon smell?? Find Sun & EarthDiaper Jungle Rating: 4 stars
3 comments:
The best way to clean cloth diapers is to pre-rinse them off in the toilet using a Bathroom Bidet Sprayer. So convenient and if you are trying to help the environment (and your pocket book) you can give it a double whammy by virtually eliminating toilet paper use, at the same time as you benefit from using it on the diapers, by using it on yourself. I think Dr. Oz on Oprah said it best: "if you had pee or poop on your hand, you wouldn't wipe it off with paper, would you? You'd wash it off" Available at www.bathroomsprayers.com they come in an inexpensive kit and can be installed without a plumber. And after using one of these you won't know how you lasted all those years with wadded up handfuls of toilet paper. Now we're talking green and helping the environment without any pain.
We use Country Save detergent and love it. We did try Charlies. We had no problems really, but we had heard about the problems some people have. I did speak with one of the owners of the company, and he gave me a LOT of information on that and what to do to prevent problems, etc. But then we tried the Country Save to compare, esp after hearing so many wonderful things about that brand. We've been very happy with it. It's biodegradable and rinses really clean. We use just a little bit, too, so it will go a long way. We wanted a detergent we could use with ALL of our laundry, not just one for diapers and something for everything else. Plus, with Aiden's eczema, we wanted to be really careful.
I've also used Pinstripes & Polkadots as a good resource for laundry detergents, and it's been mentioned to me by several others http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htm. Country Save is one that is consistently listed as one of the best detergents for diapers, as well as some that you mentioned in your reviews. :) Just wanted to mention another really good detergent!
You can get a free (for shipping) sample from here: http://hyenacart.com/onebumatatime/
And if you buy it from Amazon.com (the best price I've seen, but it also is not sold locally here), you can get a case (yes, it's a lot, but it will last quite a while!) and using Subscribe & Save, get free shipping and save 15%.
Just thought I would share! Thanks for all the other great info!!
Thank you Jeff & Daisy for the helpful tips!
We use a diaper sprayer and we do indeed loooove it. I haven't tried Country Save but I have also heard great things about it.
Thanks for the comments.
Post a Comment