Laundry Room Series: Natural Detergent Options

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Soon after discovering the high toxicity levels in the products around my home, laundry detergent was high on my list to replace fast. The clothes that are against my skin all day, all the time have soaked up the toxins in the soap they're washed in and are transferred to my body. And what's absorbed through my skin goes into my blood stream, thereby affecting my entire body. When broken down as such, it sounds a little scary, right? It did to me anyway, so I looked for a solution. Many natural bloggers offer DIY solutions involving things like boiling huge amounts of liquids, grating soap bars, and other labor and time intensive activities. That was an immediate turn off! I have found simple, natural laundry detergent solutions!!

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Two Liquid Options
As noted in an earlier post, you can use Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile Soap. You can do this in one of two ways, I've done both.

1. In a container you can easily pour the liquid out of, mix half water and half Dr. Bronner's soap. Use the normal amount of soap that you previously used, or whatever is recommended for your machine.
2. Use half the recommended amount of Dr. Bronner's soap straight into the washer. It's very concentrated soap, and even at a half-dilution, it's very effective. 

You can purchase Dr. Bronner's soap from Target, health stores/markets, and Amazon in sizes ranging from travel to a gallon!

Another liquid option that I've just started using is Green Shield Organic Laundry Detergent (link to EWG report) which scored an "A" by EWG with low concerns in a couple areas. This is available at Costco for around $13, I think. This brand is the only company making USDA-certified organic cleaning products. They also make a lavender-scented and baby detergent. I have seen the lavender detergent at Costco, as well. They offer all-purpose, bathroom, and glass cleaners at my Costco, and hopefully, yours too!! Check out this brand though, it's been great so far!

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Two Powdered Options
Two words: Washing soda (link to Amazon). This is the detergent recommendation from Mommypotamus (an excellent natural-living blogger). You can use straight washing soda, or put some in a glass jar and mix in essential oils of choice. Lavender is nice. Tea tree is a super germ killer, but not everyone prefers its scent. Peppermint is a good alternative to tea tree. Citrus essential oils are also good germ killers and smell like summer. The possibilities are endless, and you can customize it by season!! Your clothes can smell like Christmas (i.e., Cinnamon or a Thieves blend) in the winter, lavender in spring, and citrus in summer!! Mmmm. I think I'm convincing myself to try this!! Next time I run out of detergent...

Another excellent powdered option is detergent from Crunchy Clean, a home-run detergent and cleaning business. The prices are reasonable, sales happen regularly, and they offer flat-rate shipping, so just buy in bulk! I haven't tried their Everyday Detergent yet, but it's vegan and safe for babies, so you know it's also safe for sensitive skin. The "super" version of their detergents are for hard water. They offer sample sizes if you don't want to commit yet, too. I use their Cloth Diaper Detergent exclusively because it's cheaper than Rock 'N Green, by far, and works wonderfully!! I have rarely needed to strip my diapers in two years!! It can also be used to clean regular clothes, and I have used it for that purpose. Crunchy Clean also offers excellent stain-fighters for clothes and other cleaning products, which I'll talk about in the future.

Ubber-Cost Effective Option: Make your own washing soda by baking baking soda for a couple hours!! Use for your dishwasher or washing clothes.

What do you use for washing your clothes? Have you tried any of these products? Will you try any of these products?