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Filed Under ** Cheat Sheets!, cleaning products, Cloth Diapering

For years and years, I was a Tide girl. I loved my Tide in all its stain fighting glory (especially with a husband who is a habitual leaver of lip balm in his pocket and my rule is, I do the laundry, I don’t check pockets) and optical brightening power. Then I read about phthalates and other chemicals which could possibly be slowly poisoning my son, and the rest, as they say, is history. So of course, all of our research has led you here, to another production of the SafeMama cheat sheet. (Know a brand you think belongs here? Let us know!)

Make Your Own!

You can easily make your own detergent with just a few simple ingredients. I actually have a friend who made her own and liked it. However, I can’t really attest to how well it gets out grime and dirt, just because she said that they don’t get really dirty (empty nesters, such is the life). But if you want to try it for yourself, you’re more than welcome to give it a whirl and see how you like it.

What you’ll need (the liquid version, i.e. maybe a little more time consuming, and a little more mess to prepare):

One five gallon bucket with a lid (you can usually find them at hardware stores)
One bar of soap (any kind is fine, but preferably one that’s free of all the ickies!
One box of washing soda (NOT baking soda). You can find this in the laundry aisle of your grocery store or big box department store.
One box of box of borax (optional) (Looking into the safety of Borax use – recipe still works without it)
three gallons of tap water
a measuring cup
a knife or cheese grater, whichever you prefer (you’ll need it for the soap)
your favorite essential oil (also optional)

First, put about four cups of water into a pot and turn the heat on high. You want to heat it up, but not boil it Then, begin grating or shaving strips of soap into the water. Once you’ve put all of the soap into the water, stir until soap particles have dissolved, but your water is soapy.

Next, add three gallons of hot water to your bucket, along with the soap mixture from the stove. If you want to use essential oil, go ahead and add that too. Add one cup of washing soda to the mixture and stir. Once you’re done, let it sit overnight, and let cool. The next day, you should have a slime like consistency. For each load, you’ll want to use about a cup to your washing machine.

The Powder Variety (the easier of the two):

What you’ll need:

This is pretty similar to the liquid kind, except you just keep it in powder form.

One bar of soap (any kind is fine, but preferably one that’s free of all the ickies!
One box of washing soda (NOT baking soda). You can find this in the laundry aisle of your grocery store or big box department store.
One box of box of borax (Looking into the safety of Borax use – recipe still works without it)
a food processor
essential oil (again, optional)

First, you’ll want to cut up your soap into manageable chunks for the food processor. Chop up the soap until fine. In a large ziploc bag or container, add one cup of washing soda, along with your soap flakes. If you’re using essential oil, you can add 5-10 drops to the mixture. seal the container or bag and shake until well mixed. Voilà! You can use this in high efficiency washing machines as well. Just use less. One to two tablespoons will do the trick.

Got any other green laundry tips? Share them with the class!

Posted by: Statia on June 8, 2010

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Comments

41 Responses to “SafeMama Laundry Detergent Cheat Sheet”

Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green on June 8th, 2010 7:36 pm

ECOS is my favorite green laundry soap.
Ashlea on June 8th, 2010 7:53 pm

What about Rockin’ Green?!
Karyl Kemper on June 8th, 2010 8:40 pm

used to only use Tide Free or All Free and Clear. then i learned about the chemicals EVEN in the free versions! i have tried different sellers of handmade laundry soap….but have settled on one that i LOVE!
you can find her stuff at http://www.mayleesgarden.etsy.com
amazing scents and i just love it to death!!!!
Julie A. on June 8th, 2010 10:35 pm

Thanks again for SUCH a wonderful cheat sheet!! Like I have said before…. keep them coming So I wanted to get your feedback on the brand Ecos Laundry Detergent. They sell it at Costco and I love it, but not sure just how green it is. What do you think??
Kate on June 8th, 2010 11:45 pm

What about method? Even the free and clear?
Rebecca W. on June 9th, 2010 3:04 am

We LOVE Ecos laundry detergent, too!
Jennifer on June 9th, 2010 3:58 am

Clean Environment Co. Works great and I have two little boys whose clothes it gets clean.

http://www.cleanenvironmentco.com/products/index.htm#2
Sarah on June 9th, 2010 10:42 am

So does any1 know if these are good for cloth diapers, whool covers, and Hemp? Also, I am new to this safer cleaning stuff so have no clue what soap would be good, or what is even meant by soap lol
Nicole on June 9th, 2010 11:48 am

I like Country Save. It seems to work very well, and is a lot less expensive than many other greener brands.
Christina on June 9th, 2010 1:14 pm

In my test run of cloth diapering, I’ve come across Rockin Green, which looks to be pretty good too. I just ordered my first bag, and may or may not use it on our clothes (not cheap, so it might just stay for baby laundry). Any thoughts on this one?

Also know that Charlie’s sometimes causes rashes.

Thanks for this and all your cheat sheets!!!
Lani on June 9th, 2010 1:21 pm

We use cloth diapers (simple unbleached indian prefold ones from http://www.maineclothdiapercompany.com/proddetail.php?prod=170). We first soak the poop ones in a bucket with a mixture of water and a few tablespoons of biokleen “bacout” and then we use Method baby detergent. I can attest to how great a job it does on our daughter’s diapers (and we use the detergent on all of our families clothes as well). The Biokleen is also great to soak any clothes with stains before doing the laundry. I see Biokleen on this list – what about Method?
Laura on June 9th, 2010 1:49 pm

I was wondering about the Method Free & Clear as well… I use it b/c it works great and I thought it was a safe option. Perhaps not??
A on June 9th, 2010 1:55 pm

Thank you for the list. Do you know which one of these are safe to use with cloth diapers?
alex on June 9th, 2010 1:59 pm

What about the kirkland signature free and clear for the environment laundry detergent? It claims to not have any “bad” stuff?
Also the ECOS brand and there is a Trader Joe’s laundry lavender brand?
Joann on June 9th, 2010 2:05 pm

Another brand is Country Save. It’s one of the detergents recommended for cloth diapers, have you tried it? I’d be interested in your review. Thanks.
melissa Phinney on June 9th, 2010 2:23 pm

What’s your take on Rockin’ Green? Also, do you have a laundry soap cheat sheet or could you add to this one recommendations for wool/delicate wash detergents?

I didn’t know even the free and clear ones are bad, I was still useing them for our clothes! Nuts now I have to get rid of those too! lol
SafeMama Kathy on June 9th, 2010 2:46 pm

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions and questions! I had not heard of Rockin’ Green until now.. ordering samples so I can check it out. Also added Method to the list since it seems to be such a popular option. I was weary of it for greenwashing reasons but I can’t seem to find anything too incriminating so it’ll be on the list unless I find otherwise!
Dianne Andrews on June 9th, 2010 3:30 pm

Rockin Green Soap is great. Been using it on all my clothes for a few months now.

I think your link for Charlies Soap has an extra “s” in the middle.
courtney dixon on June 9th, 2010 3:48 pm

Mrs. meyer’s clean day is expensive but very effective
Valencia Porter on June 9th, 2010 4:10 pm

Trader Joe’s Liquid Laundry Detergent ingredients are: purified water, plant based surfactants (coconut), earth salts, soy based fabric softener, cellulose optical brightener, lavender oil. I have been very pleased with this product.
Jessica on June 9th, 2010 5:17 pm

What about 365 Laundry Detergent or Trader Joes? I looooooove your website….thank you so much!!!
Matt Metzgar on June 9th, 2010 5:56 pm

What’s your take on GreenWorks laundry detergent?
rebecca on June 9th, 2010 6:38 pm

We love the Shaklee laundry detergent!
rebecca on June 9th, 2010 6:39 pm

Doesn’t Seventh Generation have SLS in it?
Lesley on June 9th, 2010 7:42 pm

What about Planet? I buy this laundry soap at Whole Foods b/c it is often recommended for cloth diapers. I think it works great, but I would appreciate any feedback on how safe you think it is. Thanks!
Tara on June 9th, 2010 8:32 pm

I love rockin green too- its the best for cloth diapers!
Also I was surprised that you recommend BORAX for home-made laundry detergent. I understood that although it is “natural” it is a potent poison. I read that even 1tsp if ingested by a child can be lethal. Also prolonged exposure has been linked to reproductive defects among other health concerns. I have been seeing it in many “natural” laundry recipes among the cloth diapering community, but I have some real concerns about its safety – and also would cation about storing it well away from children.
Adriana on June 9th, 2010 8:56 pm

Ecos Laundry Detergent also has a Baby Detergent that we use for our son’s clothes. I’ve been amazed at the stuff it’s taken off of his clothes
tt on June 9th, 2010 9:29 pm

what about Mrs Meyers?
Christine (iDreamofClean) on June 10th, 2010 12:15 am

What a great list! I’m so glad ecostore is listed since I’m doing a review of their products tonight! So glad to have found this blog.
Alyson on June 10th, 2010 1:11 pm

I love Crunchy Clean! It has done such an awesome job on our clothes! Thanks for the list!
SafeMama Kathy on June 10th, 2010 3:36 pm

@Tara: I think that is why Statia listed it as “optional”.
Jasmine on June 11th, 2010 4:26 am

does natureclean make the cut? I use the 3X concentrate detergent
thanks
http://www.naturecleanliving.com/home
gigi on June 11th, 2010 5:52 am

for clothing, we use either Ecostore (made in NZ) or Aware Sensitive by Planet Ark. I buy Ecologica Wool Wash. These are the most environmentally friendly options i can find, after discovereing the chemical nasties in the usual supermakret options.(due to what they were doing to my child’s skin).

FOr the people asking about what to use to wash nappies in. i found most supermarket detergents encourage nappy rash (due to the perfumes, bleach, etc), so swapping over to VERY MILD detergents such as Ecostore, made a HUGE difference (to my child’s skin and to me too).

i never SOAKED any poo nappies. Soaking nappy buckets, is a drowning hazard for babies and toddlers (i learnt this at a Kids First Aid course).
Napisan and bleach i would never soak the nappies in, due to the toxicity of the chemicals.
Instead, I bought and installed a Little Squirt toilet attachment (on the toilet) . So every time i cahnged my baby, i took the pooey nappy to the toilet, used the Little Squirt to squirt ALL the poo, down the toilet, then put the now sopping wet nappy, into the nappy bucket (the drypail) until bucket is full, ready to wash a load of nappies.

So by doing this, dealing with the poo IMMEDIATELY (not giving it time to stain the fabric), we didn’t need to soak, and the nappies were very clean afterwards.

my washing system was
- pre-wash cycle (tablespoon of detergent)
- longest wash cycle (tablespn of detergent)
- long rinse cycle
on hot water, 60 degrees Celsius

nappies came out spotless. So you can do it WITHOUT all those chemicals. Bleach gives me migraines, so i coudl not have had my child in modern cloth nappies if i had not been able to find a bleach free alternative (to washing the nappies).
SafeMama Kathy on June 11th, 2010 6:23 pm

ALL: I am looking into the issue of Borax uses. Those concerned, rest assured I am checking it out and will post a follow up on what I find.

As with anything, keep Borax and ANY ingredients we list for all DIY projects out of reach from children and pets.
Jennifer on June 11th, 2010 11:16 pm

Another ECOS (free and clear) user here!
Laura on June 12th, 2010 5:56 pm

Does the do it yourself detergent work well on diapers? Baby #2 coming soon and trying to figure out what I want to use for diaper detergent. Would like to try an at home recipe.
Jilynn Bradshaw on June 13th, 2010 6:45 am

Has any one ever used Nellie’s before? I just ordered some to try because I wasn’t happy with the Method laundry detergent.
Lisa on June 14th, 2010 3:49 am

I too would like to know the verdict on Costco’s Kirkland signature environment laundry detergent.

Thanks for the list!
Tiffany on June 15th, 2010 3:26 am

Hi Kathy – I use Seventh Generation regularly but have recently been using the Ecos Baby Laundry Soap – I talked a little about using it here: http://mommygoesgreen.com/2010/06/earth-friendly-products/
Amber on June 19th, 2010 10:07 pm

Thanks for the great list! I also use Seventh Generation regularly and love it. What I can’t find is a great (safer) stain remover. I tried Babyganics and thought it was worthless. Any recommendations?
Meghan on June 22nd, 2010 1:08 am

I have been using Nellie’s Laundry soda and just started using the PVC dryer balls and scent sticks by Nellie’s as well. I love them all! I am planning on cloth diapering but don’t have the babies yet and so I don’t know how well it does with the diapers. But I am pleased with how it does with our clothes!