A few months ago, Tide warned parents its laundry detergent is NOT safe for children in a lighthearted, trusting commercial way. As a longtime Tide laundry detergent consumer, loving its April Fresh scent in all its glory, I wanted to learn more.
Children swallowed Tide Pods, mistaking it for candy in its colorful wrappers. Teens even held contests to eat the pods, some dying from the toxic chemicals in the popular detergent. While this might seem like common sense (don’t put detergent in your body), I questioned it further.
Why is it toxic? What’s in it? How does it affect me, my family, and people around me?
Getting rid of Tide laundry detergent was like cutting back on soda.
I know, that sounds dramatic. After further research, I learned that Tide detergent contains harsh chemicals that could harm our skin and affect our breathing. Tide Pods alone contain 700 chemicals. I didn’t use the Pods, but this was still alarming.
One of the standout Tide ingredients is 1,4-Dioxane, a chemical compound also found in paints and varnishes. When we sweat, we absorb these chemicals sitting in our clothes, and these may cause rashes, allergies, lung irritation, and in extreme cases these chemicals have been found to cause cancer.
I couldn’t believe it. Toxic? Bad chemicals?
So after using the laundry detergent for nearly a quarter of my life, I decided to change.
Tying it in to soda…I stopped drinking soda regularly a few years ago. I thought I would miss it and crave it. Now when I have a soda, maybe once every other week, I don’t even finish the whole drink! My body adjusted and realized, hey, maybe I don’t really need this or like this; give this to me in moderation!
Similar to that experience, I realized after cutting out Tide for the past three and a half months, I didn’t miss it like I thought I would. I used it once to clean my shoes. At that point, I realized it gives off a strong, chemical scent, and I no longer liked it.
In researching clean detergents, I found five affordable alternatives that work just fine and dandy, and smell good too!
My two main resources in my search were the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which rates products based on their ingredients and uses, and the clean products blog Gimme the Good Stuff.
Dirty laundry? Clean it up!
With anything in the business world, there were scams claiming to be “clear” with “natural” ingredients. I sifted through the toxins and cleaned up my search.
I even looked into brands that seemed like a good fit, such as the Publix Laundry Detergent, Free & Clear. The Publix detergent was affordable, maybe even less expensive than Tide. I had my hand on the container, but as I flipped it over, I realized the ingredients were nowhere to be found. I didn’t just want to buy it without knowing what was in it.
Later on that day, I reached out to Publix online. Their detergent distributor responded and sent me a list of the detergent ingredients.
When I asked why the ingredients aren’t on the label, the representative told me that they comply with all label guidelines, and the complete ingredient disclosure isn’t required. I thought that was an odd answer.
I wound up skipping the Publix brand as one ingredient in particular posed health concerns (may be linked to allergic reactions, may further harm the immune system, and it may cause nerve tissue damage). So, I continued my search.
Once I narrowed it down, I purchased the detergents and soaps online. Two brands, Tandi’s Naturals and Christina Maser, were nice enough to send free laundry soap samples, along with scouring powder to clean surfaces.
What did I wash?
I spread out my washes so I tried out all detergents with at least one light, delicate load (special blouses and dresses), a normal load with all of my clothes (shirts, pants, socks, etc.), and a heavy load with towels or my bed sheets and comforter.
Something to note: I have a high-efficiency (HE), top-loading washing machine.
Here’s a look at the five laundry detergents I tried. I encourage you to try these on your own too!
P.S. I wasn’t paid to write about any of these brands, so keep in mind that I hand-picked each of these detergents to try out and share with you.
1) Eco-Me
The first detergent I tried was Eco-Me Laundry Detergent. EWG recommends Eco-Me Lavender with a grade “B.” Keep in mind, each detergent may receive a different EWG grade based upon its purpose and its scent.
Eco-Me contains both food-grade and plant-based ingredients, making it an ideal detergent choice.
This is my favorite detergent as far as the smell and quality go. I couldn’t smell the detergent in my first load, but I washed a light load of delicate clothes and might not have used enough detergent during the first wash.
To use Eco-Me, I poured two caps full of the detergent into the washing machine. The cap is tiny! So I felt skeptical. Could this REALLY clean my clothes and leave them smelling fresh? Yes.
After two washes, the detergent left a very subtle, sweet scent.
I also noticed most of the liquid detergents contained expiration dates. Since these use natural ingredients, I suppose they have to expire at some point as the ingredients separate.
Powdered laundry soap doesn’t appear to expire – it only loses its effectiveness once it is exposed to moisture (Ref. The Spruce).
You can check out Eco-Me on their website and on Amazon.
2) Greenshield Organic
Next up was Greenshield Organic liquid detergent in Free & Clear. I tried the unscented, travel size packets.
Greenshield Organic received a grade “A” from the EWG. This detergent’s scent was nearly invisible as intended, but it definitely got the job done. My clothes came out clean and fresh.
The travel size option is a great way to go if you want to try something out for the first time.
Just as its name implies, this laundry detergent is USDA Certified Organic with plant-based ingredients. It’s a thin detergent without suds. Greenshield Organic gets the job done without leaving residue behind.
Greenshield Organic is sold on Amazon, Walmart, Jet, and a few other retailers. They usually offer discounts on web purchases for joining their mailing list too.
3) Grab Green
I tried the 3 in 1 Laundry Detergent Pods to give myself another option. I’m not really a fan of pods in general; there’s something more comforting about using liquid detergent rather than throwing in little detergent bags.
The fragrance-free detergent certainly works well. No complaints, and it received a grade “A” from the EWG. Keep in mind, other Grab Green scents received a lower EWG grade because certain scents may cause skin reactions and allergies. I went with the highest-rated product.
Grab Green claims to be a strong detergent, a stain remover, and a brightener. I grew to like the detergent pods, so I might purchase these again in the future.
The instructions were easy to follow – small and medium loads use 1 pod while medium and large loads use 2 pods. Place the pods in the washing machine before throwing in the clothes, towels, and whatever else you might wash. The pods dissolve at the end of the cycle.
Grab Green usually offers discounts on their website, and you can also find the pods in Target, Walmart, and on Amazon.
4) Tandi’s Naturals
As I mentioned earlier, I received these samples for free. The company was nice enough to send me samples of their powder laundry soap upon request.
Tandi’s Naturals laundry soap is handmade, which makes it really unique! I tried the following: Citrusy Trio, Lavender, and Unscented.
Citrusy Trio was my favorite with a very subtle, clean scent. The ingredients were labeled clearly on the little sample bags. The instructions were longer than the ingredients list, which is a good thing!
The first time around, I wasn’t a big fan of the powdery consistency. It left behind some soap particles in the washing machine. I made the mistake of pouring the powder into the washing machine tray that first time.
Trina from Tandi’s Naturals was very helpful as I asked her a lot of questions! She recommended I pour the powder directly on the clothes. That did the trick. The powder worked like a charm after that.
Tandi’s Naturals is available in select stores in Pennsylvania, so you’ll most likely need to purchase this online if you’d like to try it out.
5) Christina Maser
Christina Maser bought Tandi’s Naturals, so the latter is an extension of the company. The company gifted me three samples of Christina Maser laundry soap.
Both Christina Maser and Tandi’s Naturals products are free of artificial fragrances, preservatives, parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfates, phthalates or petroleum-derived ingredients. The Christina Maser products are labeled ultra concentrated and vegan.
The natural ingredients include homegrown herbs, oils, beeswax, and tallow from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Essential oils provide a natural scent for the laundry soaps.
I tried the soap in Rosemary Mint, Lavender, and Unscented.
Rosemary Mint was my absolute favorite! It had a strong, sweet scent when I first poured it in the washing machine, but the scent lightened up after the wash.
I plan to purchase a jar of the Christina Maser laundry soap in Rosemary Mint. You can browse their laundry soaps here.
Cleaning Up Our Act
I noticed all of the detergents are friendly for both high efficiency and standard washing machines. Most of the laundry detergents measured by small and medium loads to medium and large loads.
The instructions were easy to follow, and the laundry loads were easy to judge, nothing new about that.
At first I thought it was strange purchasing ANY laundry detergent online. Why can’t I just grab it at the store? But with the right planning – don’t buy it after you run out – the short wait is worth it.
These products are all cruelty free, no animal testing. Something else I loved was each detergent listed all ingredients. No surprises and nothing to hide. It’s all right there.
I encourage you to try out these detergents for yourself! You can find many of these on Amazon, at Walmart, and Target. Let me know what your thoughts are on clean laundry detergent!
I just love your 20 something vision. I have not heard of these though – maybe not in the state of Texas yet. Keep your eco-friendly lifestyle going girl!!
Thank you for stopping by, Kim! 🙂 I appreciate it. It took a little digging to find and purchase these, but it was worth it. Keep sharing your green and healthy lifestyle too – maybe one day, it will become the new norm!
Love it!! We are on that Eco-friendly roll haha. Great post, I didn’t know so much about it, but reading your post today I learned so much.
Thank you, Kathy! Yes, I thought the same thing when I saw your post!! 🙂 I learned a lot from your nontoxic nail polish post. I’m glad you were able to take something away from this one as well. There are so many different products we use every day, it’s tough to keep track of it all. It’s great to learn about what we can do, little by little!
Hi there!
Thank you for the informative blog post. I am the mother of five boys under the age of nine and I’m looking for an effective natural, safe laundry detergent. I have wasted a lot of money and time looking for something that fits that bill. Would you be able to recommend to me which of these brands you would have me try so I don’t waste more money and time?
Alarming to me was how small the amounts were for each of these alternative choices, making them pretty expensive. Most laundry detergents contain at base a surfactant, ingredients to balance the PH, a fragrance. Stuff like Tide will also contain stain removing ingredients and optical brightener. There are several, regular sized brands that use a less problematic surfactant and natural fragrance (which can be a big issue). Eco Max, Nauture Clean, Seventh Generation, Attitude and Method all do better than Tide. I’m skeptical of the last three because Seventh Generation is made by giant corporation Unilever and Attitude and Method products overall sometimes contain suspect fragrances and have been accused of greenwashing. All still better than Tide though and in normal, family size bottles at not all that much more. I use EWG to check ingredients – most manufacturers have a heal safety sheet on their sites that lists ingredients. Thanks for sharing your story.