Kim, I, too, find CS less than satisfactory for cleaning my laundry, but I've learned that there's not much point in reporting that here on the forum since it's like sticking a stick in a hornet's nest. ::shrug:: Taylor does have a sort of point that each individual water supply has its own chemistry and products will vary greatly in how well they work from one water source to another. Increasing the dosage may make a difference for you, and you've nothing to lose by trying. I have naturally soft water and am a long-time FL user with no detergent "build up" in my clothes to remove, but CS at every dosing level I tried still didn't get my clothes as clean as other products. So I moved on. BTW, you don't have to stick with "official" HE detergents if you find another product that works well in your machine. The key is a product that can clean efficiently at a dosing level that's correct for your machine. It's the oversudsing, and consequent poor rinsing that creates the build-up/mildew problem associated with non-HE soaps. For example when I got my first FL I was an ERA liquid user, and no matter how I tried I could not get to the sweet spot with that product where it cleaned well enough without oversudsing so I had to give up my then-fave detergent. However, since I started using Fl's many years before there were such things as HE detergents I just cast about until I found a low-sudsing mainstream powder detergent that worked splendidly in my machine and wash water and I've stayed with it ever since. I only make forays into other products to test new things like CS - and for special washing projects like down, wool, silk, etc., which demand special detergents. If you're not happy with CS, I'd just return it for a refund (which apparently is offered cheerfully) or use it up as a general household cleaner for scrubbing out things like trash barrels or litter boxes. That's where all my trial detergents wind up and many do a very good job at that, too. I've used some of fanciest (and priciest)detergents in the world to spiff up my garbage pails. Molly~

I've done a couple of loads now. The lowest measure of the cap is about a tablespoon. I used just 1 & 1/2 teaspoons that I dissolved in hot water before adding it to the drum of my compact FL. Nice light scent. The Purex "Fresh Spring Waters" is similar to the scent of Method's "Fresh Air".

@ ladeeanne I'm laughing at your jingle at the end, but NOT laughing about what CS did to your clothes. Most people love the product or hate it. Initially I had good results and said good things about the product, but over time I noticed my whites greying and starting to feel stiff. I emailed Charlie's and they suggested I use 2 TBS instead of 1 TBS per load. That didn't do anything. I have soft, conditioned water. I stopped using CS and went back to my trusted Persil. I've added Vaska and Clorox Green Works to the mix as well. Vaska, although a liquid only, is everything CS should have been. I'm sure CS works for some folks - there are many satisfied users. But because the product does not contain the usual ingredients you find in more mainstream products - soil suspension and color protection agents, water softeners and chelators, etc. - results will vary wildly depending on water conditions. People often criticize the mass merchandise products (Tide, Cheer, etc.) for having too many and possibly toxic ingredients. However, those products also perform rather uniformly across a wide variety of water conditions. Once you take away those ingredients, you must make sure that what you're using is suitable for your water conditions. This is the reason that Charlie's Soap now sells a product to use with CS in hard water conditions. A primary ingredient in CS is sodium carbonate. If you have hard water, that sodium carbonate will cause the calcium in the water to form a precipitate which will then settle back onto your clothes and washer parts. That may be what you're seeing in your dark clothes. Try soaking them overnight in vinegar to see if that can loosen or dissolve the calcium. You can also use citric acid, which can be purchased in your grocery store's dishwasher aisle as Lemi Shine. Throw a couple of tablespoons into your front loader and run a cycle with your ruined fabrics.

compumom, I haven't tried Charlies Soap yet as I found this site looking for Miele 4840 reviews, and then found this string on this soap. I wish it was cheeper for Canadians, so I haven't gone and made my first purchase of Charlies. Then I found someone that is trying to get me to try the shaklee green stuff, since I am into all natural stuff. Right now I use a product that is all natural in my TL, but it isn't a product I could sell myself. (I've been a victim of two car accidents, and haven't worked full time since 2003, now our savings are all drained. We are converting our garage to art studio for husband, in hopes to make extra income, and a space for laundry so I don't have to climb the basement stairs with laundry anymore. All on the equity of our home. I just don't believe in suing, now after the lost of income etc almost wish I did believe in suing. Anyway I am looking for something I could make an income on too, be easier to make money on things I highly believe in like green cleaning products.) Anyway that is why I am presently coming around this site, now about your rough towels, I've never used chemical fabric softeners, I use a water/vinegar/essential oil compo as my fabric softener. Never straight vinegar. Then dryer balls in my dryer, use to use tennis balls for a few years. I don't want to repeat what I have already posted on another gardenweb string, so check out the link with Dyer balls. Here is a link that might be useful: dyer max balls