Have you visited the Laundry forum? The posters there are laundry detergent aficionados.

I use Melaleuca Unscented - it's the Ecosense brand and we really like it. I have to use unscented because the scented detergents bother our sensitive skin.

I currently use one called Biokleen and am very pleased with its performance. In the past I've used and been pretty pleased with Seventh Generation, Ecover, Ecos, Sun & Earth. Seventh Generation and Sun & Earth are right in the laundry detergent section at the supermarkets I go to. Planet brand has recently shown up at our supermarket; I haven't used their laundry detergent but their dish detergent (handwashing type) works quite well. Ecover and Ecos are usually over in the natural food section. Drugstore.com has competitive prices and free shipping on most of these products, so I've been getting mine there.

Some of these brands do have products with mild, natural fragrances (lavender and citrus are most common) as well as fragrance-free options, but so far I've noticed that the fragrance is rarely retained after drying. We're using the Premium Plus version of Biokleen, which has a very mild citrusy scent that doesn't persist, because it gets DH's disgusting gym clothes and towels clean and odorless even with cold water. (Hot water is hard on fabrics, especially the "high tech" synthetics, not to mention jacks up the electric bill big time!) A package lasts us AGES in our front-loader because it literally takes only a tablespoonful for a full load, but I think the other brands are a bit more diluted.

It's often hard to find but Bio-Pac is another very good product I have used in the past. It was one of the few I could tolerate when my chemical sensitivities were at their worst. Check health food stores. For serious greenies, it's available in bulk in many health food stores so you can bring your own recycled container.

I love Charlies soap - have used it for years - check out the comments on Laundry Forum.

Another Charlies Soap fan here too. It's a soap and not a detergent, has no smell and you don't have to use fabric softener. Do check out the laundry forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: charlies soap

Hmmmmm.... on the Charlies Soap. Looks amazing! May have to give it a run.

Another Charlie's Soap fan here! This forum (or the Laundry one) actually introduced me to it about 9 months ago. I do a lot of laundry (3 little kids and a husband who wears 3 outfits a day - work, workout, & afterwork) and Charlie's never disappoints. We use the powder detergent as well as the liquid solution as a stain treatment (full-strength) and an all-purpose cleaner (dilluted).

I chimed in about Charlie's on the other thread about laundry detergent storage. I'll chime in again. So far I am pleased with Charlie's Soap. I have a front loader nd use one little green scoop, about a tablespoon I guess for my entire load of 6 people! You really have to retrain yourself to do this. The big brands really have us believing we need an entire cup! The more we use, the more they sell. That tiny scoop really does its job. I mentioned on the other thread not to switch back and forth if you decide to try Charlie's as you really won't see the full benefits. Charlie's removes all the detergent that is left in your clothes from the other brands. The more you use Charlie's the softer your clothes become. No need for fabric softener!

Huh, I never heard of Charile's Soap, but I use Seventh Generation laundry liquid. Do you Charlie's users like it better than these other natural products mentioned above?

On their site they say it is a detergent, not a soap.

i don't have a front loader...so i'm assuming i still wouldn't need to use a whole bunch?

what about dryer sheets? do you guys use them?

also i noticed the seventh generation says he. can you use high effic. stuff in regular washer?

Charlie's can be used in either He or regular. You use the same amount in both. No dryer sheets or softener here!

I use Seventh Generation. The lavender scent is from natural essential oils and doesn't seem to bother my son's sensitive skin like artificial fragrances. It cleans well, too.

sheesharee, I use Seventh Generation in a front loader. My Mom uses it in her regular older top loader. We both get good results. HE generally just means that the product is low sudsing.

the charlie soap - i've heard people sometime complain that powder doesn't dissolve completely. this isn't a problem? you guys like one better than the other (liquid vs. powder) i currently use the liquid big brands and use a lot. it's going to feel weird using small amts.

i've never seen the seventh generation or any of the other products in the stores. i'll check over the weekend.

Johnmari - DH has some nasty gym clothes as well. it's good to know it works that well!

sheesharee, I don't have a problem with the powder dissolving. Have never seen any residue. The reason I gave Charlie's atry was because I started noticing an almost moldy smell on all my clothes after they were fully dry. My kids noticed it too. The clothes really stunk even when I knew they were clean! Weird. Anyway, I ventured over to the laundry forum and read about Charlie's. The good reviews outnumbered the bad, so I thought I'd give it a try and I bought the small bag that does 80 loads. Yes, adjusting and TRUSTING that little green scoop to clean my clothes was the hard part! But, I threw caution to the wind and dove in! I no longer have that moldy smell on my CLEAN clothes! What I really believe it to be was the outrageous amount of detergent the Big brands had me using. It must have left so much residue on my clothing that it became impossible to rinse out completely! I really think it was the buildup of detergent in my clothes that gave that smell. No matter, it is gone now! There is no lingering masking scent on my clothes anymore, just the smell of clean! I even like the way my washer smells now when I open it to put in another load!

I'm another BioKleen powder detergent fan; I let the water run in my washer for a minute before sprinkling in the powder and have never had a problem with residue.

I also use Mrs. Meyers fabric softener, sometimes liquid and sometimes the sheets.

I LOVE the way my entire house smells on laundry day now! Fortunately, the good smells don't really stay in my clothes; every once in a while I'll get a faint whiff of Geranium, but for the most part my items are fragrance-free once they're dry.

(I have extremely sensitive skin and Charlie's is a nightmare for me, though I haven't heard anyone else say that. Just wanted to point out that while greener cleaners are awesome, YMMV!)

So I decided to try Charlie's soap after reading about it on the laundry forum and maybe I'm using it wrong although I use the directions, but I haven't found it all that great.

Our work out clothes smell of sweat.

Simple stains from dripping sauce (fatty stain) on a shirt that I never had to pre-treat before. Doesn't get clean and still have a fatty stain on a cotton shirt.

Doesn't seem to remove deodorant that gets stuck on clothes.

As for my skin and sensitivty Charlies has been OK.

lyfia - i was all ready to order it now i'm second guessing myself again. guess i'll never know unless i try it.

lyfia, that was my experience with Charlie's too - it just didn't clean that well, especially those manky workout clothes. I split a package with someone else so I'm glad I wasn't out that much money, although it was still pretty pricey IMO.

I used all of the aforementioned brands when we had a top loader. I've only had my front loader for about 1 1/2 years; in that one I've used the Seventh Gen and the BioKleen, and I like the Biokleen better.

IME the natural brands are way way up top or way way down bottom on the shelves at the store. Prime display space at eye level is devoted to the brands like Tide and All and such with the big advertising and placing dollars (did you know that companies pay supermarkets for where on the shelves they put products?).

I never use dryer sheets - the manual to my dryer says not to, because it gums up the moisture sensor. On the extremely rare occasions that I want my clothes to smell of anything (I prefer my clothes to smell of nothing) I toss a lavender bag in the dryer. This is just stupid easy to make so don't buy the ripoff ones. Stop by a health food store or tea store and pick up a 3x5" muslin drawstring reusable teabag and a couple of ounces of lavender flowers. Put the lavender in the bag and tie it tightly. Throw this right into the dryer like you would a dryer sheet. If I need to use a fabric softener to keep static down on my acrylic sweaters in the winter or deal with those scratchy sheets that I still haven't replaced, I usually use Seventh Generation or Ecover. My machine has a softener dispenser but the Downy balls work with just about any other brand.

I make my own detergent. It is super easy to do if you have a food processor, and it works well for us on stains and whites and smelly gym clothes. Two tablespoons is all it takes for the largest load size.

i just ordered charlie's. there were no stores near me for some of the other brands.

myfoursquare - would you mind sharing what you use?

The detergent I make is a powder detergent. I grind up a bar of soap in the food processor (I sometimes grate it in the processor first and then process it into smaller pieces after that.) To that I add 1/2 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax and process it all together. The bar soap I use is Fels-Naptha, but I've heard if you can't find that you can use others (Ivory, Zest, etc) with success. Washing Soda and Borax are in the detergent aisle at our store here in town. I usually make a triple-batch because that is what fits in the container I use for storing it. The last time I used a store-bought "natural" detergent, my daughter broke out in hives from it. We really like the homemade stuff. Two tablespoons for a large load. I believe if you google "homemade detergent" there is a way to make liquid too, but it is more time-consuming. This powder detergent is as easy as opening a bar of soap and measuring two other ingredients. Hope that helps!

I tell ya, you learn the most interesting stuff on this forum!!

Kmcg, I am very interested in this soap after hearing about your moldy smelling clothes - I can so relate!! I have the old maytag neptune front loaders with mold all around the ring - ewww- gross. I have scrubbed and washed with clorox but still the towels still smell moldy when they get wet. I even washed them with chlorox (they are now brown and orange swirled:) New white towels are on the list. I even discussed getting new w/d but just can't becuz these still work.

Now, where do you get this stuff??

Smiles:)

Myfoursquare, how does your homemade detergent compare to something like Tide?

johnmari - thanks for weighing in. I thought most definetly it was just me after reading others rave about it. I think I'll try the biokleen now. I also have a FL.

I have an extra package of charlie's soap that somebody can have if they pay the shipping.

When I was a child my mother made lye soap and grated it to use in the laundry, and also as shampoo. It was wonderful. Our clothes were always very fresh and soft (as was our hair). Does that count as natural?

In explanation, my parents were both public school teachers, and my dad would get the leftover grease from the school cafeteria and they made really good soap out of it to help make ends meet.

I have a lot of laundry for the pets so I use commercial brand (Cheer). One thing I do with all things I wash, is put vinegar in the rinse water. It softens the clothes and takes out the soap residue so my clothes are clean without that heavy perfume fragrance. Cats especially hate fragrances.

For our clothes I use Mrs. Myers and the other natural brands some have mentioned that can be bought a Whole Food Market.

I think I might try making some detergent. That sounds like fun.

I have a front loader HE and I can't get over the very small amount of detergent it takes to get the clothes clean.

Oceanna,it has been a long time since I did use Tide, but I have been using the homemade detergent in combination with Shout on stains, and I have had no trouble getting stains out. I have two small children who love to get absolutely filthy and are always managing to get tomato-based food on their clothes, and a husband with workout clothes and it really seems to work well for us. The only thing that was weird for me when I first started using it was the fact that it produced almost no suds in the water, but once I saw how clean my kids' clothes came out, I was very happy. You could always try one small batch to see how it works for you. The ingredients are really pretty cheap.

Johnatemp, here's the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Charlie's

Got my charlie's powder detergent last night. I was so excited i washed three loads. :) I honestly didn't think i would really notice a difference other than maybe that wouldn't have a strong perfume scent. I'm amazed to say how soft my clothes already feel after just one wash! Some were starting to feel....uh.. somewhat filmy. Probably all the built up detergents and softners..dryer sheets.

I did check stores around here for the other green detergents. Couldn't find any of the above. The places that did carry them were really far away. Sooo i'm happy to say i think the Charlie's is doing a great job!

Betty, that's really cool.

Myfoursquare, thanks for the explanation.

Sharee, I'm glad you revived this and that you like the Charlie's. Seems another good one for us to try.

I still mean to try making my own one of these days. I'm just not so sure about how to flake up the bar of soap.