Eco friendly alternatives to regular non-bio laundry detergent

[greathat]

I want something thats going to work, but not set off eczema as I have a child who manages amazing levels of filth

Happy to have fabric softener recommendations too please!

Another vote for soapnuts! Totally natural, clean really well and soften so no need for fabric softener. They don't really have a smell though, but you can add essential oils into the wash if you want your washing to smell nice. I bought some about 6 months ago for £12 and still have about half a bag left!

I like soap nuts but live in a soft water area and generally use them on a 40 wash - not sure how they’d cope in a hard water area. I alternate those and splosh powder/detergent to prevent mould etc and I do a 60 wash prob once a week for towels or bedding. Tbh I don’t rate the splosh powder as I find my clothes are still sticky when they come out the wash but the lavender laundry liquid is nice. Splosh toilet cleaner is also great!

Soapnuts/soapods or an ecoegg both work quite well. Vinegar and/or lemon juice helps to freshen stuff up. For whites that need a good lift I put bicarb in the drum with the soapnuts, and add vinegar to the rinse, it helps with stains as well as deodorising and when the vinegar and bicarb react as well as giving off CO2 bubbles which help lift dirk the sodium acetate that results is apparently a natural clothes softener.

It is a popular misconception that bio washing powder causes eczema.
In our experience it was hard water that caused eczema to flare up, solved by our water softener. Hence my not understanding why an eco egg would bring it back. It certainly hasn't here.

@greathat I've been using botanical origin from Tesco! It's eco and made for sensitive skin and has been excellent at getting all that dirt out of DCs (and DH!!'s) clothes. I had a look online and seems they do fabric conditioner too but I haven't tried it

Another vote for soapnuts! I use them with a bit of tea tree oil for the smell, and some bicarb as I live in a hard water area. I also run a hot wash once a month on empty with some vinegar to clean the drum, and wipe out the drum, door seal and dispenser regularly. They can all harbour dirt, smell and mould.

Have you tried soapnuts? My daughter suffers of eczema too and found soapnuts for laundry to be brilliant. I get them here: earthbits.com/products/organic-soapnuts-indian-soap-berries-500g-with-cotton-storage-bag.

the same website has a blog post about using soapnuts for a variety of uses, i made some DIY recipes myself

I also love the Faith In Nature laundry liquid.