I've had to give up on Ecover laundry products, and I feel guilty

[sushistar]

My washing machiene was really skanky and smelling. I use cloth nappies, it NEEDS to get clean - otherwise poo smell hangs around in there! I loved Ecover at first, have used it for 2 years, but have finally givven up on eco solutions to the stink (tried vinegar, borax, bicarb, several extra hot empty washes, etc etc).

Now have a big box of ariel. I know I am murdering little fishies in the atlantic who are now drinking it. I feel crap.

I use Tesco non-bio powder (bio for some stuff, however) and non-bio liquid as well, pod, and it works very well.

The article about using Ariel for a maintenance wash.

See that photo on the article lily posted? See it?

That's what my machine looked like before Ariel. I agree, i don't like the smell. But the clothes are clean ans the washing machine is too.

I certainly doint think the smell was CAUSED by cloth nappies, I just think that it's a bit gross to wash pooey nappies in a machine that is clearly got lots of gunky residue in it, as some of the gunk is going to be a build up of poo....

I may try alternating ariel/ecover for a while. Unfortunatly I doubt I'll be able to persuade dh to shift back to ecover - 2 days of ariel and he's hooked, and has done loads of laundry! He especially likes that it seems to shift poo stains better

I have always found hot washes with bicarb or vinegar (or both in succession) clean the machine really well. I also echo the tip about leaving the washing machine door slightly open if you can, just to air things.

We haven't use commercial washing products for many years now. I used to make my own 'gloop' but now use soapnuts.

We get on really well with them. The only downside is that they aren't 'brilliant' for whites, so I just pop some Ecover laundry bleach in and pre-treat yucky shirt collars etc with Ecover stain remover, and it works a treat.

My kids get through loads of white school shirts, white P.E. shirts (covered in mud and grass stains etc) and this routine keeps them white.

I'm suprised to read this, as I'm really fussy about my laundry, and have been happy with the Ecover tablets for whites - but then I do use the Ecover fabric conditioner as well, which would obviously be no good for nappies!

I agree with all the others who say a hot wash with a bio powder now and then keeps the machine clean. I think I read that tip on mumsnet in the first place, and I seem to remember a link to the same 'whitegoods' website.

I add vinegar to the fabric conditioner drawer to rinse out any leftover soap powder on clothes.

But I also don't think the Ecover soap powder works very well. I tend to use Bio-D. I bought a 12.5 kg box ages ago and still have loads left so it works out very economical(ly) as well .

i still use ecover for clothes but have switched to a powder for nappies. the ecover made them smell. also feel guilty but i have been getting it from the co-op and they do a new (well in my co-op it's new) eco one i am trying now. it is biological and has less packaging.

what is all this about not using fabric conditioner and nappies? Am I missing something?

The only problem I've had with Ecover is with the liquid - we kept getting musty washing. We changed to the powder and everything has been fine. Personally I find it works really well and gets most muck out - if I need my whites to be well really white then I do chuck in a bit of ecover laundry bleach and it works a treat. Every so often I run the machine on a very hot was with no powder to give a good clean and blast all the pipes through. Ecover has always worked well for us - though I'd really avoid the liquid....!

Ecover doesn't work for us either, out of interest those people who get on with ecover do you live in a hard or soft water area? Our water is very hard, i suspect this makes a difference

I use Clearspring which is a good eco liquid.

Ariel isn't just bad environmentally, it is tested on animals.

I found Ecover made my skin dry, but also avoid it for ethical reasons (they have a rolling cut-off date for animal testing).

lettie fabric sftner reduces absorbancy (wish i could spell) so avoid for towels and nappies

sorry x post

I found ecover powder didn't dissolve properly so lots of the clothes come out with white powdery marks on it. Thats why i switched to the liquid.

I also live in a very ard water area, I'm also sure it makes a big difference.

bizarre - I find 30ml of Ecover non-bio with 20ml of Vanish is amazingly good!

I live in a hard water area and have used Ecover happily for years with no build-up, no powder marks and no stink in the washing machine. It's weird how people have had such wide experiences with it.

Am hoping it'll still do me for cloth nappies when the little one arrives - I'll be gutted if I started to have problems with it as after using it for so long the artificial smells of Ariel etc. make me feel quite sick.

our machine was full of black and grey gunk, and we don't use Ecover! (Surcare or Footprint Eco Bio).

This is what you need to do:

Very hot wash with HG Service (or similar- it's a cleaning thing for machines that contains citric acid). Wipe out all the mould/ gunk that you can get to.

Take out the drawer and give that a thorough scrub.

Switch to washing powder, not liquid

EVERY time you use the machine, take out the drawer and leave it out. Also leave the door open- it allows the inside of the machine to dry out.

At least once a month do a hot wash. (We wash our white sheets at 60 once a week- everything else at 30).

Sorted.

We have hard water and have (with sadness and guilt) given up on Ecover in the washing machine.

Oh I'm so glad its not just me. Also gave up Ecover a while ago due to poor wash performance. Washing machine quite new so cant blame build up of gunk etc.

I was constantly having to wash things twice and wash at 40 instead of 30. Have switched to regular powder (bio for whites/DH shirts and non bio for coloured/dark stuff). I've convinced myself that by sticking to 30 wash and only washing things once makes up for it a bit . Still happy to stick with Ecover for all other cleaning though.

Has anyone else tried Simply Sensitive Eco Smart capsules? I find these are quite good (they do bio and non-bio ones) and I had no luck with Ecover either. It left marks on clothes! Mind you, I have to admit that I do have a box of Ariel lurking too for times when things are really grubby or if I only need a small amount rather than a whole capsule.

OOh hello sushistar! Thank you for lovely lovely doll. dds love it and have named it after you.
I'm really sorry but I haven't read the whole thread so what I'm about to say is probably complete nonsense:
I agree completely about ecover, it was fine to start withm but ime it just doesn't get things clean, and I actually found I had to throw out some garments because they were so manky after not being cleaned properly for so long.
imo fairy smells a LOT less than ariel, and seems to work just as well, although I didn't stick with ariel for v long as couldn't bear the smell.
Why don't you alternate and use ecover one week and another detergent the next week? I keep promising to do this, but haven't got round to it yet, am so delighted by having clean clothes after years of ecover grot. Ecover liquid LOADS better than powder.

just read through and have repeated what's been said. Ssorry. fairy non bio is whaat I meant btw x

We have no problems with Ecover, although I use their laundry bleach powder with the liquid in the white wash, which seems to keep things perky. And their stain remover before washing for anything really tough.

agree their powder is a bit rubbish.

Have posted this somewhere before I think, but I actually did a test in my machine with 4 pieces of muslin square impregnated with ketchup, oil, turmeric, ink and mud/grass. (yes I know I have too much time on my hands!) Anyway, I put them in identical washes with Ecover in one, nothing in another, wash ball in another and non-bio powder in another. The wash ball and non-bio powder were best, followed by Ecover, then just water.(I think that's the right order) So I switched to the wash ball permanently. To keep the machine clean, I do a boil wash once a week for towels. The washing machine repair man suggested that machines would last a lot longer if you do this. And I also add ecover laundry bleach to the white wash. Add some lavender oil or similar for fragrance. My washing has never been cheaper, and DD's ezcema has completely cleared up. For tough stains I do use a stain devils type stain remover, but think this is minimal compared to using lots of detergent in each wash. HOpe this helps.