Laundry Detergent - Is eco-friendly worth it?

[gigi556]

I've bought eco-friendly laundry detergent for sometime, but today I started to question why and whether it was worth it. Is it really better for the environment? Does it clean as good a job as cleaning as conventional laundry detergent? I usually buy Ecozone or Ecover (in liquid form) and I always try to buy them on sale. Price wise doesn't seem to be much different to other name brand products. However, I'm wondering if I could save money by buying a generic store brand laundry powder...

I do have sensitive skin and if I were to buy something else, I'd probably go for unscented and/or sensitive skin. I cannot stand the strong smell of fragrance from conventional laundry detergents and would be concerned about inhaling nasty chemical fragrances daily.

_

This thread is a bit old now, so if you have landed here looking for recommendations, we have recently updated our best laundry detergents round-up, featuring products tried, tested and recommended by Mumsnetters.
We hope you find this useful.
MNHQ

Supermarket own brand washing powders are less highly scented than the big brands. I use Aldi's. The problem with the Eco stuff is that it doesn't contain the same cleaning agents as the conventional ones so doesn't clean as well and your washing machine can end up stinking too.

I use Ecover or Method. Both smell lovely and clean pefectly well.

Well, the ingredients has got to be better surely. I do the same as you, get it on special offer, I have 4 bottles of the washing liquid and about 5 of the softner in atm

I think eco friendly cleaning stuff cleans really well, in some cases better! Method & Ecover kitchen spray is brilliant. The problem for me is that they're usually a lot more expensive than the normal brands - not encouraging

I use an eco egg and really like it one small box lasts three years and costs £20 so just the saving in boxes and logistics over the three years is worthwhile to me , i dont think it would be great on very dirty laundry but mine never is and a squidge of stain remover spray on stains does the trick

MyMouth The ecoegg looks good, just had a look, Holland and Barrett have them for £9.99 for 210 washes, so there are pellets inside the egg? How do you know when it's empty and does it have a nice smell? No need for fabric condition either? I usually put that in just for the smell anyway.

I didn't like the eco eggs. There's hardly any proper cleaning agents in them & loads of mumsnetters have reported them causing mouldy build up in the washer. You can't use them above 60 degrees either, so no good for a hot whites wash

Oh, that's a shame. Maybe if it was used every other wash, that might be a compromise that could work.

I tried soapnuts a while back and thought they were pretty rubbish so I'm a little skeptical of the ecoegg... I'm having a baby so definitely want everything tip top clean! Plus, will be needing to wash cloth nappies so require a 60 degree wash.

Yeah, I tried the soapnuts too, no good either.

I've used 'eco' laundry products for a decade and don't have, have never had, a smelly machine.