Ecological laundry detergent

[theneverendinglaundry]

Has anyone found one that works? Every one I've tried seems great - things come out of the dryer smelling fresh and clean, but as soon as I start wearing the washed clothes they start smelling fusty and stale.

I try hard to use eco products but I always end up going back to Ariel or Persil when it comes to laundry...

Bumping as I am interested in this I tried eco egg and it was rubbish so looking for recommendations

I was going to quietly watch but actually bumping again. I'm interested too.

Smol are eco friendly
I use the non bio pods, the dishwasher tablets and have just got the fabric conditioner too
I have no issues with them at all and love that it gets delivered so I don’t have to remember to buy it

I've been using Bio D for years and it is fine. We find that the length of the wash matters more, so lightly dirty items go on the speedy setting but anything with stains gets an Ecover stain treatment then goes on the full 2.5 hour wash and that works. Also make sure you use the amount for your water hardness. We have to use quite a bit for that reason so the clothes do keep the scent a bit.

Smol is great.

Method, I only buy it when it's on offer though as it's a bit £££ otherwise

@BigRedBoat which method fragrances do you recommend? I haven’t smelt them and tend to shop online

My favourite is the green one, I like the matching fabric softener too.

I've been using Ecover for years and haven't had any problems with musty smelling clothes. I use their non-bio concentrated laundry liquid and fabric conditioner. Plus a spoonful of their laundry bleach in my white wash.

I buy everything in bulk from Ethical Superstore.

Ecover works for us

Smol :) I get their dishwasher tablets too. It's all recyclable card packaging

I have an Ecoegg and use white vinegar instead of softener. It's good (and the separate stain removal paste is excellent), but sometimes whites are dingy, so I use it more for colours now. It's also great that I can do a reduced time / water cycle, as there are no detergents to rinse. Because nearly everything is on a 30 or 40 degree wash, I do a drum cleaning wash every month or so, just to keep it all fresh.

Another vote for smol - I love the fragrance, it's very light and clean. Ecoegg is complete crap.

ecover bio powder is good (if you can get hold of it, it seems to be extinct where I am)

I use soap nuts

And if you’re worried about animal testing at all, avoid method and ecover. They were bought by SC Johnson.

Smol products are fab!

Another vote for smol. Love the the smell!

I’ve been using soap nuts for the last month but I’m undecided as to whether they’re any good. I have to pretreat some things more than I used to with powder and I miss the clean smell that comes with detergent. But I do like how soft everything is as there’s no residual detergent left on.

I did read somewhere, can’t remember where, about how the increased use of them is pushing up the prices of them in countries that have always used them though and that doesn’t sit well with me. I might give the method stuff a go if I can find it on offer when this bag runs out, I like most of their other products.

The only eco stuff I've found to work well enough is Ecover Biological Powder (rare as hens' teeth to find biological powder in eco ranges) and Ecozone Concentrated Laundry Liquid.

I know some people who use violets and really like it.

BTW, Smol dishwashing tablets are excellent, but we don't find the washing stuff quite as good.

Thanks all! Maybe I need to try a longer wash - I've been using the eco 'mixed load' cycle which is 1hr 9mins. Maybe I should try cottons cycle instead as it is much longer.

I've heard many great things about smol but I generally dont like buying tablets or pods as I like to adjust the dosage depending on how full my machine is...

@wokthisway I did try to find some eco bio powder, can only seem to find ecover which is £3.50 for 10 washes!

Yes, the boxes are tiny and expensive.

Ecover Biological with their fabric conditioner. Unfortunately, they changed the fabric conditioner scent from the original Amongst the Flowers, which was absolutely lovely - but it's still better than standard laundry stuff, which stinks the entire house out and makes the washing feel vaguely sticky, even when everything has been diluted right down and less than half the recommended dose is used.

If I knew of somewhere that did an exact duplicate of the original Ecover fabric softener and Marigold and Camomile washing up liquid, I'd happily buy them.

I find Method far too stinky to use for clothes, even though I really like their kitchen and floor cleaners, and Attitude appeals, as I liked the almond scent of the bathroom cleaner, but it's so expensive for the washing stuff, it's an expensive thing to take a punt on; does anybody know what their wildflower scent is like?