Country Save or Charlie's?

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I'm currently using up the last of our All Free & Clear on clothes, and I use Purex F&C on dipes. I was planning on switching to Purex for everything, but now I'm not sure. If I were to switch to one detergent Charlie's would be easiest to get. I don't know if I can get Country Save in a B&M store, but I could order from Amazon.

Which do you prefer? I've read some reviews of Charlie's that concern me. We have very sensitive skin so I want to avoid something that would cause irritation.

Do you use the powder or liquid?

[Michigan Mama]

I currently use Charlie's powder, and while we haven't really had trouble with stink or repelling or anything, I don't feel like it's the best for our regular clothes. I feel like we have more stains and more fading. We have not had any skin issues, however (and we have sensitive skin at our house, too). I was thinking about going back to purex or arm & hammer, ironically! I want something I can find at a mainstream store and not spend a fortune on.

[brietta]

We use the Charlie's powder. I LOVE it. Our clothes are much cleaner and softer, and I think it does a great job on diapers. Even during the winter months when the diapers don't get much time out in the sun, we really don't have any staining. Also, we have sensitive skin around here and it hasn't caused any problems for anyone.

Just make sure that if you do switch to Charlie's, you use it for all your laundry. It doesn't combine well with other detergents (it will focus on removing leftover residue from other detergents rather than cleaning the dirt/stains), which I learned the hard way.

[SollysMom]

I'm currently using Country Save and I don't think I like it. I've got major diaper stink and it doesn't seem to be getting my husband's workout clothes clean. I'm going to try to tweak my washing routine so I can use up what I have, but I won't buy it again. I used Charlie's (powder) back when I first started CD'ing. At first I was afraid my son was getting the dreaded "Charlie's rash" but the more I think about it, I think it was just a regular diaper rash because we had just switched to cloth and I was still changing him by time and not by feel. From what I hear, if your kid gets the Charlie's rash you'll know right away and you won't be uncertain. I tried Allen's too and didn't find it cleaned our clothes or diapers well enough.

If you do go with Charlie's, definitely do the initial empty wash (or towels or whatever) to rid your machine of residue from old detergents, then use Charlie's for everything.

[mum06]

I've used Charlies, Country Save, and 7th Generation. I prefer Country Save, mostly because CS is local and I can get it in a 50lbs sack for $30. Charlie's didn't clean well for my water at all and we got the rash (very sensitive skin in my house). I ended up having to run bleach through my machine to get rid of the ammonia smell. I use powder.

[schreiberwriter]

I've only used Charlie's liquid and really like it. It gets our clothes clean. I add Bac-out to the dipes and clothes once in awhile. Gotta go easy on that stuff too.

I like that I can order Charlies online with free shipping. I think it works out to be cheap considering how long it lasts.

My two CD friends swear by Country Save.

[jennyfah]

Country Save for us; I find that if water is really hard one might have to use more. Since our water is soft I almost never use a full scoop for anything (and I use it for everything ---clothes, diapers, mama cloth, etc.). The times that I've noticed stinky diapers were times when I have been heavy-handed with the detergent.

Like anything in life I think it's a trial/error learning experience!