What detergent do you use?

[lhowlett]

Alright, I've been CDing for over a year and still haven't found a detergent I'm in love with. I will say that I haven't tried the imfamous Allen's or Charlie's, because I can't get them locally and worry they're too pricey. I've been doing SimpleGreen and Washing Soda mostly. And we have a top loader
Also, if I've missed some please post them and I'll update the poll.
Thanks!

[Bellita]

after spending two days stripping ! I bought some Charlie's powder for my front loader. I haven't used it yet--but i am excited to!

[Mrs-Mama]

Regular Tide powder. About 1/4 cup for the highest water setting in my top loader. I do an extra rinse once a week just for good measure.

[Llyra]

I've been using whatever's on sale. I don't use Tide; I found my DD2s skin is sensitive to it, even with a double rinse. But whatever else I use seems to work fine. I've been cloth diapering 3 1/2 years now, and I've tried Purex, All, Cheer, several store brands, the BJs Wholesale brand, and a few others I can't remember now, and they've all worked just fine. I would love to use a natural detergent, but I just can't afford it for the number of loads I have to wash.

[lhowlett]

Llyra,
How much detergent do you use? 1/2 what the bottle says, 1/4?

[katie9143]

i use arm and hammer essentials - i used to use sun until they added the brighteners and started calling it ultra. i like that the a&h is concentrated and uses less plastic and is certainly lighter to carry into the house with the groceries!! i just use a little bit when washing the cd - since its concentrated anyway it doesnt take much.

[lyttlewon]

I voted generic but I don't use a generic brand. I use Arm & Hammer Sensative Skin. It isn't a "Free and Clear".

[lhowlett]

So Arm and Hammer doesn't contain surfactents or brighteners?

[SeekingJoy]

Tide free and clear for us, with the occasional 7th gen.

[celestialdreamer]

None of the above. I use Biokleen powder. I tried other things because I heard they were better for diapers and had nothing but problems. Biokleen works great on diapers, baby clothes, our towels, DH's work clothes...pretty much everything!

[MomInFlux]

Originally Posted by lhowlett

I will say that I haven't tried the imfamous Allen's or Charlie's, because I can't get them locally and worry they're too pricey.

I LOVE Charlie's! I find it very inexpensive (a full load uses 1T of powder), and shipping is free from Charlie's

[Llyra]

Originally Posted by lhowlett

Llyra,
How much detergent do you use? 1/2 what the bottle says, 1/4?

Oh heck, I have no idea. I don't measure it. I just splash a bit into the machine. I would guess it's probably about 2/3 of what's recommended but I can't be sure. Sometimes it's a liberal splash and sometimes a light splash; I'm really casual about it. I've never had buildup though, no stink ever and only one bad rash incident caused by Destitin on my pocket diapers. So I guess it works just fine.

[MyLittleWonders]

We use Country Save, so I didn't vote. It's from the health food store and is the only one I've found that rinses so well that I don't have to strip the diapers every now and then.

[TypingMarie]

I use Tide (with bleach alternative) on Fuzzi Bunz. I settled on it after a couple of months of trying different detergents, looking for the "perfect" one. I chose it after giving up on the natural detergents and deciding to try the extreme opposite Not my first choice, but it works for me. I've been using it for about six months.

I fill the cap to the #2 line for most loads, #3 for especially dirty ones. I've never had to strip the diapers, but I do occasionally bleach the inserts.

[snozzberry]

Here's another recent thread about Allen's vs. Charlie's.

[AimeeandBrian]

I use the Arm and Hammer in the green bottle

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by lhowlett

So Arm and Hammer doesn't contain surfactents or brighteners?

I don't know. There is an Arm & Hammer Free and Clear that can cause some people problems with cloth.

[delphiniumpansy]

Originally Posted by MomInFlux

I LOVE Charlie's! I find it very inexpensive (a full load uses 1T of powder), and shipping is free from Charlie's

I've been using Charlies for about a week now and finding it great. Very economical and cleans great.

[katie9143]

Originally Posted by lyttlewon

I don't know. There is an Arm & Hammer Free and Clear that can cause some people problems with cloth.

not sure about the free and clear - we use the new essentials one that is supposed to be more plant based. i really didnt research it...but we like it and it washes the dipes and rinses out real well.

[JeDeeLenae]

I use a store brand. It's the Krogers brand. I'm pretty sure I checked and there's no enzymes or brighteners. It works great. I'm going to get some Borax too, I haven't been using it lately, but I did really like it for its boosting properties.