[ccasanova]

My local Costco just got the Ecos brand laundry detergent. From what I know, it is 100% natural. It does not use any phospates or petrochemicals, it used soy for softening, etc. It it one of those brands that is known for being earth friendly. They had it for roughly 12.75 or so for a 210 oz bottle. I am estimating around 14.00 after all taxes, if I was slightly off on original price, etc. So it comes out to 12 cents per load.<br><br>
I then compared it to BS, vinegar, TTO for laundry wash. 12 lb bags are about $5.50 or so. There are 192 oz. of BS per bag. I use 6 oz. per load of laundry, a chug of vinegar and about 8 drops of TTO. Just the BS alone came to 17 cents per load and that is not including vinegar, or the TTO which is not cheap.<br><br>
So did I just find an easier and cheaper way to do laundry??? With the ecos, I don't have to measure BS, pour vinegar and drop TTO. I can just use the detergent and it says the soy in there is a natural softener/static eliminator.<br><br>
Has anyone used the Ecos brand and liked how it works? Is it really all natural and safe like it says on the bottle? I'll be really happy to have found a cheaper, and easier way to do laundry!

 

[MomToKandE]

I haven't used it but I think I've seen it at Whole Foods. You could try a normal-sized thing of it first and then get the Costco-sized bottle if you like it.

 

[Metta&Karuna]

(What is TTO? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/redface.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Embarrassment"> I am interested in your recipe for homemade laundry detergent, as there is no nearby costco!)

 

[MomToKandE]

TTO = tea tree oil (essential oil)

 

[Thalia]

I bought it at Trader Joe's and really didn't like the smell of it. I couldn't wait to be finished with the bottle. We just use the Trader Joe's store brand now, which is also phosphate-free. However, I was in my first trimester at the time, so it could have just been pregnancy related odor aversion, or just my own personal bias against that smell. But you might want to sniff it to see what you think before buying. It did a good job on the wash itself.

 

[MaddieMay]

I hear you on wanting something easier-I just wish Costco would carry a scent-free version. Amazon is having a sale on Seventh Generation products ($20 off $100, I believe)-just in case anyone wants to stock up.

 

[sarah_bella1050]

Trader Joe's detergent is 12 cents a load too. It's 9.64 with tax for the big box and it says 80 loads on the box. I get about .06 cents a load of regular and .03 a load for CDs though since I have a FL <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/winky.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Wink">

 

[ccasanova]

Is TJ's detergent phosphate and petrochemical free too? I never looked at it there. Does it work well? I'll have to check it out next time I'm in TJ's. So I guess you can't automatically assume that BS will be cheaper then anything else huh? You would think so because you always see BS as being frugal. I guess it depends on how low a price you can find on it.<br><br>
My BS laundry "recipe" is 3/4 cup BS, a chug of vinegar (just enough to fill the softener dispenser) and about 8 drops of tea tree oil. I have a front loader, so I don't know if I was using more BS then I needed, or if it was just enough, and a top loader would need a full cup. The clothes always came out smelling soooo clean, it was wonderful!

 

[sarah_bella1050]

Yep, TJs is all natural and it works great! I usually put some vinegar in with it to as fabric softener though too. I think you could probably get away with only using a half a cup of bs instead of 3/4 cup, maybe you could try that.

 

[melissel]

Well, one way to make BS cheaper for laundry is to buy a huge sack from a feed store. I've heard that it's much, MUCH cheaper to buy it that way than to buy from a regular store. However, as there are no feed stores around us, that won't work for us <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> I'll have to look for Ecos the next time I'm at Costco with my mom--that would be awesome!

 

[SleepyMamaBear]

<a href="http://charliesoap.com/" target="_blank">Charlies Soap</a> (a detergent not an actual soap) is all natural biodegradable, non petrochemical and phosophate free and the 80load bag ends up being 16 cents a load.<br>
the 5gallon bucket is 9 cents a load.<br>
the liquid for a gallon equals 17 cents a load.<br><br>
and shipping is free.<br><br>
and it WORKS SO WELL.<br><br>
really they should start paying me for my shouting my love for their product from the rooftops. i REALLY love it.<br>
we have the 5gallon bucket, and doing laundry for the three of us, giving ALOT away to friends and family to try, diapers for two years, and the laundry and diapers for the upcoming baby the bucket will still last us another 3 years or more.

 

[dachshundqueen]

I spoke with the Ecos lady at my costco when they had the ecos stuff on sale or whatever.<br><br>
She said it included fabric softener so I didn't have to buy any additional softener..........um.........fabric softener plus CD = NO WAY.<br><br>
So I said no thanks. She said CD'ers love it.<br><br>
Liz

 

[melissel]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>AddysMama</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7916806"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://charliesoap.com/" target="_blank">Charlies Soap</a> (a detergent not an actual soap) is all natural biodegradable, non petrochemical and phosophate free and the 80load bag ends up being 16 cents a load.<br>
the 5gallon bucket is 9 cents a load.<br>
the liquid for a gallon equals 17 cents a load.<br><br>
and shipping is free.<br><br>
and it WORKS SO WELL.<br><br>
really they should start paying me for my shouting my love for their product from the rooftops. i REALLY love it.<br>
we have the 5gallon bucket, and doing laundry for the three of us, giving ALOT away to friends and family to try, diapers for two years, and the laundry and diapers for the upcoming baby the bucket will still last us another 3 years or more.</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
Whoa! I had no idea Charlie's was that cheap! I bet that would solved my repelling problems in my bGs too! Thanks for posting that...

 

[SleepyMamaBear]

no problem. it ROCKS. i had some repelling and some stink issues in the fleece in the diapers, it was buildup and just NASTY gunk.<br>
one. ONE wash with Charlies, got rid of it. just ONE!<br>
we LOVE Charlies in this house.<br>
after reading the website AGAIN i saw lots of people are using it for different uses around the house, i just put two tbsp powder in some warm water inside an empty old dish soap container and squirted it on a pan that had some baked on egg. let it sit for 10 minutes. and viola.. it came up with very minimal effort.<br>
i love this stuff.<br>
and i LOVE the smell!

 

[CeciMami]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>AddysMama</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7917591"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">no problem. it ROCKS. i had some repelling and some stink issues in the fleece in the diapers, it was buildup and just NASTY gunk.<br>
one. ONE wash with Charlies, got rid of it. just ONE!<br>
we LOVE Charlies in this house.<br>
after reading the website AGAIN i saw lots of people are using it for different uses around the house, i just put two tbsp powder in some warm water inside an empty old dish soap container and squirted it on a pan that had some baked on egg. let it sit for 10 minutes. and viola.. it came up with very minimal effort.<br>
i love this stuff.<br>
and i LOVE the smell!</div>
</td>
</tr></table></div>
I wish there was some way I could get one load's worth of the Charlies so that I could test drive the smell...do you know if such a thing is available somewhere? Oh Charlie's soap goddess? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol">

 

[superstella]

Me too Cecimami! I'm so sensitive to smells and really hate to buy it and not be able to use it if I can't tolerate the smell! What's it smell like???? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/img/vbsmilies/smilies/duck.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Duck">:<br><br>
Okay, I went to the website and there's a special for a 40load powder bag (gift bag) for $7.50 so I'm going to go ahead and order it and try it! I'll let you know what it smells like when I get it. It also says they'll refund if you're not satisfied.<br><br>
Off to order, thanks!

 

[Mama Dragon]

<div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">
<div>Originally Posted by <strong>dachshundqueen</strong> <a href="/community/forum/post/7916844"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">I spoke with the Ecos lady at my costco when they had the ecos stuff on sale or whatever.<br><br>
She said it included fabric softener so I didn't have to buy any additional softener..........um.........fabric softener plus CD = NO WAY.<br><br>
So I said no thanks. She said CD'ers love it.<br><br>
Liz</div>
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</tr></table></div>
I assume the soy that is in this stuff don't do what chemical softeners do (make fabrics repel liquid). You might check it out further.

 

[SleepyMamaBear]

Charlies soap smells like NOTHING after its done through the wash. i personally LOVE the smell of the powder as its mixing with water, it just smells clean, and by the end of the cycle the clothes just smell.... clean. they dont smell like anything, just clean clothes. its the best smell in the world to me. when i take the clothes from the washing machine and put them in teh dryer i HAVE to smell everything, its like my own personal crack <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/lol.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="lol"> hooray for today being laundry day too!!!<br>
make sure that when you get your Charlies that you do a load of rags or towels on HOT HOT HOT water (i'd turn up your hot water heater if you can) with TWO scoops of detergent. then your machine is prepped properly.<br>
cause really, everyone has buildup in their machines and its GROSS. you definitely want that out of your machine before you wash your clothes with Charlies. you will also notice the first time you wash anything, clothes, diapers, anything you will see an intense ammount of sudsing. thats NOT the charlies, thats old detergent build up in the clothing, the next wash you do of that item will not sids like that.<br>
oh MAN i love Charlies!

 

[Satori]

What about using Charlies when you have to use a laundry mat?

 

[SleepyMamaBear]

well thats what we do when we cant do laundry at my parents place. and sadly i think no matter WHAT you use at the laundromat your clothes are going to come out smelling like other peoples detergents and fabric softeners, they accumulate on the drums of the dryers. our clothes that are supposed to smell like CLEAN, like nothing, like air, like water, like fresh, end up smelling flowery and gross.<br>
so we either spend ALL day at the laundromat using one machine and one dryer, or all day at my moms using her machines, or we suck it up and deal with the nasty deposits left on our clothing from others stuff. uke<br>
today i am at my mamas.