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Just like any other family, our house can turn into a complete disaster - especially because we are always in the midst of some renovation project. We were literally going through bottles and bottles of all purpose cleaner, buckets of laundry detergent, and tubs and tubs of dishwashing pods. The dirt (and mess) never go away. So one of those dark nights, when I was up late because one of the twins couldn't sleep, I started down a reading black hole. Initially, I was trying to find ways to save money on home cleaning staples when eventually I entered a dark and twisty path about toxins in laundry detergent.
Note: this post is in no way a judgement on what one family chooses to do over another. Instead, it's the journey we took to find better cleaners for our family.
We had always purchased free and clear detergent and generally felt good about that. But, after doing further research on the ingredients in name brand detergents, I was shocked.
These were brands that I had grown up with, and trusted. I felt that "free and clear" truly meant just that - free and clear - but sadly, to burst your bubble, that is not the case. I challenge you to go look into the ingredients in your laundry detergent and try to understand what each one means.
This black hole of research eventually led me to MamaSuds. If you are up on a dark night, read through their blog - there is so much good content! It was refreshing to see that every single ingredient in all of their products was something that I understood. This was in stark contrast to the ingredients found in your big brand laundry soaps.
Ingredients: water, potassium olivate (saponified olive oil), sodium carbonate, and sodium borate, pure essential oil of lavender, lemon, or unscented.
C12-C15 Alcohol Ethoxylate, Sodium carbonate, Ethyl alcohol 64-17-5 1 - 5, Sodium Sulfate
Note: This is likely not all of the ingredients in All Free and Clear Laundry Detergent. It was very hard to find a full list, but this is what is listed by All's parent company.
So, after visiting MamaSuds' website and learning about Castile soap, I started to wonder - how is it that this miracle soap could do everything? I, of course, had heard of another brand - Dr. Bonners - but was really pulled into the story of how MamaSuds was created (nothing better than a mama on a mission!).
So, I figured "why not," and ordered a gallon of Castile soap and a 64-ounce container of unscented laundry soap (her story on her blog about reusable diapers had me very curious!).
To keep this story short enough for the mamas and dadas out there - this stuff works! The Castile soap truly does have a million uses. Our favorite is a diluted version for all purpose cleaner. We mix it up ourselves and feel good about using it on their high chairs, art tables, and just about any surface they use. And, boy does it work! You can get crayon off of almost anything and spaghetti sauce doesn't stand a chance on your high chair tray or straps.
We also love the laundry soap. We started off with unscented and it doesn't leave any residue or scents and clothes come out super clean - all with ingredients that I understand. We eventually branched out and tried the lavender laundry soap and it's just as wonderful (literally all of their scents smell good, not overpowering, and just make me smile).
Dare we say that we now look forward to cleaning? Give it a try - we know you'll love it.
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