Detergent: Who, What, Where, & How

There are so many laundry products out there and it can be difficult to know which one is best for your particular needs. Let’s go over the ins and outs of laundry detergent!

Stain-Fighting Detergent

I like Tide Tide Hygienic Clean Heavy Duty 10X (scent-free) for a stain-fighting detergent. I like this one because it’s been designed to remove the dirt and soils we CAN and CANNOT see. According to their website, “[it] contains 10 concentrated cleaning actives, and it’s clinically tested to be gentle even on sensitive skin. It also cleans invisible dirt you didn’t even know was there thanks to its ability to get between fibers.”

It was developed and refined during the pandemic when people were staying home and maybe wearing the same thing a couple of days in a row… Tide stepped up their performance and this is the result! This product comes in Power Pods, which would be my choice for the ‘detergent pod’ category. Their Power Pods are large enough to handle a medium load and deliver incredible stain and odor-fighting capabilities!

Powder Detergent

For powder detergent, the people’s choice definitely goes to Persil Universal Powder Laundry Detergent. While Tide’s powdered detergent is also extremely popular, Persil has a terrific reputation and promises great results! 

Brightening Detergent

If you need to boost your detergent, consider adding a scoop of OxiClean White Revive powder to the bottom of the drum before adding clothing. This is a detergent booster, so it still needs detergent to work (liquid, powder, or pods all work). The powder adds 40% more whitening power per load than chlorine bleach, as well as boosts your detergent to help brighten colors and remove dinginess from whites. You can use this versatile powder as a pre-soak or detergent additive. Efficient, cost-effective, and flexible! What’s not to like?!

Sustainable Options

Refillable and sustainable detergents, as well as detergent sheets, do not have great performance…yet. I believe that the premium manufacturers will come out with a solution that can blend this new, sustainable delivery method with incredible performance soon. But for now, they are less potent than regular detergents.

You’ll have to work a little harder when removing stains and pre-treating here. It’s best to use warm water to help dissolve the detergent (which isn’t as sustainable as using cold water) and you may even need to re-wash garments that are heavily stained or soiled. I don’t use these products because using cold water and getting a clean load in the first go is the most responsible way to launder in my opinion. But I would very much like to use a detergent sheet in the coming years and look forward to the future of laundry!

With that being said, given the known limitations of the product, I have had good experiences with Tru Earth Platinum laundry detergent sheets and am happy to recommend them! For a refillable product, I have been a longtime fan of the ATTITUDE brand and what they do. They have a fantastic refillable product line and their products are gently scented with essential oils. Their refills come in cardboard boxes with dispensers and they even plant a tree for every product purchased!

The best products for sensitive skin are formulated with fewer ingredients. In this case, I’d recommend Molly’s Suds, which is a brand that’s gained popularity for its backstory and the founder’s passion for laundry and minimal ingredients. 

Now you’ve got a few products to start with and some knowledge about how to use them. Time to crush that pile of laundry!

For more laundry tips check out our article on the Best Laundry Products and don’t forget to check out our eBook Bundle which includes the eBooks, my 3 Wave Cleaning System, 50 DIY Recipes, and The Complete Guide to Essential oils, plus a cleaning checklist! It’s great value and it will help you take your cleaning to the next level!