Once upon a time, I was a laundry detergent addict. The heavier the smell the better. I would pour a cup (or two) into the washing machine and get this euphoric high when I pulled my laundry out and got a whiff of the freshness. However, I never ever stopped to think about what this detergent was actually made from and how it was impacting me and my family’s health. So what is in our conventional laundry soap? How do these ingredients impact our health?

Well, for starters, most conventional brands of laundry soap contain highly-poisonous compounds like ammonia and chlorine, as well as dyes, thickeners, fillers and synthetic fragrances. When you wear fabrics that have these chemicals, our skin soaks them up – that’s 24/7 exposure! Not only that, but these chemicals have the ability to travel throughout your home and contaminate the air you and your family breathes in every day.

Since I detoxed our home of toxic laundry detergents years ago, when someone comes over using heavy laundry detergents, they leave their scent on my furniture and in my air for days – and as a fragrance-sensitive family, it really affects our health.

So, after lots of research and personal use, I compiled a list of safer, non-toxic laundry soaps that actually make your clothes clean without compromising your health and the health of those around you:

  • Earthley Laundry Soap – Earthley, an Ohio-based wellness company, just came out with their new home line this past year, and it’s been a huge hit in the non-tox community. Their laundry soap has very simple ingredients, including a plant-based enzyme that can help fight stains. They also have a very thorough and comprehensive document called the Clean Home Project Guide.
  • Molly Suds – We’ve been using this for years, including the Molly Suds Sports on our athletic clothes. It’s effective and leaves your clothes smelling super fresh. I do find that this works best on warmer washes, since the powder doesn’t dissolve as well in cold water.
  • GO by Greenshield Organic – Our all-time favorite for all types of laundry needs. This is good for normal, and delicate loads, and even washes our linen duvet cover beautifully! If you choose one, get this one! It’s unscented but leaves your clothes smelling great.
  • Young Loving Thieves – If you want a non-toxic alternative but aren’t ready to go completely “free and clear” of all fragrances, Young Living’s Thieves Laundry Soap uses Thieves essential oil to lightly scent their formula.
  • Branch Basics – I can’t personally attest to this, but I have heard great things about how pure and clean this line of products is!
  • Make your own! We’ve used a mix of Dr. Bronner’s, washing soda, and borax to clean normal-soiled loads. We’ve even used it with a cup of vinegar to clean our cloth diapers. As a bonus, the Dr. Bronner’s has several other uses including multi-surface cleaner, body wash, mop solution, veggie wash, shampoo, plus many, many more. It’s all we use for our cleaning needs now which means less junk and less plastic pollution from dozens of bottles.

If you want to go even more non-toxic, ditch the bleach and try to use the sun to bleach your clothes (if it can bleach our poopy cloth diapers, it can brighten your sweater…believe me..haha!). Another thing you can do is swap your dryer sheets for wool balls. Dryer sheets come with heaps of other issues in themselves, including the fact that they are typically made out of PFAS-infested plastics which are known endocrine disruptors. Just don’t add essential oils to them…you don’t want the fire hazard!

If you’re like me and like to douse your clothes in laundry soap because it “made you feel clean”, know that your clothes (and health) will be much cleaner if you ditch these toxic, health-harming chemicals that we expose ourselves to every day. It’s one of the simplest changes we can make to improve our health and make better choices for our families.

What are some of your favorite non-toxic laundry products?