Earth Friendly Cleaning

[gmmcnair]

Has anyone else experimented with some of the more earth friendly cleaning products? I've been getting mixed results so far, and would love to hear the forum's opinions. Here is what I've tried and my own highly subjective ratings.

Excellent: (As good as the best mainstream products)
Oxo Brite (better than Oxyclean...seems to be stronger)
Trader Joe's Next to Godliness Powder Dishwasher Detergent
Trader Joe's Next to Godliness Lavendar Tea Tree Hand Dishwashing Liquid
Bi-O-Kleen Bac Out Enzyme Stain remover

Good: (Adequate for most purposes, cleaned well enough for me in most cases)
Trader Joe's Powder Laundry Detergent
Seventh Generation Lavender Fabric Softener
Planet Laundry liquid and powder
Planet Dishwashing Liquid
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Gel
Bi-O-Kleen Laundry Powder

Fair to Poor(Maybe for Light Soil...didn't clean that well for me)
Bi-O-Kleen Laundry Liquid
Ecover Dishwashing Liquid
Trader Joes Dishwasher Gel
Trader Joe's Liquid Laundry Detergent

Anyone else have experience they would like to share? I always try to go for the least volatile, chemically friendly products, and love to hear other's experiences.

 

[lavamat_jon]

I use Ecover products sometimes in the laundry; and I have to say their fabric softener is superb and now is the only one I'll use. The washing powder, however, is great for lightly soiled stuff but on stuff that needs tough cleaning there's no hope and a stronger detergent does perform much better I prefer to say. However for light soil loads such as sheets and darks, Ecover is a good product.

Jon

 

[zipdang]

I've been using Seventh Generation Free and Clear laundry powder, and it seems to work very well. Also, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day liquid detergent works well, too.

Ecover, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods dishwasher powders all work quite well. For hand dishwashing, I like Mrs. Meyers and Seventh Generation. The Trader Joe's dish liquid didn't seem to do a very good job on grease.

Ecover fabric softener is great. I love the scent.

 

[sudsman]

Bi=o=Kleen Powder

I have used it and found it to be very good , But Pricey

 

[gmmcnair]

Trader Joe's Dishwashing Liquid

Yeah...the first bottle of Trader Joe's dish liquid I bought was really weak on grease. However, they seem to have made the formula a bit more potent. I ended up buying it again on a fluke (I was out and didn't want to go to Safeway), and it was much better at cleaning.

I don't know if it's inconsistent or they've improved it. I'm hoping for the latter. The Lavender/Tea Tree scent is wonderful.

 

[zipdang]

It's been a while since I used the Trader Joe's dish liquid, so they may have reformulated it or changed vendors. Several years ago I used it and it worked fine, but then the bottle and scent changed, and that version didn't work as well as the previous one.

 

[bajaespuma]

Thanks for this posting. I've been Eco-curious about some of these products but was leery about ability. I will try some of your recommendations.