I recently discovered that the plant based laundry detegent I was using was causing lots of problems for my little one. Now I’m trying a coconut-oil based detergent to see how it works. I’ll know in a few weeks how it handles on cloth!

It honestly never occurred to me that dyes served no purpose in other than to make the detergent a “pretty” color. I have been using dye and fragrance free detergents for the past 5 or so years because I started having mild skin reactions (mostly just extreme itchiness). Kind of unrelated, but I also discovered that antibacterial hand soaps were too harsh for daily hand washing for me. I guess it’s a good thing that I have sensitive skin because it has made me more cautious of the products I use on myself and therefore I already use natural and mild products when I can so it won’t be any issue to use them on my baby either when he is born. Thanks for another informative blog post; it’s good to learn about the products that people often use on a daily basis without even giving a second thought as to what is in them and why it is in them.

I always like hearing washing and detergent tips from the manufacturers. There is so much information (and conflicting information!) out there to sort through!

I just started making my own detergent 2 months ago! No dyes in that puppy!

I should amend that–I still use ALL Free & Clear on the cloth diapers–no perfumes or dyes there–and use the homemade detergent on our clothes because it has borax in it which would be too harsh for the diaperes.

Very helpful article, thank you!

I never realized all that about dyes! It makes sense, from now on…no more dyes for this house

We really like EcoNuts as a natural cleaner.

Thanks for posting the detergent rating chart!! good to know!

Great information! We use an unscented detergent already, so we’re all set for our cloth diapers!

Thanks for this post!! I’ve been using Charlies Soap since I started cloth diapers. I read someones blog that said it was good and found it where I buy things at anyway, but then wasnt sure it was what I should be using because not many people mention on some blogs I now read. I haven’t had any trouble with stains or ordors though so I kept using it. Glad to know it’s got a good rating, esp since I have such a large container of it!

This is great information! I will share it with my Cloth Diapering Facebook group!

Thanks for the detergent rating. We use a free and clear now and have never had any problems with it. Thanks for the great information

Thanks for the complete explanation! Very helpful

Thanks for the info! We have been extremely happy with Rockin Green Soap – free of all the yucky stuff!

@Morgan — you’re not supposed to use Free & Clear on cloth diapers

Thanks for the great information! I’m still on the search for the CD safe detergent that will work best for us.

We love Ruby Moon this time around.

i wish i had known all this 10 years ago when my oldest was a baby. i washed her diapers in detergent with enzymes and it was horrible for her skin! she always has had horrible eczema!

Aways wondered why it couldnt have fragrances! Great topic!

This is a great post. I have been trying to get away from dyes and fragrances for a few years now, even before cloth diapers. I think that most fragrances are too strong!

I don’t understand why laundry detergent has to contain dyes. It’s not as though we spend ages admiring the gorgeous color of our soap — just measure, dump, and back to the rest of life!

I keep thinking we should try Rockin’ Green – here’s my reason why!

The detergent charts are so helpful. We have finally found something that works for us and are sticking with it!:)

Great post! What detergent to use was a huge question for me when I started CD-ing. Being a newbie, I didn’t understand why my regular detergent wasn’t good enough, this would have been a great reference post when I was staring out.

Thank you so much for such a clear and concise post about this… wading through forums on the topic gets confusing!

I’m new to cloth diapering… thanks for this post! Very informative!

Detergent seems like the scariest part of cloth diapering!

I like this series on detergents and additives a lot. It is very informative. Thanks!

Some people have said that they use ALL free & clear. I’m not sure if everyone is aware that this detergent still has optical brighteners in it that will build up in your clothes and diapers. ALL has a detergent that the military uses and is only sold at commissaries. It is also called ALL free & clear but it has a red label that marks it as “free of optical brighteners”. We have used this detergent (under $6 and lasts about 90 loads) for over a year and never once had to strip a diaper. If you have friends or relatives in the military, you could easily ask them to pick up a bottle or two on their next shopping trip to the local base.

We use Tiny Bubbles when we travel, since powder detergents are easier to pack.

I do wish that my inserts would not be so stiff after drying them outside.

i use seventh generation this is my 1st bottle and going to diaper jungle website i guess it isnt the best and i just got a box of the borax stuff which another website said was bad and now that website shows it is a 3 star out of 4 so i guess it is ok. which is confusing one site says no other says yes..

Very helpful

What about Bac-Out? I hear of a lot of people spraying a bit on the poopy diapers before putting them in their wet bag to help with staining/odor. Bac-Out contains natural enzymes, what do the enzymes do to the diapers?

Good to know for a new CDing mama!

Thank you for post! I always wondered if the scents in some cloth ‘safe’ detergents were ok for my baby… This gives me something to think about!

Very helpful. Thank you!

what a thorough explanation. thank you!