Category : Detergents

Cloth Diapering Detergents Eco-Friendly/Green Natural Household Products Review Washing

Naturoli Soap Nuts

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My friend Tonya is switching her household to all “green,” one week at a time.  She’s writing in on Cafemom’s The StirHere is the post that prompted the one I’m writing right now!  At the bottom of the post you can read the posts from prior weeks as well.
Anyhoo, when she bought her Naturoli soap nuts, she noticed that they were cloth diaper safe and offered to send me some.  I’ve been using them on my cloth diapers for over three weeks now and I am so grateful to her for sending them to me!
naturoli
What are soap nuts?  They’re the dried husks of the soapberry.  They contain saponin, which works as a natural surfactant.  They can be used for a lot more than laundry as well.
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Detergents Giveaway Made in the USA Review Stink Washing

Rockin’ Green Detergent and Giveaway! CLOSED

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Detergent is one of the biggest obstacles when starting to or continuing to cloth diaper.  In fact, it is the #1 reason I didn’t start at my son’s birth. 
Believe it or not, detergent is a rather controversial subject.  There are a few “cloth safe diaper detergent” charts out there that give detergents rankings based on whether they contain ingredients like dye, fragrance, brighteners, whiteners, enzymes and so forth.
Like so many others, I didn’t want to risk hurting my diapers, or my kid’s tushie.  So, when I couldn’t find a “safe” detergent locally, I gave up.  Then the detergent drama began.  I managed to find one, but then I saw it was not safe on another chart.  Round and round we went.
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Detergents WAHM made

Another Addiction

>Well, cloth diapering is addictive enough.  Throw in Lil Outlaws‘ great products and delicious scents, and the case is closed.  I’m addicted.

I had been spending an unhealthy amount of time looking at all the fragrance descriptions already, and when I found out that there was a Buy 4, Get 4 Free Sale on the detergent, I really wanted to buy.  The sale ran only through December 31st, and she warned that her prices would go up in 2010.  So, I bit.

I have a really hard time choosing scents, but I’m loving everything that I’ve chosen.  I prefer powdery florals or light, clean scents.

Here’s what I chose:

2 Baby Bee A fragrance cocktail of luscious fruits such as peaches, mandarin oranges, coconut pulp, bergamot, grapefruit, tropical guava, and tangy lemons.  I like baby clothes to smell baby-ish and this was the only baby scent she had available at the time. Butt Naked is my favorite.

Biolage Matrix top notes of forest fresh green leaves and lemon zests, and well rounded with fruity notes of peaches, apples, and pineapples. A very fresh fragrance that will entice and energize your day. (similar to the shampoo)

Quince A duplicate of the Henri Bendel* fragrance, this fragrance is a light amber woody accord with a splash of fruit and nuance of green.

Yacht Club Want to go yacht sailing on the ocean on a mid summer morning? A fragrance reminiscent of upscale living with salty marine notes and fresh rain, with just a hint of fresh strawberry and kiwi to provide this scent with a well-rounded presentation.

Lotus Blossom The lotus flower is a symbol of beauty, purity, and fertility. Lotus flowers are water-fresh, clean, and slightly powdery in nature. Not too sweet, absolutely perfect! Even people who do not like florals will love this aroma!

Lemon EO

Rice Flower & Shea A very light scent. This duplicate of the BBW* fragrance is a rich bouquet of fruits and flowers on an intense, alluring base of musk and creamy vanilla notes.

I actually didn’t get the Rice Flower & Shea but I contacted Jacklen and she is sending a replacement out to make up for the mix-up.

The scents I’ve tried previously are Baby Bee, Baby Powder, Butt Naked, Giggles, Midsummer’s Night and Laundromat.

All the scents are fabulous, but I found myself sniffing the Quince, Lotus Blossom and Yacht club over and over.  Lotus Blossom and Yacht Club are definitely my new favorites.  My typical M.O. is to “save the best for last” but I went ahead and cracked open the Yacht Club so I wouldn’t be tempted to use too much to zip through it and get to my favorites.  LOL!

I had an empty 4 quart oxo pop container, and I stuck 4 bags in it to contain the smell and keep the bags neat.  The detergent is typically sent in a heat sealed bag with a printed label, but this time it came in ziploc bags with the scent written in sharpie.  She was really busy with the big sale of course!

I would like to get some .9 Qt containers to keep the detergent in, like the ones I use for my baking stuff, but they’re a little pricey.
For now, I have the opened bags in ziploc containers.

Uh, yeah.  I may also have a little label maker addiction.
I also learned something about Lil Outlaws.  I am of course a numbers gal, so I had figured out the cost per load and how long each bag would last, based on the assertion that each package contained 70 loads of 1 Tablespoon each.  I was figuring there should be 4 3/8 cups, or just over 1 Qt in each bag.  I was confused when I realized there was only about 3 1/2 cups in a bag.

So, I asked and found out that Jacklen does it by weight.  She figured that each load weighs .45 oz, or 31.5 oz for a batch.  She always puts at least 2 pounds in a bag, but sometimes puts more, therefore each bag may have a slightly different amount.

It immediately all became clear.  “Product sold by weight, not volume.  Contents may have settled during shipping.”  Sound familiar?  I think we’ve all gotten a half empty box of cereal before!  I have no idea why it didn’t occur to me before.  In fact, I’ll bet if I measured the same 1 Tablespoon, it would be considerably heavier for me, after being packed and shipped, than it was for Jacklen when she weighed it right after mixing.  So that accounts for the difference in volume and assures me that I could use less and still get the same cleaning power.  Shew.

Here is a video that’s more food related, but shows why you should weigh, not measure, your food if you’re watching your calorie intake.

Anyhoo, now that the mystery is solved, I can drool over the other Lil Outlaws scents.  I really want to try the “Rump Solution” for my wipes, but I still have about half of the Booty Cubes I bought.  One cube makes 1 cup of solution, and that 1 cup in a spray bottle lasts me 1-2 weeks.  Argh.  Cost effective, yes, but I’ll never get through it!

Here are the other scents I think sounds scrumptious (though I’m not typically into fruity stuff!)

Amazing Grace – A feminine fragrance that will make you feel pretty…oh so pretty! Italian bergamot and sparkling lemon are sweetened with freshly picked citron and neroli. A white floral jasmine, orange blossom and rose are blended with sheer musk and cedarwood.

Blackened Amethyst – A seductive fragrance created for chic, confident women who like to “live a little”. This fragrance combines aquatic top notes with Italian bergamot, rare camellias, and lime; followed by notes of exotic sandalwood and vetiver.

Pink Lime – Top notes of lime, dewfruit, peach, orange, apple, and mandarin blend with middle notes of lily, berries, jasmine, and lavender into a sandalwood, raspberry vanilla, musk, coconut base.

Pink Sugar – Lively floral with top notes of bergamot, orange, strawberry and licorice. The heart blends red fruit, lily of the valley, fig leaves and soft powder notes. The base is a cotton candy, vanilla, caramel, musk and woody blend.

When I eventually get the rump solution, I’ll probably stick to butt naked, oatmeal milk & honey and baby powder.

Other scents that aren’t in stock now, but caught my eye before are moonlight path, winter candy apple, pink watermelon, white tea & ginger, white nectarine & pink coral, and nectarine mint.

You can’t waffle around on this because if a scent is in stock now, it might be sold out when you check again in an hour.  It makes it fun to try new things, but also frustrating sometimes.  She is offering fragrance sniffies now, but by the time you decide, it will probably be out of stock!

The good thing is that since shipping is included, you can order one bag here and there as scents you like come in stock.  I’m sure my husband would kill me if I bought any more though.  Hee hee.

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Cloth Diapers Detergents

A new year and a little recap

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I’ve been cloth diapering now for around 12 weeks.

I’ve done a lot of boring estimations and calculations.  The conclusion is that the diapers I’ve purchased have paid for themselves.  That includes all money I’ve spent as well as gifts and gift certificates.

Money isn’t why I switched to cloth, but it sure doesn’t hurt.  Also consider that with disposables, that money would be in the landfill.  With cloth, I could stop cloth diapering tomorrow and be able to make a decent amount of my money back by selling the diapers, or at the very least, pass them on to someone else.

I know that the devil’s advocates will have something to say about the cost of washing the diapers.  The lil outlaws detergent I’ve been using doesn’t cost any more than a decent “baby” detergent, and in fact costs considerably less when taking advantage of Jacklen’s sales.  We have well water, therefore there is no cost for the water.  I have an HE washer, so there isn’t much hot water used.  I hang diapers to dry and the inserts take no time to dry in the dryer.  I’ve noticed no change in my electric bill. Often, I’ll go ahead and throw my son’s clothes in with the diapers also, making it even more efficient.

The real reason I switched was for my son’s health.  Since cloth diapering, his bottom is totally clear.  He gets a tiny bit of redness when he dirties his diaper, even when changed immediately.  A thin layer of Grandma El’s and he’s good as new by the next diaper change.

My son wore a disposable diaper for a few hours one day and literally had raised, red welts on his bottom.  I actually love cloth diapering, but even if it were tons of work and very expensive, I’d still do it!

Saving a good $3 per day doesn’t hurt either!

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Cloth Diapers Detergents

Lil Outlaws Detergent

>One of the moms from one of my cloth diaper groups owns lil’ outlaws.  She makes/sells diaper safe laundry detergent, cloth wipe solution concentrate, cloth safe diaper cream and more.

She honored my special request and packed my order with smaller portions of five different scents of detergent!  I chose baby bee, butt naked, baby powder fresh, laundromat and midsummer’s night. 

My order got here today and the package made my house deliciously smelly before I’d even opened it.  The scents all smell great, though they are very strong smelling in their bags.  They smell heavenly in the washer & after washing though (the smell makes my whole laundry room smell great).  I got the normal strength scent but she also offers heavy, extra heavy, light & extra light.  I’ve had a bit of a headache this evening from all the new smells, but from my experience with the last bag, the scent will mellow a bit after the bag has been open a while.  I actually suggest that if you “stock up” when you order, store the bags in a closet or drawer that needs some freshening, the bag will do duty as an air freshener until you’re ready to use it!

I used the butt naked on diapers tonight, it is fruity & clean smelling.  I don’t know what it reminds me of. 

She recommends 1/2-1T for a load in an HE washer.  I washed my hubby’s coats in the midsummer’s night & used more than I needed to make them smell extra good.  There is no soap or suds so there’s no risk to your laundry or your washer by using more!  It smells just like the Yankee Candle scent.

The last detergent I bought (Giggles, smells just like Johnson’s buddies body wash) is actually only maybe half finished and I’ve been using it for about 6 weeks. I just couldn’t resist some new scents!  I also would like to switch over to using lil’ outlaws on ALL of my laundry.  I want to see how it does, but I think it would be much better for our clothes, our skin, our washer and our septic system than the sudsy, chemical laden, gummy liquid kind!

The scent on clothing is very faint after washing/drying (we have soft water AND a water softener) but to me that is good, since you can enjoy the scent you like without worrying about smelling like you bathed in muffins, hee.  I did notice that some scents are stronger than others.

When I put a more in with my hubby’s coats though, the smell was noticeable & wonderful, though everything gets clean with much less.  If you want the smell to stick around more, choose heavy or extra heavy scent.  I would, but I don’t know if my nose could take the initial smelliness!**

I’m already making my list of scents for my next order.  Lemon, Amazing Grace, Rice Flower & Shea and Winter Candy Apple.  This yummy detergent sure makes laundry more enjoyable!  Once I find a favorite scent, I plan to figure out what strength works best for that particular scent and stick with it.  However, the scents are so tempting, I probably will keep wanting to try them all!!

I still really want to try her wipes solution, rump rub and pail pardner.  I’m not sure what the pail pardner comes packaged in.  I guess you could put it in a baby powder shaker?  I could definitely see that turning into a giant mess with little ones around though!  I do think I’ll wait until I find a favorite scent before I order that, although I will probably end up choosing baby powder for upstairs and lemon or midsummer’s night for downstairs!

P.S. Jacklen also offers Gift Certificates!  If you are having buildup, repelling or stink issues, or if you have sensitivity issues and have tried other “green” or “homemade” products, to no avail, please give lil’ outlaws a try!  You won’t regret it!!

Edit August 2010: This stopped working for me for some reason, I don’t know if the makeup of my water changed or what!

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