laundry detergent - Stuff Parents Need

Finding a Fresh New Scent in the Laundry Room: Best of the Best

May 1, 2015 · by Tiffany Merritt · Leave a Comment

I’ve told you before about perfumes being one of the great loves of my life, yes? I actually had amassed a rather fierce collection of fragrances by my late ’20s, with the total number of bottles coming in just shy of 60.

Which I can see now is a bit much. But I was so intoxicated by those fumes, people! I couldn’t be sensible under the spell of those scents.

My collection has been carefully edited now, down to a respectable dozen. And I no longer rely on perfumes to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to producing a really nice, lasting scent. I actually like to let my laundry detergent play a supporting role, if not take the lead.

Finding the Best Laundry Detergent Scents

This can be tricky territory for an eco-friendly gal like myself. Laundry detergents can be super harsh on the environment, so you have to pay attention to what you are buying. This is one of several reasons why I enjoy using method. They have just released a line of laundry detergents that are made from naturally derived ingredients and are biodegradable and hypollergenic.

But they did NOT leave out the amazing scents! I love some of the unique blends they have created with this line, breaking away from some of the smells you have come to expect from laundry detergent.

My favorite is this one!

A “beachy” scent is definitely not unheard of with detergents, but method includes sage in this particular blend to give it a much more natural vibe, which I LOVE!

Here’s another great example of taking an expected scent in a new direction. There are lots of “fresh outdoors” scents in the laundry aisle, but how about the scent of clover? That’s a perfect choice for something fresh and clean, and yet, it’s different!

Double Duty

Another thing I like about method laundry detergent is that it can easily do double duty for you as not only your laundry detergent, but also as your stain treatment. The 4x concentrated design means that you can use a dab of the detergent directly on those stubborn stains and let it soak in for a little while before laundering as usual. I have a small laundry room, so it is important that every product in there be as useful as possible. When I can feel confident that the detergent can also treat stains, that’s a big win in my book. I also appreciate concentrated formulas because they use less packaging and they take up less space in my home.

But who am I kidding? In this case that space-saving feature just means that I’m going to buy all 4 scents. I mean…Ginger Mango?! Can you blame a girl?

Giving Laundry the “Cold” Shoulder

Have you switched over to washing your clothes on cold, yet? It’s a switch that definitely requires that you have a quality detergent, but with the right choice you can say goodbye to having to use all that extra energy to get your clothes washed. A cold wash works just find with method. You’ll save money on your energy bill if you make the switch, so give it a try! If you are nervous about trying it out, just be sure to use the detergent to pre-treat any stains. Then inspect your clothes before putting them in the dryer to see if the stains are gone. I think you’ll be happy with what you find!

Wear, Tweak, Repeat

ASOS and method have just launched a partnership to help inspire those of us out there who prefer a wardrobe that is highly flexible and very washable (Dry cleaners? PASS!). Definitely check out some of their spring 2015 wardrobe piece recommendations. I loved watching the quick video that have that showed each piece being styled in different ways!

Time to Save

So this new line sounds pretty awesome, right? Let’s make it even more awesome by cutting $3 off the price! Woo hoo! Use the code THREEFORME at checkout to save online now!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Honest Company Laundry Detergent Review: An Honest Assessment

July 27, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 2 Comments

Referral links included. I only promote what I personally use!

Today I’m showing off one of my favorite picks from the Honest Company Line: the Honest Laundry Detergent. It works GREAT and I love that it’s eco-friendly. I also love that a heavy item like this can show up on my doorstep and be taken off my shopping list when I run errands.

How to Get the Best Price

The retail price for the Honest Laundry Detergent is $12.95, and it will cover 70 loads in an HE machine, which is what I have. That means the retail cost is 18.5 cents/load. That’s on the pricey end, in my opinion. But you don’t have to pay $12.95! Instead, get the essentials bundle and pay just $7.20.You get 5 items in your bundle for $35.95, which makes each item in the bundle cost just $7.20. This is absolutely one to put in your bundle. The per load cost of the product just went down to 10 cents/load!

This is a subscription service, BUT it is the most flexible subscription service I have ever encountered…you don’t HAVE to get something every month…just call in and have your date changed to whatever you like. I have my bundles scheduled to come every 6 weeks, but I have called in and gotten them bumped back or moved forward, depending on my needs. They are easy breezy! And cancelling is just as easy, too.

You can also add another bottle on to your bundle for the month at a rate of 25% off (bundle subscribers get up to 3 more items of their choice for 25% off, which is a nice perk) and that brings it down to $9.71. I personally recommend adding 2 two your bundle of 5 at a time to get the best price and to get stocked up, unless you are new to Honest Company and want to try out a greater variety. I tend to stick the items that are already less than $7.20 retail into my add-on spots.

New to The Honest Company? Start Here!

The Honest Company offers some great freebies to folks who are thinking of joining, including free diapers, so definitely check out my post on Honest Company free samples. After that, you’ll want to see my running list of Honest Company product reviews so that you can learn which products to buy and which ones to pass on, as well as how to bundle them for maximum savings.

Vaska Baby: My “Pure-fect” Laundry Detergent (Giveaway!)

February 9, 2014 · by Tiffany Merritt · 132 Comments

by Alanna Peters

This baby of mine is due in less than 2 short weeks and I’ve been busy as can be preparing the nursery and washing baby clothes. (Even though this is my second baby, it still blows my mind how TINY newborn size clothes are!!!) As I started prepping the baby laundry I realized I didn’t have any baby laundry detergent on hand. Then, out of the blue, Vaska reached out to me and voila – problem solved! I received a sample of their new Vaska Baby laundry detergent, and let me tell you, I LOVE it.

If you are unfamiliar with Vaska (like I was!), let me give you a quick introduction. Vaska was founded in Berkeley by a fashion designer who was searching for a detergent that was suitable for delicate fabrics, sensitive skin and the environment. She created this line of laundry products that are pure: they are 100% biodegradable, hypoallergenic, never tested on animals and are greywater safe. Their detergent does not contain pollutants, irritants, toxins, dyes, or binding agents which allows it to wash clean out of the fabric. Sounds pretty awesome, right?! Vaska even claims that their detergent is so pure, you could drink it (although I admit I wasn’t bold enough to put that claim to the test)! You can find out more about the company by visiting their website at www.vaskahome.com and on their Facebook page.

Vaska Baby is a new product from the company, just released in the last couple of months. It comes in the form of scent-free tablets that have no enzymes, phosphates or artificial dyes and thickeners which are often found in other leading baby detergents. The tablets leave behind no chemical residue, and my favorite part? The laundry comes out SOFT. Like, really, really soft. After the first load of laundry I figured it was a fluke so I tried it again, and then again, and again. And every time the laundry came out mind-numbingly soft. Then I thought maybe my water quality had changed so I ran a load of laundry with my usual chemical, dye, and scent-free laundry detergent, and that laundry came out totally normal. So once again I tried the Vaska, and what do you know, my clothes were impossibly soft again!

I am so in love with this detergent. Vaska Baby is my new go-to detergent for baby laundry and I can’t wait to try their regular detergent for the rest of my family! I hear they have a lovely lavender-scented version (my favorite!) that I really want to try. The Vaska product line includes Vaska Baby detergent tablets, Vaska liquid detergent (scent-free and lavender), a color-safe oxygen brightener, and a lavender-scented fabric softener. Prices range from $7.99-$12.99. If you are ready to buy some Vaska detergent for your family, check out their website to find a retail location near you. I will be purchasing the detergent at my local natural grocer or at Cost Plus World Market. (You can also find it online at drugstore.com, soap.com and vine.com.)

Also, if you are interested in trying Vaska, you might be interested in a sweepstakes that they are currently running. You could win a years worth of Vaska Perfect laundry detergent, plus a $500 Cost Plus World Market gift certificate to help create your perfect laundry room! Enter here: http://bit.ly/1hsT85M

For another chance to win, Stuff Parents Need has partnered up with Vaska to give away 2 bottles of Vaska Laundry Detergent – this ends up washing about 112 loads of laundry!

Win It: (2) 42 oz bottles of laundry detergent – winner’s choice of scent!

Be sure to enter our other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of this page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Incredible Detergent You May Not Know: Country Save (GIVEAWAY!!!)

June 10, 2011 · by Tiffany Merritt · 116 Comments

If you cloth diaper your child, you are most definitely going to read this post.

Or, if you are on the hunt for a more eco-friendly detergent for yourself and your family, but are none too impressed with the price tags for most options, you also need to keep reading.

Today I’m doing my part to bring a fantastic laundry detergent out from the shadows and into the spotlight. I’m certainly not claiming that I discovered this. On the contrary…thousands of people have been using it for several decades! But people seem to be rather quiet about it. I will occasionally hear another blogger talk about using it, but its only in passing, as if it is kind of a secret! Naturally, this made me very curious.

The detergent is called Country Save. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t until about 8 months ago, at a time when I was having some serious cloth diaper issues (repelling and MAJOR stink). The name was popping up on a few cloth diaper forums, with great success being reported with it. I couldn’t find it in any stores, but did see it available online.

Do you want to know why I didn’t buy it? Because it was about 33% cheaper than another brand of cloth diaper detergent that was so highly praised. So I was afraid that I would get what I paid for, and not in a good way! Isn’t that dumb?! But it’s true!

I’ve been talking with the President of Country Save (does that give you any indication of how connected they are with their customers?!) and he sent me some packets to review. I didn’t test this out with cloth diapers since D is now potty trained, but I used it on our clothes and everything came out fresh and clean!

One of Country Save’s best features is the fact that it doesn’t leave residue on your clothes. Most other detergents do…did you know that? Check out these results from an independent study done comparing residue left behind on a variety of detergents, most of which are “green”:

Country Save
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Bi-O-Kleen
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Seventh Generation
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Tide
90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Ecover 90F, 130ppm, 100 R.P.M.

Woah! This is crazy to see. And if you cloth diaper, then you know just how serious detergent build-up can be on your diapers. It causes all sorts of problems that you DON’T want!

I was also impressed to read that Country Save is the laundry detergent of choice for hotels that are members of the Green Hotels Association, and that includes many Wyndham and Hilton vacation resorts.

I really hope this post helps get the word out about Country Save. This is an ideal detergent for every family, cloth diapering or not, and it does just what it promises, and leaves you wearing fresh and clean clothes, not fresh and clean clothes plus detergent! 🙂 It is available for purchase through Amazon.com. I think you are really going to love it.

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win a 10 lb box of Country Save! The contest will run until June 20th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected via Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Go to the Country Save website and poke around a little bit. Tell me anything you learned there!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Like Country Save on Twitter
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need via email or RSS

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways found on my sidebar.

Disclosure: I received complimentary samples for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

How to Remove Yellow Stains in Baby Clothing

January 27, 2010 · by Tiffany Merritt · 361 Comments

Every new parent knows that laundry is the source of much stress and anguish. The pile of dirty laundry keeps growing despite your best efforts to throw clothes in the washer on a daily basis. The extra money you are spending on detergents is impacting your grocery budget. The yellow stains (from formula or breast milk) are your arch nemesis, and you are defeated by them constantly. I had no idea how to remove yellow stains like these. It was a mess!

Before Darah was born, we did 2 loads of laundry each week. Oh how I long for those days! Now we do anywhere between 4 and 7 loads of laundry each week for our family of 3. I remember doing a load of baby clothes for the very first time back in August. I was absolutely horrified that Darah’s precious little onesies were coming out of the wash with yellow stains set in them after being worn only once. This was well before the introduction of serious poo or of solid foods, too! Fortunately, my mother-in-law came to visit a week after the birth and she taught me how to make sure that all the stains in our laundry came out

What is her secret? It’s simple….Biz
Biz is a stain fighter that is aavailable in liquid or powder form. It can be applied directly to clothes to pre-treat them, or just added to your load of laundry along with your detergent. It has been around for over 40 years, and now I know why: because IT WORKS.

>How does it work? Well, I can’t get into all the scientific details with you, but the trick isn’t bleach or phosphates, because Biz doesn’t contain either of those. It does contain natural enzymes, though, and that makes it one heck of a stain fighter. Those enzymes break down the proteins that make up all those nasty stains; they basically don’t stand a chance!

I add Biz to every single load of laundry that I do in my house (it is safe for colors as well as whites and it works well on delicates). Here’s my personal method:1. Add regular laundry detergent and 1 scoop of Biz into the washing machine (I typically use about 1/4 of a cup of Biz for each load).
2. Add water and clothes to the machine.

3. When the washer begins to agitate, let it run for 1-2 minutes, and then stop the machine.

4. Let laundry soak for as long as possible (anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours, with longer soaks being best).

5. Turn the machine back on and let it finish the cycle.6. Open the machine to find TOTALLY clean clothes. Woo hoo!

Variation: My mother-in-law soaks her clothes in Biz alone, and then adds regular detergent when she starts the washing machine back up. She also has great results with her method. I do it differently because I often forget to add the detergent with this method!

You may think that soaking laundry for 8 hours isn’t practical, and it definitely isn’t for every load. But if you get in the habit of starting a load before you go to bed and finishing it when you wake up, or of starting a load before you head out the door for work and finishing it up when you get home, you’ll find it to be very doable, at least for some of your laundry!

Did you notice that my routine doesn’t include spraying down the stains with something like Shout? That’s because Biz does the work for me; I don’t have to seek out the stains! I have had success with removing blood, butter, sweat, all sorts of baby stains (I think you know what I mean!), food and juice (think raspberry Kool-Aid!). The truth is that since I started using Biz in August, I have not had a single stain set in on our clothes. Not one!!!

I can’t promise you that Biz will remove that year old wine stain from your cashmere sweater, but that’s because I’ve never tried this combo. Here are a few quotes from other satisfied customers who HAVE had success getting out some really old stains:

“I’ve been an antique dealer for as long as Biz has been in existence. I bought some of the ugliest lots of linens that came clean with overnight soaking. Victorian whites were blinding. I had other dealers crying for my ‘secret formula.’ I’ve tried newer products as they come into (and disappeared from) the marketplace, and always return to Biz.”

“I cannot believe what an incredible product BIZ is. My daughter-in-law brought over a box and asked if I could get a formula stain out of a red and white onesie that someone gave her. The stain was over a year old. I made a paste and it lifted the stain. Unbelievable!”

Edit: This giveaway is closed. Congratulations to #250!