Detergents and Cloth Diapering

Detergents and Cloth Diapering

What detergent works best for washing cloth diapers? This is a loaded question since different detergents will work or not work to your satisfaction dependent on many different factors.  What works for one person's diaper laundry will not necessarily work for you and yours. This chart analyzes many different detergent choices and rates them so that you can find the best cloth diaper detergent for your diaper laundering needs. We also pinpoint detergents that work well with HE or High Efficiency washing machines and they have a page of their own as well. See how our rating system works below the chart. The percentages under the rating represents the results of our running poll, and how many moms use each detergent.

Want to leave a review for a detergent? Visit our Product Review Forum. We also have a diaper laundry glossary and Detergent Ingredients Glossary.

= Do Not Use for Cloth Diapers
= Uses fragrance/dyes/enzymes/brighteners
= Pretty Good
= Thumbs up!

Remember that even the detergents that have been given four stars will work differently based on the water, washing conditions, and individual children. Do some experimentation and find the option that works best for your family and your routine.

Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		20 Mule Team Borax	$0.25	No	No	No	No	No
		All Free and Clear	$0.18	No	Yes	No	No	No
		All Baby Care Plus	N/A	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
		All Small and Mighty	$0.23	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
		Allens Naturally Powdered and Liquid Laundry Detergents	$0.26	No	No	No	No	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Arm & Hammer FabriCare	$0.23	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		Arm & Hammer FabriCare Free	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Arm & Hammer Essentials Free Note: The Mountain Rain edition has fragrance and dyes	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Arm & Hammer Sensitive Skin	$0.20	No	Yes	No	No	No
		Bio-O-Kleen Laundry Powder	$0.20	No	No	No	No	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Bio-O-Kleen Premium Plus Laundry Powder	$0.22	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Bio-O-Kleen Liquid Laundry Detergent	$0.20	No	No	No	No	No
		Caldrea Sweet Pea Laundry Detergent Note: Contains plant-derived surfactants, Borax and essential oils of Geranium, Orange, Jasmine, Coriander, Rose and Bergamot. HE (front loader) compatible	$0.50	No	No	No	Yes	No
		Charlie's Soap Charlie's Soap Note: Controversy around the disinfecting abilities of this detergent have surfaced - see bottom of page for disinfectant information.	$0.19	No	No	No	No	No
		Charlie's Soap Charlie's Soap Note: Controversy around the disinfecting abilities of this detergent have surfaced - see bottom of page for disinfectant information.	$0.19	?	No	No	No	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Cheer Cheer	N/A	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
		Cheer Free and Gentle	N/A	Yes	No	No	No	?
		Country Save Country Save Liquid	$0.19	No	No	No	No	No
		Country Save Country Save Powdered Detergent	$0.16	No	No	No	No	No
		Dreft Dreft	$0.27	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Dropps Liquid Laundry Pacs	$0.31	No	No	No	No	No
		Earth Friendly Products Baby Hypoallergenic Laundry Soap Vegetable & Coconut Based Soap...may not be strong enough to launder cloth diapers	N/A	No	No	No	No	Yes
		Ecos Free and Clear Liquid	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Ecos Powdered Laundry Deteregent	N/A	No	No	No	No	Yes
		Ecover Non Bio Laundry Vegan Approved	$0.47	No	No	No	Yes	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		EnviroRite Laundry Detergent Ingredients: Deionized Water, Vegetable-Based Cleaning Agents, Surfactacts, Microbiostat	$0.19	No	No	No	No	No
		GAIN GAIN	$0.45	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		GAIN GAIN HE Powder	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		Ivory Snow may not be strong enough to launder cloth diapers	$1.20	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Kirkland's Kirkland's Signature (Costco brand) This product is nearly identical to Tide	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Lifekind Naturally Safer Triple Concentrated Note: contains Seed & Pulp Extracts, Orange Peel Extracts, Surfactants from Coconuts.	$0.23	No	No	No	No	No
		Maggie's Soap Nuts Maggie's Soap Nuts Note: 100% natural - Grows on Trees!!!	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Melaleuca MelaPower	N/A	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
		Melaleuca MelaPower Scent Free	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Method HE Laundry Detergent	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Method Baby Laundry Detergent	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Method Free and Clear	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Mountain Green Free and Clear	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Mountain Green Original Citrus A PETA acceptable product	N/A	No	No	No	Yes	No
		Mountain Green Baby Detergent A PETA acceptable product	N/A	No	No	No	Yes	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Nature Clean All Natural Laundry Liquid Pure castile soap - not suitable for cloth diapers	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Nellie's Nellie's Laundry Soda contains coconut oil based ingredients.	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		OXY-PRIME OXY-PRIME Powder	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Penguin Sport-Wash Restores factory applied waterproofing (DWR). Contains biodegradable vegetable surfactants	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Planet Ultra Powder	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Purex Purex	N/A	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
		Purex Baby	N/A	No	Yes	?	Yes	No
		Purex Free and Clear Note: Many moms have expressed satisfaction with this detergent.	N/A	No	Yes	No	No	No
		SA8 Sensitive	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		SA8 BioQuest Concentrated	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		SensiClean SensiClean Note: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent.	N/A	No	No	No	No	?
		Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Baby	$0.53	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
		Seventh Generation Free and Clear contains vegetable based surfactants and enzymes	$0.53	Yes	No	No	No	No
		Seventh Generation Natural Laundry	$0.46	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
		Shaklee Liquid-L	$0.38	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Sport-Wash Residue Free Note: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent.	$0.59	No	No	No	No	No
		Sun Free Note: Many moms have expressed satisfaction with this detergent.	N/A	No	Yes	No	No	No
		Sun and Earth Deep Cleaning	$0.24	No	No	No	No	No
		Sunlight Ultra Sensitive Skin	N/A	No	Yes	No	No	No
		Sunlight Ultra Sensitive Skin HE	N/A	No	Yes	No	No	No
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Surf Surf	N/A	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
		Surf Aloha Splash	N/A	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
		The Laundress The Laundress Baby Detergent	$1.21	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
		Tide Tide	$0.25	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	?
		Tide Free	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	?
Rating	Image	Detergent Brand and Name	Cost Per Load	Enzymes	Brighteners	Dyes	Fragrances	Softeners
		Tide HE	$0.33	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	?
		Trader Joe's Cleanliness is Next to Godliness	N/A	No	No	No	No	No
		Wisk Free Clear Ultra	N/A	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
		Woolite HE Note: Woolite has an alkaline pH that may strip wool fibers so wool users should use caution.	$0.25	No	No	No	?	No

How we rated the detergents:

Are you wondering about a detergent that is not seen here? Email us!

Want more information on HE or High Efficiency washing machines and a condensed list of HE detergents?

Why Avoid these Ingredients?

Pure Soap: Pure soaps are the more natural choice in the world of cleaners, but soaps will leave a residue on your diapers and covers – similar to the soap scum you find in your tub. Soap scum on diapers makes them repel moisture rather than absorb it and it is also harsh on the laminates used in your diaper covers, making them absorb rather than repel water. The best choice for washing your diapers is to use detergent on them. To combat build-up though, Annie Berthold-Bond, author of Better Basics for the Home recommends adding baking soda. “Start out with 1/4 cup of baking soda, and increase to 1/2 cup if you have very hard water,” she advises. Leave the soda in the water for ten minutes, then add the soap and clothes.

Enzymes: Enzymes attack organic matter and help dissolve stains when activated with water or moisture. Sweat, urine, and feces are all organic matter so there is a risk that these substances that are lingering on baby's skin will be a target for these enzymes. In particularly sensitive children these enzymes can cause blistering, bleeding, sores and rashes.

Fragrances and Dyes: These are harsh and unnecessary chemicals for a baby's laundry. It is best to avoid them. Artificial fragrances are made from petroleum. Many do not degrade in the environment, and may have toxic effects on both fish and mammals. Additionally, they often can cause allergies and skin or eye irritation.

Optical Brighteners: are actually tiny particles that stick to the surface of your clothes. These particles make colors appear to be brighter by absorbing invisible ultraviolet light and re-emitting it as blue light. If you want to see if your detergent has these brighteners, simply look at the detergent under a black light. Although these optical brighteners may make your clothes appear brighter, they are chemical residues that are intentionally left behind on your clothes and may cause skin irritation or other allergic reactions.

Fabric Softeners: Fabric softener, either in liquid or sheet form – leaves a water-repelling residue on your diapers, making them less absorbent and useful in the very purpose that they serve. It also coats your diaper covers and can deteriorate their water-proof laminate. If your diapers NEED softening add 1/2 cup baking soda to the rinse cycle of your wash. You can also try a commercial green fabric softener like Natural Choices Home Safe Product’s Safe ‘N Soft, Ecover’s Natural Fabric Softener, or Sun & Earth’s Ultra Fabric Softener. Dryer Balls also help soften laundry.

Do Detergents Disinfect?

Many people believe that a detergent is supposed to disinfect clothing or diapers but this is just not the case with most detergents. Detergents that contain something like chlorine bleach, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, will kill bacteria/viruses/fungi present in the laundry but detergents without these ingredients will clean only...not disinfect. Most cloth diaper users avoid the above mentioned ingredients because they are harsh on clothing and skin. When searching for the perfect diaper detergent for your family please keep in mind that most of the higher ranked detergents for diaper laundry will NOT disinfect diapers and it would unreasonable to expect such.

What Is Detergent Residue?

Detergent Residue is a film that is left behind on clothing or in this case cloth diapers. Why is this a problem? Detergent build-up and residue can lead to repelling or beading of liquid, leaks and wicking, skin rashes and irritation, stinky diapers and diaper covers, and a dulling of color. These all present problems for cloth diaper users so it is best to try and avoid detergent build-up and residue. Residue problems are usually caused by additives in your detergent such as brighteners, fabric softeners, natural additives like citrus extract or grapeseed extract, soaps, and stain guards. Well, what if it is too late and you have a build-up problem? The most common method for removing residue is to strip diapers. A study on detergent residues that compares ecover, biokleen, country save, and others can be found here.

Still Not Sure?
Make your own detergent!

Disclaimer:
Best efforts have been made in the preparation of this information. The Diaper Jungle has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained within this site is given without warranty, either expressed or implied. The Diaper Jungle can not be held liable for any damages caused directly or indirectly by the links and information on this site. In addition, changes and improvements to the information provided herein may be made at any time.