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.
Check out our Detergent Section of our store to purchase some of our favorite, top rated detergents.
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 - send us an email. We also have a diaper laundry glossary and Detergent Ingredients Glossary.
=
Do Not Use for Cloth Diapers
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Uses fragrance/dyes/enzymes/brighteners
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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 | Bleach |
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*Mountain Green
Baby Detergent Purchase A PETA acceptable product | N/A | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
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*Mountain Green
Free and Clear Purchase | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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20 Mule Team
Borax | $0.25 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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All
Free and Clear | $0.18 | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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All
Baby Care Plus | N/A | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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All
Small and Mighty | $0.23 | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? |
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Allens
Naturally Powdered and Liquid Laundry Detergents | $0.26 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Arm & Hammer
FabriCare | $0.23 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
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Arm & Hammer
FabriCare Free | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Arm & Hammer
Essentials Free Note: The Mountain Rain edition has fragrance and dyes | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Arm & Hammer
Sensitive Skin | $0.20 | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Bio-O-Kleen
Laundry Powder | $0.20 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Bio-O-Kleen Free & Clear Powder
| $0.24 | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Bio-O-Kleen
Premium Plus Laundry Powder | $0.22 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Bio-O-Kleen
Liquid Laundry Detergent | $0.20 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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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 | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Charlie's Soap
Charlie's Soap Caution: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent. Note: see “Do Detergents Disinfect?” at bottom of page | $0.19 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Charlie's Soap
Charlie's Soap Caution: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent. Note: see “Do Detergents Disinfect?” at bottom of page | $0.19 | ? | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Cheer
Cheer | N/A | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
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Cheer
Free and Gentle | N/A | Yes | No | No | No | ? | ? |
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Country Save
Country Save Liquid | $0.19 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Country Save
Country Save Powdered Detergent | $0.16 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Dreft
Dreft | $0.27 | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | ? |
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Dropps
Liquid Laundry Pacs | $0.31 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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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 | ? |
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Ecos
Free and Clear Liquid | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Ecos
Magnolia & Lillies, Lavendar & Lemongrass Scents Note: scented Ecos contains coconut based surfactants and softeners as well as essential oils | $0.22 | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Ecos
Powdered Laundry Deteregent | N/A | No | No | No | No | Yes | ? |
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Ecover
Non Bio Laundry Vegan Approved | $0.47 | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
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EnviroRite
Laundry Detergent Ingredients: Deionized Water, Vegetable-Based Cleaning Agents, Surfactacts, Microbiostat | $0.19 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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GAIN
GAIN | $0.45 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
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GAIN
GAIN HE Powder | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Ivory
Snow may not be strong enough to launder cloth diapers | $1.20 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Kirkland's
Kirkland's Signature (Costco brand) This product is nearly identical to Tide | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No td> | ? |
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Kirkland's Signature
Environmentally Friendly contains vegetable based surfactants including those derived from coconuts | N/A | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | |
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Kirkland's Free and Clear (HE)
Costco brand | $0.15 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Lifekind
Naturally Safer Triple Concentrated Note: contains Seed & Pulp Extracts, Orange Peel Extracts, Surfactants from Coconuts. | $0.23 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Maggie's Soap Nuts
Maggie's Soap Nuts Note: 100% natural - Grows on Trees!!! | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Melaleuca
MelaPower | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
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Melaleuca
MelaPower Scent Free | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Method
HE Laundry Detergent | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? |
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Method
Baby Laundry Detergent | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Method
Free and Clear | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Mountain Green
Original Citrus A PETA acceptable product | N/A | No | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
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Nature Clean
All Natural Laundry Liquid | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | No |
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Nellie's
Nellie's Laundry Soda contains coconut oil based ingredients. | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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OXY-PRIME
OXY-PRIME Powder | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Penguin
Sport-Wash Restores factory applied waterproofing (DWR). Contains biodegradable vegetable surfactants | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Pink Solution
| $0.12 | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Planet
Ultra Powder | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Purex
Purex | N/A | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
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Purex
Baby | N/A | No | Yes | ? | Yes | No | ? |
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Purex
Free and Clear Note: Many moms have expressed satisfaction with this detergent. | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Rockin Green
Soft, Classic & Hard | $0.25-.30 | No | No | No | Optional | No | ? |
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SA8
Sensitive | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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SA8
BioQuest Concentrated | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
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SensiClean
SensiClean Note: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent. | N/A | No | No | No | No | ? | ? |
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Seventh Generation
Natural Laundry Baby | $0.53 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? |
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Seventh Generation
Free and Clear contains vegetable based surfactants and enzymes including those derived from coconuts | $0.53 | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | ? |
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Seventh Generation
Natural Laundry | $0.46 | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Shaklee
Liquid-L Note: HE version has been linked with rashes | $0.38 | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | ? |
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Sport-Wash
Residue Free Note: Some burns and rashes have been reported by users of this detergent. | $0.59 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Sun
Free Note: Many moms have expressed satisfaction with this detergent. | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Sun and Earth
Deep Cleaning | $0.24 | No | No | No | No | No | ? |
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Sunlight
Ultra Sensitive Skin | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Sunlight
Ultra Sensitive Skin HE | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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Surf
Surf | N/A | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
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Surf
Aloha Splash | N/A | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? |
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The Laundress
The Laundress Baby Detergent | $1.21 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? |
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Tide
Tide | $0.25 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Rating | Image | Detergent Brand and Name | Cost Per Load | Enzymes | Brighteners | Dyes | Fragrances | Softeners | Bleach |
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Tide
Free | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | ? |
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Tide
HE | $0.33 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | ? | ? |
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Trader Joe's
Cleanliness is Next to Godliness | N/A | No | No | No | No | No | ? | |
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Vaska
Herbatergent Lavendar and Non Scented Note: Contains plant based surfactants and lavendar contains essential oils | $0.32 | No | No | No | optional | No | ? |
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Wisk
Free Clear Ultra | N/A | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? |
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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:
Detergents received one or two stars based upon the amount of non-ideal ingredients they contain. Detergents that received three stars are mostly good but may contain at least one of the non-ideal ingredients, which means a little caution may be warranted when trying them. Detergents that received four stars have none of the non-ideal ingredients and should be a good place to start experimentation in finding the diaper detergent that will work best for you! If the YES/NO section for a particular ingredient has been left blank it is because we just don't know yet.Are you wondering about a detergent that is not seen here? Email us If possible, please include any known ingredients in the detergent of question.
We are currently researching these detergents:
Bio Pac
Melaleuca HE
Kirkland HE
Kirkland Free and Clear
Kirkland Free and Clear Ultra
Wonder Wash Artic Power
Shaklee HE
Shaklee fragrance free liquid
Ecos in Magnolia Lily
Natures Miracle pet and allergy
SA8
Sears Free
Arm & Hammer So Clean
Borax Natures Freshener Detergent booster
Planet Ultra
Oxyclean versatile
Seventh Generation delicate care
President’s Choice PC 2x Ultra free
Tide FREE - Sensitive Skin
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 often 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: These are actually tiny particles that stick to the surface of your clothes after washing. 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
laundry.
When left on your cloth diapers (and towels), this residue makes 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. One of our new favorite products is
The Static Eliminator Re-Usable Dryer Sheets. These sheets contain no chemicals and are hypoallergenic. In addition, they don't affect the flame resistance of clothing. Want to know the best part? They are safe for cloth diapers!
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/
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; dulling of colors in fabric. 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 cannot 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.
