Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder (100 Loads, 3 Pack)

I've probably used a dozen+ different eco-friendly laundry detergents over this years, and this one is absolutely the best to date. Even beats out the top-end Biokleen was I using before. The highlights: - Fantastic price; my bag lasts forever - Gets absolutely everything clean and odor-free, including the fleece pads I line my guinea pig cages with - The only loads I use hot water on are towels, sheets, and guinea pig bedding, and that's for the disinfecting. Everything else? Cold water. Everything smells fresh. It's fantastic. - Busts stains very well on its own, especially grease - Doesn't fade, thin, or weaken my clothes (see below) - Zero rashes, hives, or sneezing problems despite my absurdly sensitive allergies - No need to add extra washing soda to soften the water; it's built in - Rinses clean, as evidence by nice, soft, not-stiff towels and no white marks unless I goof up (see below) A couple of tips: - If you have a top load, always always always put the detergent in before the clothes, and make sure it hits the water so it can dissolve before clothes land all on it. The only time I've ever had white marks was when I decided to add a little bit more detergent after I'd dumped all my clothes in. However I can see the potential for dissolving problems if you have particularly hard water. You might want to use the Charlie's liquid over this or DIY your own liquid by dissolving the powder in water. - If you're switching from standard detergents, make sure you de-gunk your washing machine, especially if you used a lot of scents and softeners before. You can Google "how to clean washing machine" for easy tutorials. No scrubbing involved. (If you have a front load, don't miss flushing the detergent dispenser with hot vinegar) - Oxygen bleach and borax are absolutely amazing companions to this stuff. Only the nastiest of stains or most set-in of stains ever need pretreatment. - I've never, ever had Charlie's fade the colors on a well-made item washed in cold water. Cheaper clothes, on the other hand... Your Target, Walmart, and even a lot of Kohls shirts aren't the best-made things on the planet. Any item that isn't made to be solidly colorfast, using good dyes and good setting technique with deliberately bad rinsing to make it just look vibrant on the rack, will fade regardless of what detergent you use. If you're worried fading, you can buy dye fixitives and try them on for size. (Skip those vinegar and salt tricks you see on the internet; salts and acids are used in the dyeing process itself but can't do much in the aftermath.) I'd recommend Charlie's to anybody for pretty much every application.

This is hands down, the best laundry soap I have ever used. I sspent the better part of a year trying to figure out why my clothes had started to smell bad. This included purchasing a new washer which worked great, but at some point I noticed that faint musty smell coming back. I have finally found the culprit. Liquid laundry detergent. There are numerous articles out there about the use of fats or other products in liquid detergent that cause it to build up both in your machine and on your clothes. Google "how to clean the drum in my washer" and find the disgusting results. This build up ruined my washer and left deposits in my clothes that trapped stinky mold. And this happened using less than the recommended amount per load on the advice of my appliance repair business family. This problem is so bad, there is a setting on my new washer called "Affresh" which is a product that cleans all of the garbage left by liquid detergents. The manufacturer of the washer recommends running the cycle with the Affresh tablet once per month. Spolier alert, it doesn't work all that well. The stink is still trapped in your clothing by the gooey liquid laundry detergent even with a clean washer. After this revelation, I tried other powders and finally found this to be the best. I have been using this soap now for about 6 weeks and my clothes have never been cleaner. They smell clean. They feel clean. Even my old t-shirts that I loved that I thought I would have to throw out, now smell clean again. They took a few washings to get the gunk out, but it eventually worked. Also, I am alergic to perfumes and pretty much everything. I've had no problems with this soap at all. No rashes, no itching. There are a couple of issues brought up in the comments that I was concerned about before purchasing this soap. The first was the person who said this clogged their pipes. Each load takes 3/4 of a tablespoon. That is truly all you need. Judging from the pictures posted it is clear to me that more was used as the soap is not dissolved. More soap is not better. Follow the directions. Which leads to the second issue. The pictures showing how the soap "bleached " their black shirts. This happened to me once as well. When I didn't follow the directions. I have a high efficiency top loader and the directions for use clearly indicate that the soap should be placed at the bottom of the machine underneath the clothes. This is so the soap has a chance to dissolve. The high efficiency machines use way less water. If you just sprinkle it on top of the clothes it could rub into them before dissolving. I did this once when I thought I forgot to put soap in. But I probably did. So I had twice as much soap in there as well. One of my black shirts came out with that same "bleach" mark. Except it isn't bleached. Bleach leaves kind of a purple mark on black clothing. It was excess soap, which came out of the shirt the next time I washed it properly. Buy this soap. Throw out the liquid GARBAGE. Follow the directions and and once again, love your laundry without having to throw everything out after a year. I've tried other powdered soaps and this simple formula, devoid of all the additives is THE best.

Best detergent ever. Just soap. Hypoallergenic and gets my laundry done cleaner than any other brand. No perfume to cover up smells. Effectiveness of dirt and stain removal is top of the line.

*** 5/24/2019 Update *** Believe it or not, I recently discovered the “heavy” setting on my front load washer. I was always intimidated to use it because the user manual said to use it on color-fast/sturdy garments. I started using it for my husband’s work clothes and saw it used a much better amount of water and got his clothes super clean. I now wash all of our clothes on that cycle, but I use the permanent press for my work clothes which also uses a lot more water than the “normal” setting. Since this change, I now use the recommended dosage of Charlie’s soap with incredibly fantastic results; I don’t think our clothes have ever been this clean. I no longer use dryer sheets (I think they contributed to the residue feel, oops) and our clothes are so soft. I am a Charlie’s Soap user for life! Sadly, my Charlie’s Soap had been sitting on a shelf in my laundry room for a good while; ever since I got my front load washer I have had a love hate relationship with it and I had to stop using Charlie’s because it stopped working for me at that time. When I had my standard washer, I would use a scoop to a scoop and a half if the load was especially soiled. When I got my front load high efficiency (FL HE) washer I used about a scoop and my clothes were left with residue. And what was confusing to me was Charlie’s Soap’s website even tells you to use an amount of detergent for the weight or size of the load, not based on whether it’s high efficiency or a standard washer, so that’s what I did. That resulted in dingy, itchy, and not so fresh clothing. I started to use the liquid Charlie’s and only used about a tablespoon of the liquid, which is half the suggested amount, and although I had pretty good results, I hated how messy it was. I then tried Nellie’s and although that rinsed more cleanly, the stain fighting power wasn’t there, then I tried Molly’s and that was even worse. So then I was talking (or complaining) to my friend who also has a FL HE washer, but she uses Norwex’s UPP, and she said she only uses a half of a teaspoon to one teaspoon of the UPP per load. I found that hard to fathom but her point was you just can’t expect an HE washer that uses so little water to perform well with too much detergent. The detergent can’t rinse clean so stains and dirt aren’t effectively washed then rinsed away. The logic was there since I know that with a normal wash cycle on my FL’er, I can’t even see the water level, it uses so little water. Finally, although it was really hard for me at first, I decided to take my friend’s advice. I had a small/medium load that needed washed. There was a grass stained shirt and some stinky campfire clothes mixed in the load and I used just a 1/2 teaspoon of Charlie’s and guess what!!?! The clothing came out sparkling clean and smelling like nothing! Just like they did when I used Charlie’s with my standard washer. I didn’t want to get too excited but I continued on this path and now I use 1/2 teaspoon with a small/medium load, 1 teaspoon with a medium/large load and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons for extra large loads (no matter the size of a load of towels I always use 1/2 a teaspoon). For bedding I use 2 teaspoons, or 2/3’s of a tablespoon, because the bedding cycle uses more water and it’s such a large load. Now I am soooo happy that I didn’t give up on Charlie’s because I finally don’t have the love/hate relationship with my front loader anymore and my clothing is just the way I like, fresh, clean and smells like nothing. I am also convinced that most people who leave poor reviews are simply using too much detergent. I know it all varies depending on your type of high efficiency washer and the softness/hardness of your water, but my washer uses very little water and my water is pretty soft so this is what works for me. So my advice is to experiment and not give up. You may not think what works is enough detergent but, it’s so highly concentrated and such a good product, when you add the correct amount it can perform the way it’s supposed to. It’s absolutely, hands down, my favorite “green” detergent ever. I never thought I would get this excited about a “laundry detergent” but I take pride in providing clean clothes for my family that I know are safe for them. And I love that it’s also safe for the environment. I still pretreat stains, when I remember, but this detergent just works so well. Sorry for the long review, I am just excited and wanted to share what worked for me!

I have now used the soap in my high efficiency washer using only the measured cup for over two months and can write an informed review. Firstly, as stated elsewhere, after a few washes clothing does become softer and shinier if it has synthetic fibers in it (this probably because the fibers are not saturated with excess detergent). The overall stain removal of the detergent is excellent to very good and clothing does feel very clean to the touch, and works especially great in cotton linen and underwear. However, because it does not contain fragrances it can be a bit disorienting. Further, if one item with a strong smell is washed with others on occasion the other items might acquire the smell. For example, to be good to the environment we use 100% cotton terry shop towels in the kitchen as opposed to paper towels. If one towel is saturated in oils, its smell can migrate to other clothing items. This, of course, might happen with standard detergents but due to the perfume that they include it might be hidden away. So some thought might help when planning the wash (I confess we have not separated colors for years with rarely a problem). A particular plus of this detergent is that it amazingly removes **all** sweat smell from synthetic running clothes, something no other soap had ever achieved in my many years of running and biking and hiking. The clothes leave the wash and drier as new, which is quite something. An additional plus is that I am fairly sensitive to allergens and occasionally had unexplained "itch" attacks where I just felt itchy all over... even with hypoallergenic detergents. These "attacks" have not been repeated while using this detergent. Highly recommended and highly economic (do not use more than the amount specified by the included measured cup). *** 2011 Update *** I am adding an update to my 2010 review. First, I am lamenting the new packaging. From an eclectic canvas bag to a conventional plastic tub... Bring back the canvas bag!!! After using it for over a year I have to say that I have found synthetic clothes that do keep some smell in them even after using this soap... Still, the soap has outperformed all other soaps I have tried before. I am also finding that this detergent can get some natural pigments over cotton bleed (something that did not happen with Tide and other conventional detergents). Of course, I should be sorting the wash... so this is more of an operator error than a problem with the soap. Still, I continue to be pleased with this detergent and I have saved many dollars and weekly trips to the grocery store to get more detergent. Rating remains at a well deserved excellent. ** 2013 Update ** I am sorry to say that I found that after many washings, it appears that the detergent might make clothing stretch and turn "bigger". Keep an eye on it. I have compared it to (horror of all horrors) Tide Coldwater, and suspect that this Tide formulation is on pair...

I recently made the switch from Planet Ultra Powder to Charlie's Soap and am happy to say that so far my experience has been positive--much better than my time spent getting "acquainted" with the Planet detergent. My reason for switching detergents was primarily due to curiosity. Despite finally finding a routine (i.e, detergent amount and wash cycles) that worked for my laundry needs, I had begun to wonder if there was something better out there than what I was currently doing/using. My main reasons for switching to green laundry detergent was because I wanted something "gentle" for my kiddos and also for cloth diapering. With Planet, my typical wash routine for my cloth diapers was quite tedious. The experience was plagued with quite a few trials (and errors) before I was able to find the exact (minimum) amount to use that would both clean and NOT cause rashes. Due to the major sudsing that I experienced with it (Front Load washer), I would have to do 2-3 extra washes (without detergent) just to remove the soap residue. At the end of all of this, my diapers were left feeling VERY crunchy. Also, I was never quite satisfied with how it "cleaned" my towels. I always felt like there was something left behind--whether that was soap residue or prior-usage residue. The smell clued me in that maybe I should look into alternatives. This is when I decided to give Charlie's a try. It has been about two weeks since I started to use Charlie's and I must say that the FEEL of my cloth diapers alone has made my day. I noticed that the detergent does wash away with fewer wash cycles than the Planet and it also left my cloth feeling MUCH softer! Also, the smell. . .they smelled A LOT better. With the planet they smelled clean but nothing like with the Charlie's. So, now I am wondering if they REALLY were clean. Also, my towels smell (and feel) a lot better too! Since first using green detergents about 5 years ago, I have learned that there is quite a bit left to be desired when it comes to stain removal--and this is the same for both Planet and Charlie's. For comparisons, I did notice that some stains that Planet was not able to remove (after about 3 washes), Charlie's seem to do a better job (with just 1 wash). In my opinion neither are as great as the non-green detergents when it comes to stain removal but that is not enough for me to go back to using those old products. For my washing needs, I have been able to find an acceptable solution for the hard-to-remove, set-in stains: Shout Advanced for HE washers and/or Bac-out. Both of these additions to my laundry routine has definitely made my experience with these green detergents equally as positive as when I used non-green detergents. I know that each household and their washers are different. Right now, I am using a somewhat smaller FL load and my water is neither hard or soft. I am currently in the process of replacing my 8 year old FL with a newer, larger model. So, I hope that my experience remains at least the same. . .but I do expect that my experience will only improve. Also, I like the fact that Charlie's recommends using less detergent than Planet. But after using the recommended amount on my first couple of loads, I felt like they did not come out as cleans as they could have (ex. kid-inflicted stains and grime). So, I did take the advice of other reviewers to use a little more than what was recommended (1.5 to 2 scoops). . .and I do feel like this helped with the cleaning action. There was a little more suds than what occurred with the 1 scoop but the Charlie's still appeared to rinse away better than the Planet. Unfortunately, this will definitely diminish the economic factor of the Charlie's when compared to Planet Ultra. Anyway, so far, so good. . .and I do plan to update this review if anything changes.

We've tried Method Free & Clear (which works well, but isn't gentle to skin), Mountain Green Baby (which not only caused the kids' eczema to flare horribly, but gunked our washer), and Seventh Generation (which simply doesn't clean clothes). We had exhausted all our option for free & clear detergents our local stores carry, and so I turned to the internet to see what else might be out there. Then I happened onto Charlie's. We started with one bag of powdered detergent and no real expectations one way or the other. I was dubious of the single tablespoon per load, but let me tell you, my kids play outdoors, slop food on their clothes, and this one tablespoon full gets their clothes clean. In all fairness, I confess we do stain treat for bad stuff - blood, red clay, ketchup, the like - with Ecover - but this is necessitated by my lax laundry habits; I let the clothes sit a few days, and sometimes even a week before washing them. Charlie's Soap has a really mild smell. It's detergent-y, but with the scents stripped away. Clothes washed in Charlie's come out smelling, well, clean, mild, inoffensive. But then, I'm not a fan of masking smells with phthalate-containing perfumes anyway. One of the few negative reviews on Charlie's Soap mentions that the ingredients are not the all-natural wholesome things you should be putting on your clothes, and that if they were they wouldn't clean as effectively as they do. The bag says non-toxic, but should you trust that? The MSDS sheet for Charlie's Soap states the same thing, none of the ingredients are considered to be toxic or hazardous. And unlike detergents by companies like Ecover - whose MSDS sheet says spills should be treated like toxic waste - the MSDS sheet on Charlie's says if you spill a little, just sweep it up and wash it down the drain. I can't find anything to support the assertion that the effectiveness suggests it's made from toxic ingredients. In my opinion, it's definitely safer alternative to most of what's out there - even the most self-promoting ecological companies. If you go to Charlie's website they also have analysis on how clean Charlie's Soap rinses from clothes after washing in comparison with other leading brands, and as they claim - it does rinse clean. So much so that it was comparable with water. I like that Charlie's has the test data easily available to support their claims. Bottom line: I feel pretty safe using Charlie's Soap on our laundry. I feel like I'm committing less of a crime against the environment, as Charlie's Soap is biodegradable and phosphate-free, making it non-toxic to aquatic life. It's been the only thing that has improved our children's eczema, detergent-wise. We used Charlie's Soap through this past winter, and though we've made other changes to our lifestyle, I think the Charlie's played a part in keeping the kids 100% eczema free for the 6 months we've been using it. This doesn't make its hypoallergenic properties a guarantee, but it does make Charlie's worth a shot if your children are suffering a chemically-aggravated dermatological condition. So, Charlie's works. It does everything it claims to, and for our family, it has done more. But the most impressive part is that this detergent does this as a fraction of the cost of the inferior junk you buy at the grocery store. That's just too cool. Besides it comes in a really neat reusable unbleached cotton bag, with their great retro-style logo! I'm sold on Charlie's Soap, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to live more in harmony with the environment, bring less toxins in their homes, or just those who are looking for good old-fashioned clean clothes. Try it, I think you'll agree.

I have been using this almost exclusively (made a mistake one time to try something else for some odd reason) for about 6 years at least. Its wonderful. It cleans thoroughly, it dissolves in cool water (I don't do cold or hot - exclusively cool or warm), it get my clothes clean, and it doesn't smell like anything but somehow my clothes smell so good when I pull them out of the dryer. And the big bonus here is that I do not get washing machine funk. I just leave my front load machine door open when not in use. I don't use dryer sheets, just wool balls instead, and I just cleaned my dryer vent for the first time in four years (the vent itself, not the lint trap - I do that every load). There was hardly anything in there. Because your clean clothes are actually clean and aren't covered in sticky residue like using other liquids or fabric softeners. It doesn't create gunky, sticky lint. Also, I have eczema and it doesn't bother my skin. Did I mention it cleans really well? It's even made in the state where I live so it's semi-local. I won't buy anything else. It's perfect.

Works brilliantly. Whites come up much brighter than with the big brand clothes detergents. It doesn't leave the clothes smelling of anything much (other than mildly soapy) but that's perfect if they can be dried outside to pick up the sweet smell of fresh air. Only gripe is that the powder gets stuck in the drawer of the machine so I've got to help mix it into the water every time.

Para quienes no queremos usar detergente para lavar ropa, este jabón funciona

I have really sensitive skin and seem to have a reaction to most detergents, even the hypoallergenic ones. I decided to give Charlie’s a try after doing some research. I was very pleased that my skin doesn’t itch after washing my clothes with it.

敏感肌用の洗剤を探していたらたどり着きました。環境配慮系の洗剤です。 無香料にありがちな安いせっけんの匂いがしたりするのかなと思っていましたが全然違いました。 昔読んだ英語のレビューで「変な言い方をするが、ただの服の匂いがしてそしてそれが最高だ」というものがあったのですが、使ってみて良く分かりました。薄手のタオルを水洗いして干したような香りというか、着た後の匂いは全くなく、洗えているのに洗剤の香りはしません。 汚れ落ちについては強力な洗剤と比較する類のものではないかなとあまり気にしていません、すみません笑。 洗剤の香りが好きな人には向かないかもしれませんが、私はもう香り付きには戻れない気がします。慣れると洗剤の匂いが、自然ではない気になる匂いだなあと思うようになってしまいました。そして、それに私はとても満足しています。

I started using Charlie’s soap 15 years ago and never liked another one. It gets the clothes clean without any residue or unnecessary scent.