The never ending wash pile …

There are only four of us most of the time and yet we have a never ending wash pile in our home. It is a little victory when I see the bottom of the basket every once in a blue moon. My husband is a surveyor, and clambering around on conservatory roofs, ladders and grimey work vans, meaning he gets more than a little grubby. My daughter is doing a Btec in design meaning all forms of paint, pen and pastel usual end up on her crisp white shirts. As for the smallest in the family, well he is the biggest dirt magnet going! He uses his t-shirts as napkins to clean his face, tissues to wipe his nose and a towel to dry his freshly cleaned mits! He goes through clothes faster than I can whip my bra off and get my pjs on in the evening. And that’s pretty fast.

 

 

Add to all the dirt magnetism of my family the added bonus of sensitive skin and eczema, and washing becomes a laborious chore of finding detergent that will not only shift stains but also be kind to their skin. All too often the trade-off has been mediocre stain removal, with no skin reactions, and this is the best case scenario most of the time. We do not use fabric softener either for the same reasons, because no matter how ‘gentle’ it purports to be I can guarantee one of them will come out in some kind of reaction.

 

As a result I have been using the same detergent now for about 6 years. It is a non-bio one I found that worked for everyone. The only drawback is that it doesn’t smell of anything. I miss the scent from fabric softener that filled the house with the smell of clean. In the summer I used to be able to smell the scent from the clothes hanging on the line, or when I opened the linen cupboard. Now I have to substitute with scent bags, which lets face don’t really do the same thing when you snuggle down under fresh sheets!

 

So when Ecover extended an invite to challenge their Non-Bio Concentrated Laundry Detergent, I jumped at the chance. Especially as I was desperate to inject a bit of scent back into my laundry again. The scent of the detergent was lavender and sandalwood, which I was initially dubious about but I ended up liking it a lot more than expected. It smelt very natural to me, not too over powering and nothing that would cause concern with two kiddos who find smells a difficulty.

 

 

I’ll be honest and say I put the detergent through its paces. I started with some of Cal’s tops which had been used as napkins with some saucy dinners. Tomato sauce is always one of the more difficult stains to remove from his clothing, and stain removers or oxy cleaners are off limits because of his sensitive skin. I also threw in some bed sheets and his school uniform. In for a penny, in for a pound! His clothes are the most difficult to keep clean, so I thought I may as well begin as I mean to go on. I threw everything in on a single load, even his little white vests. I wanted to test the colour fastness of the detergent, which I know is rubbish in my current one and usually lands me with greys instead of whites if even one rogue black sock makes it in to the machine.

 

The first thing I noticed when I put the liquid in was the absence of colour, it was a clear liquid and I kind of liked that fact. It reinforced the ‘no added extras’ of the brand for me, something I try to keep in mind when purchasing cleaning products and detergents. You know, trying to do my bit for the planet. The very subtle scent was also something I noticed when the load had finished too. I had forgotten how much I really do miss the smell of fabric softener, and the fact the Ecover Non-Bio Concentrated Laundry Detergent had the scent built in was a little bit of a winner for me.

 

I laid my boys t-shirts on the table and I was really pleasantly surprised to see no sign of tomato sauce on his tops. There wasn’t even the faint orange tinge my usual detergent leaves. Even his school uniform came out looking better! His little white vests came out still white, which I was super impressed with. That in itself is a game changer on washing as it means I don’t have to sort and separate the loads as they go in. That could potentially save me a lot of time during the course of week, time I could now spend drinking hot coffee instead of tepid ones!

 

 

I have yet to if the detergent will cause flare ups in the kids’ eczema, but so far neither of them seem to be suffering. Which is a minor miracle right there! Even the teenager seemed to like it – secretly hoping she takes over all her own washing going forward as a result. Wishful thinking but a Mum can hope.

 

Another plus I noted was how little of the Ecover Non-Bio Concentrated Laundry Detergent you actually needed to put into a wash. I’ll be honest and say that I have often steered clear of some detergents because they just didn’t feel good value for money per wash, but I was really pleasantly surprised with this one! And I can see why so many Mumsnet Mums rated it.

 

Would I recommend it? Yes I think I would. To me it offers peace of mind I am using a safe product on my kids, that it will withstand even the grottiest of dirt magnets in my boy and because it has the added bonus of being environmentally friendly without me having to do anything too drastic in my already frantic mum life. Winner winner.

 

I’ve got a couple of loads worth left in my bottle of Ecover Non-Bio Concentrated Laundry Detergent, and I will be using it to the very last drop! Will I replenish it? Definitely, and I may even give one of the fabric softeners a go too … just need to decide which scent to try first!

 

Sophie x

 

Disclaimer:

I was gifted the Ecover Non-Bio Concentrated Laundry in order to test and provide my feedback according to my individual experience of using the product, which I have done. The opinions expressed in this post are therefore entirely my own based on my personal experience of using the product sent. This post is an entry for BritMums #EcoverLaundry Challenge, sponsored by Ecover.