Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I find the different options for Biokleen laundry detergent a little confusing but their own website clarifies this fairly well. There are three options: 1) Free and Clear is the most popular option and contains their basic set of ingredients such as sodium carbonate, surfactant, hydrogen peroxide, etc. 2) Citrus essence contains all of the ingredients of Free and Clear, plus one extra: orange peel extract. That’s the only difference – the scent. 3) Premium Plus contains the ingredients of Free and Clear, plus three extra: orange peel extract, proteases (these are enzymes which can digest protein-based stains on clothes), and Oxygen Bleach (which is sodium percarbonate). So, it comes down to this: if you don’t want the citrus scent then choose Free and Clear. If you don’t mind the scent then, of the remaining two options, I would recommend the Premium Plus. That’s what I’m using at the moment. A word about the extra ingredients: the proteases are produced by fermentation (of yeast or bacteria) and are not harmful to the environment. The oxygen bleach is sodium percarbonate, which is actually sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide mixed together. Sodium carbonate is made from salt and limestone and is environmentally safe while hydrogen peroxide is manufactured from water and air using a catalyst (which is recycled) and then breaks down into water during your wash. Incidentally, EWG previously gave a “D” grade to Biokleen detergents, but they have since received more information on the formulations and have upgraded them to “A” for human safety. EWG are sometimes sketchy – in this case they gave a D grade because the ingredient “Surfactant” could be any one of a thousand things, some of which are harmful. Now that they know the exact surfactant in the product they rate it as not harmful. The Biokleen Premium Plus formulation is pretty similar to that of Seventh Generation, except that the Seventh Gen product has extra enzymes (amylase for starchy stains). I like that company too but haven’t tried their laundry detergent. I find the trend towards ultra-convenient products such as Tide Pods unsettling. Are we really too lazy or incompetent to measure out some detergent? The gel that encases these pods is of some concern and their use of bright dyes to make their detergent more eye-catching is also unnecessary. The water soluble gel used in “Pods” is composed of polyvinyl alcohol, made from polymers of vinyl acetate which Dow Chemical states is “highly toxic to fish” and can cause cancer. Is this risk really worth the benefit of not having to measure a scoop of detergent? Besides that, P&G do still conduct some animal testing – not for Tide, but I still don’t want to support them. I think Biokleen is one of the most socially and environmentally responsible laundry detergents out there. They purchase wind power credits to offset their energy usage and also contribute to a river water restoration project (and use cold water for their manufacturing process in Washington). Their ingredients and final products are not tested on animals and they use compostable or recyclable materials for the majority of their packaging. The Biokleen laundry powders are extremely concentrated, reducing energy used for shipping as well as packaging materials (which is a bare minimum of a cardboard box and plastic bag). One note on the product concentration – some people reported their clothes smelling bad (or about the same as pre-wash smell) after washing, even if they use twice as much detergent. Using more than the recommended amount of detergent is actually the cause of the smell, because you end up with excess surfactant left over on your clothes. You can think of this surfactant as fat, basically, which will turn rancid (smelly) and encourage bacterial growth. I use half a scoop in a front-loading HE washing machine and have no complaints. Overall, I prefer the Premium Plus option but have found the Free and Clear and Citrus Essence varieties to be good too. I rate all of them 5/5 gold stars for price and quality and 5/5 green stars for social and environmental responsibility.