Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

*** 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!