Born Green: Charlie's Soap

I have posted before about my desire to change my cleaning products to things that are more safe for my children and the environment. I also posted about both Dropps detergent, and Planet detergent. In my post on Planet detergent, I wrote that I really wanted to try out Charlie's Soap so I contacted them about the Born Green Giveaway. They were happy to participate, and to send me some product to test. When I asked about some of the "issues" people brought up about using Charlie's Soap, Taylor from Charlie's Soap, was happy to answer my questions, and I wanted to share his thoughts with all of you.

I'll let Taylor take over from here:

I noticed that one person had written a response on your Planet detergent review about how Charlie's allegedly caused burns. We've found the source of that "problem" and it's, unfortunately, operator error. Charlie's Soap isn't like other detergents at all. It doesn't just put a fresh coat of paint on an old problem like every other consumer brand out there. The reason I can make that blanket statement is because there is no consumer detergent brand available that has ever been used in textile mills for fabric manufacturing and quality control...except Charlie's Soap. What that means is that Charlie's is designed to strip everything off a fiber that's not supposed to be there: dirt, sweat, blood, dyes, detergent residues, etc... But since everything else out there does nothing but coat clothes in their own version of "clean", it can take several washings in a full dose of Charlie's Soap to chip away and finally remove those residues. During that transition, EVERY detergent in which that garment has been washed in the past gets activated and slowly pulled to the surface. So instead of one wash's worth of Tide being close to the skin, it's every wash that garment has seen. Lots gets pulled off and goes down the drain, no doubt. But until it's all gone, the nature of detergent + detergent interactions means that Charlie's is focusing all its efforts on cleaning that residue and ignoring the dirt. When the rinse cycle hits, the Charlie's and everything it's managed to attach to goes away. All of the Charlie's rinses away. But for the first few loads, it's left some old residues and dirt. The people put those clothes on after one wash in Charlie's, itch like mad, and blame the Charlie's when it's nowhere to be found. You must finish the transition period or else, you'll have that problem. Many people who do not have sensitive skin who skip this multiple wash prep, just notice their clothes getting softer and softer and more and more fragrance free as the washes progress until they're left with nothing but clean cotton.

Long story short, use a double dose of Charlie's Soap to clean out your washing machine. For adults with sensitive skin and babies, I recommend washing all their clothes 4-5 times in a full dose of Charlie's to break through the detergent residues and get them really clean for once. After that, it's just business as usually with a TBSP of the Laundry Powder per large load.

To read more about Charlie's Soap and how it has worked for us, click "Read More!" ------>

I have used my first couple of samples of Charlie's soap yesterday and today. I made sure that I did one load first with just a couple of old rags, and then washed some clothes. I didn't use fabric softener, and then dried them. They came out soft, very white, and smelling plain- just clean! No one in our house has sensitive skin (or has shown any problems with detergents in the past) but I will be watching the kids, and if they do have problems, I am going to wash things a few times to be sure. I can see where it would be hard to switch, but once you make the switch, you are assured to have VERY clean, soft clothes while also protecting the environment.

The First Place Prize winner will get to try out some Charlie's Soap! Charlie's Soap will send you a package of their famous soap for you to test out in your own home! Happy Cleaning!