Discovering Nellie’s Laundry Soda
My choice of laundry detergent has evolved a lot over the years as I have learned more about environmental toxins and the dangerous chemicals lurking in our personal care products and cleaning supplies. Many traditional laundry detergents can contain ingredients that are known or suspected carcinogens, as well as endocrine disrupting chemicals. If you haven’t checked out my non-toxic laundry detergent post and want to learn more about what chemicals to avoid in a laundry detergent, check it out here.
When buying a laundry detergent, I want something fragrance free, with minimal ingredients that have little to no health safety concerns, and an affordable price for a family of 4 who does plenty of laundry. I have discovered what I think is the best choice for a safe, affordable laundry detergent suitable for families looking for a non-toxic option: Nellie’s Laundry Soda.
What Chemicals to Avoid in a Laundry Detergent
As a quick review, I’ll touch on some of the chemicals found in laundry detergents that you definitely want to avoid:
- Fragrance: Using the umbrella term “fragrance” is an easy way for companies to hide many different chemicals in a product without having to disclose each specific ingredient. These often include endocrine disrupting chemicals and are absolutely not necessary to clean your laundry.
- Sodium Borate: An endocrine disruptor, allergen, skin irritant, and can cause reproductive and developmental harm.
- 1, 4-Dioxane: Known by the CDC to cause cancer, and can also cause respiratory, skin, and eye irritation.
- Buffers: Some buffers can cause developmental and reproductive harm with over-exposure and can be toxic if ingested.
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate: This surfactant can enhance the removal of dirty and grime but can irritate the skin in certain concentrations. Can be irritating for those with sensitive skin, rosacea, or rash easily.
Ingredients in Nellie’s Laundry Soda
Nellie’s Laundry Soda is a fragrance-free laundry detergent that has just four ingredients:
- Sodium Carbonate – acts as a water softener and cleaning agent; also known as washing soda and is used as a cleansing agent in soaps. It’s not known to cause any reproductive harm, it does not contain any hazardous air pollutants, and it’s considered not toxic under the Clean Water Act (1). However, it can be an irritant if it’s placed directly on the skin or gets in the eyes.
- Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate– a surfactant often added to laundry detergents and skincare products that aids in the cleaning process. No evidence of reproductive or developmental toxicity, does not usually cause skin irritation unless used in higher concentrations than that of laundry detergents. Alcohol Ethoxylates can however produce small amounts of 1,4-dioxane as a by-product, which is a possible carcinogen. I did reach out to Nellie’s Laundry Soda for more information as some manufacturing practices can account for lower concentrations of this by-product.
- Sodium Chloride – salt
- Sodium Metasilicate – Helps emulsify grease and oils. An inorganic salt that is used in hair color and detergents. In laundry it’s used as a detergent booster. Can cause skin/eye/respiratory irritation but is considered non-toxic and non-carcinogenic.
Nellie’s Laundry Soda EWG Rating
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit organization that provides information on the safety of ingredients in things like personal care products, cleaning products, laundry detergents, etc. They have lists of products that are EWG “verified”, which means they do not contain any ingredient that the EWG finds cause for concern. For products that are not EWG verified, they rank them from an A-F rating based on the level of concern for hazardous ingredients.
Nellie’s Laundry Soda scores a reassuring “A” with EWG. They noted that there is “some concern” for respiratory effects, and some concerns for cancer. This is likely due to the potential presence of 1, 4-dioxane as a by-product of the Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate, even though it’s not a listed ingredient. They list there is low concern for environmental effects, as well as low concerns for reproductive and developmental toxicity. To check out the EWG listing for Nellie’s Laundry Soda, click here.
How to Use Nellie’s Laundry Soda
Nellie’s Laundry Soda is a highly concentrated formula, which means a little goes a long way. All you need is one tablespoon for a regular load of laundry! It’s compatible with HE washers, and Nellie’s recommends you put the detergent straight into the drum of the washer as opposed to the detergent dispenser. I have found that even with using such small amounts of detergent, my laundry is just as clean as before.
Where to Buy Nellie’s Laundry Soda
I happened to purchase my Nellie’s Laundry Soda when it was on sale at Costco. They sell a tub that contains enough detergent for 500 loads of laundry! That will last my family of four an entire year. Not only that, but I’m also reducing my waste by not having to buy multiple detergent jugs throughout the year. My suggestion for cost effectiveness and reducing your environmental waste would be to buy the 500-load tub at Costco. I purchased mine online from Costco for $55 and it shipped to my house. If you just want to try it out and don’t want to commit to such a large quantity of detergent, you can purchase directly on their website at Nelliesclean.com, or on Amazon.
Overall Thoughts on Nellie’s Laundry Soda
I am happy I purchased Nellie’s Laundry Soda. Its highly concentrated formula means I only have to use one to two tablespoons depending on the size of my load of laundry. Even with how little I use, it’s strong enough to really get my clothes clean. It has simplified my laundry routine and I love that I don’t have to worry about buying laundry detergent again for an entire year!
The only downside to this detergent that I can find is the potential for the presence of 1, 4-dioxane, despite the EWG giving Nellie’s Laundry Soda an “A” rating. Aside from that, this laundry detergent is fragrance free, contains minimal ingredients, and is cost effective if purchased in bulk compared to many other natural or non-toxic laundry detergents. Since it’s a powder it wastes far less water than liquid detergents, and the 500-load tub reduces plastic consumption. I think Nellie’s Laundry Soda is a strong contender for an affordable, safe, effective laundry detergent and I will continue to work through my 500-load tub!
Let me know in the comments if you decide to give Nellie’s Laundry Soda a try, or if you already use it and love it!
For more general information on safe, non-toxic laundry detergents and what ingredients to avoid when buying laundry detergents, check out my post on that here.
References:
- MSDS on Sodium Carbonate: fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/21080.htm
- Acute, Subchronic, and Reproductive Toxicity of a Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate Surfactant in the Rat (sagepub.com)
- MSDS on Sodium Metasilicate 307815 (sigmaaldrich.com)
- Nellie’s Laundry Soda on EWG EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning | Nellie's Nellie's Laundry Soda Cleaner Rating
- Nellie’s Laundry Soda Website https://nelliesclean.com/products/laundry-soda
