Naturally scented Clothing detergent

[Craig Smith]

Hello:

I’m looking for a naturally scented laundry detergent wash. It doesn’t need to be necessarily organic, but not one of those commercial products were there’s a lot of artificial ingredients either.

I really like that smell after washing where you can tell the clothes have actually been washed rather than pretty neutral with no different smell at all .


But I also am sensitive to strong odors and I don’t want some heavy scent like perfume has or aftershave or something like that. Something very subtle but yet noticeable .

Does anybody have any specific recommendations for a brand/title for detergent that might do this?

Or a recommendation for a brick and mortar store that I might find locally for purchasing?

Or perhaps a website and a company that I could do a Google search on for this?

Any tidbits or recommendations would be very welcome 🙏.

Much obliged

🌱

[razz]

Have you considered making your own detergent with soap that meets your requirements? I use this recipe as I can make the amount I want using two Tablespoons for most laundry loads with white vinegar as my rinse agent/softener.
https://wellnessmama.com/462/homemade-laundry-detergent/ This site has a lot of helpful info to read.

Natural Laundry Soap Recipe
Grate the bar soap or mix in food processor until finely ground. Use the soap of your choice. I personally use homemade coconut oil soap if I have it or Dr. Bronner’s Pure castile Bar Soap because of its exceptional quality, and because it is available in several different natural scents like lavender, tea tree, peppermint, almond and others.
In a large bowl, mix 2 parts washing soda, 2 parts Borax and 1 part grated soap. I use 1 bar of grated soap and 1 cup each of washing soda and borax.
Store in closed container. I keep mine in quart or half gallon mason jars. If you are using a big enough container, you can skip step 2 and just put all ingredients in storage container or jar and shake.
Use 2 Tablespoons to 1/4 cup per load of laundry.

[Teacher Terry]

I am allergic to perfume, etc and Tide Free and Clear works for me.

[frugal-one]

one option.... Buy the scent-free detergent and hang the clothes outside?????

[AlaskanGuy]

Borax works really good... unscented, and I also use it to cure salmon eggs..

[ApatheticNoMore]

You could try unscented detergent and adding essential oils for scent (people add them to the dryer with dryer balls as well). I don't do any of it, I just alternate between greener brands of not so naturally scented detergent.

[Rogar]

I used to make soap and had some essential oils around. I experimented with adding them to detergent but they were too volatile to add much scent and it was expensive anyway. I'm in the scent free detergent and hang clothes outside school. It's a mystery to me why clothes lines are no long popular.

I actually bought some borax this year for ant control, which didn't work so well. I've been adding it to my wash along with detergent. It's cheap and seems to help clean.

[JaneV2.0]

I've been using Nellie's Laundry Soda lately. It has no fragrance.
Ingredients:
SODA ASH - (SODIUM CARBONATE) also known as washing soda. In domestic use, it's used as a water softener during laundry.
SODIUM METASILICATE - A major use is as a builder (a material that enhances or maintains the cleaning efficiency of a surfactant, principally by inactivating water hardness) in soaps and detergents
SODIUM CHLORIDE - Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite. As well as the familiar uses of salt in cooking, salt is used in many applications, from manufacturing pulp and paper to setting dyes in textiles and fabric, to producing soaps and detergents.
CITRIC ACID - This is a weak organic acid. It serves as an environmentally benign cleaning agent and acts as an antioxidant.
The Detergent is a coconut based (LAURYL) Ethoxylated fatty alcohol. Coconut oil on its own will wash nothing. It is therefore chemically modified so that it becomes surface active and thus performs like a detergent. This commodity is widely used by many detergent manufacturers because it is readily biodegradable, non toxic and mild and efficient. It is also NOT Petroleum based.

[ApatheticNoMore]

There's not a time I didn't hang clothes on that funky laundry line in back of the apartment where they didn't come out smelling really funky, hanging indoors or the dryer they smell fine.

[nswef]

I like Mrs. Meyer's lemon detergent. It leaves a mild smell of lemon, I use it with baking soda, sometimes chlorine bleach and sometimes oxy clean. Rinse with vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.

[SteveinMN]

It's a mystery to me why clothes lines are no long popular.
They were run out of town by building codes trying to maintain a certain public image. >8)

Of course, up here, for some months out of the year, we could use the freezer instead of the clothesline (we actually have a retractable one that we use sometimes to air things out).

[jp1]

Clothes lines also require a much longer time commitment than dryers. I’m not interested in dedicating a sizable portion of my weekend to doing laundry.

Also, in the summer here the weather in our neighborhood is not conducive to hanging clothes out. The fog would just make them even wetter.

[frugal-one]

Just bought a bucket of Nellie’s laundry soda… 800 loads for $69 from Costco online. Reviews and those above make me want to try it. $20 off a container until 5/31….

[pony mom]

I've been using Nellie's Laundry Soda lately. It has no fragrance.
Ingredients:
SODA ASH - (SODIUM CARBONATE) also known as washing soda. In domestic use, it's used as a water softener during laundry.
SODIUM METASILICATE - A major use is as a builder (a material that enhances or maintains the cleaning efficiency of a surfactant, principally by inactivating water hardness) in soaps and detergents
SODIUM CHLORIDE - Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite. As well as the familiar uses of salt in cooking, salt is used in many applications, from manufacturing pulp and paper to setting dyes in textiles and fabric, to producing soaps and detergents.
CITRIC ACID - This is a weak organic acid. It serves as an environmentally benign cleaning agent and acts as an antioxidant.
The Detergent is a coconut based (LAURYL) Ethoxylated fatty alcohol. Coconut oil on its own will wash nothing. It is therefore chemically modified so that it becomes surface active and thus performs like a detergent. This commodity is widely used by many detergent manufacturers because it is readily biodegradable, non toxic and mild and efficient. It is also NOT Petroleum based.

I also use and like this. You can usually find a small bag of it in Marshall's/TJ Maxx to try before buying a larger size. My clothes just smell clean, nothing artificial, even when washed in a dryer.

[rosarugosa]

Frugal-one: please let us know how you like it. I hadn't heard of it before. We switched to unscented detergent a long time ago, and we don't use fabric softener. It's funny that I now really notice the smell of detergent or fabric softener on other people's clothing, and I can smell it outdoors when a neighbor has clothes in the dryer. We went fragrance-free unintentionally, I think we just bought something that was on sale, and there is no going back!

[nswef]

I've been using Dr. Bonner's sal soda detergent. Mainly because I cannot stand the smell of fake/chemical detergent. I also add Calgon and my clothes started getting a film on them after getting a new high efficiency washer...It has helped. I will put in some of my old detergent as I plan to use it all up.

[frugal-one]

Just bought a bucket of Nellie’s laundry soda… 800 loads for $69 from Costco online. Reviews and those above make me want to try it. $20 off a container until 5/31….

Rosarugosa…. Works well and is unscented! iIt should last a long while!