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This post is about the 7th Generation products I've been trying. I'll go ahead and apologize to all of you who are here for the knitting content. I'll have a knitting post tomorrow.

I'm almost through the first bottle of 7th Generations Natural 2x Concentrate Laundry Detergent (Eucalyptus & Lavender). They also make a detergent for delicates and a baby detergent.

All in all I'm really impressed with this laundry soap. It's gotten out every type of stain my kids have thrown at it so far. Most of the time I had to do a little pre-treating but I had to do that with other laundry soaps I've used so that isn't a problem. The stains so far have been ground in dirt, chocolate, vegetable soup (Campbell's), Italian salad dressing, & blood. The only one I had a problem with was the vegetable soup stain which can be a tough stain to get out even with special pre-treaters.

I wanted to see how this laundry detergent held up when I didn't use fabric softener or dryer sheets so I did a few loads without the additional products. The only load that showed any static after drying was Bree's load which contains fleece jammies that are full of static even with dryer sheets. The clothes all came out soft like I'd used fabric softener. I liked it so much I've cut fabric softener and dryer sheets out of my laundry routine and only use the laundry detergent.

If you're looking for a laundry detergent that is hard working, hypo-allergenic, and HE compatible this may be the detergent for you. However if you want a laundry detergent that leaves a perfume smell on your clothing you won't find it with this detergent. This doesn't bother me since perfumey detergents tend to give the girls rashes. If I want to smell nice I will use lotions & perfumes.

The other product I've been using is the 7th Generation Dishwashing Soap. We bought the Lavender Floral & Mint scent. It's not an overpowering smell, very nice and light. There is one other scent and a free & clear version. We bought this soap at our local Target and the price was comparable to all the other name brand dish soaps.

First off, if your hands rash and dry out from using dish soaps you need to buy this soap. Dish soaps kill my hands. They dry out bad and I always seem to get a rash around my wrists. I've been using the 7th Generation soap for about 2 weeks now and there isn't a hint of dry skin or rash on my wrists.

I normally use Dawn dish soap because it's the best one I've found for cutting grease. This soap beats Dawn. I've never had plastic bowls that squeaky clean with so little effort. I'm not using anymore of the 7th Generation then I did using Dawn. I can wash a dish drainer full of dishes with a small squirt of soap.

Next up will probably be the dishwasher soap and all purpose cleaner.

FYI, if you do a "Where to Buy" search and it doesn't pull up any stores in your town it doesn't mean there aren't any stores in your area. I did a search and it didn't pull up anything for Great Falls, MT but I've found their products in the base commissary and Target. I still need to check out Smiths and Albertsons. You can go Here to find a list of supermarkets that carry 7th Generation products.

I found an interesting site in my searching the other day. It's called The Daily Green. It has some great info and links.

Comments

[Amanda]

Awesome info - thanks for the follow up on how it is going with these items. How do the prices compare to other products you were using?

[Nell]

I'm so glad these eco friendly products are working for you. Being a little greener is so easy when you don't miss your old products!

[knittech]

I'll check out the dish soap.

[Colleen]

hhhmmm, I always use Dawn on my woolens... have you tried washing handknits wit it yet?

[tiennie]

I like the 7th generation stuff too. We've been going green and organic here. Hard to do when I drive a *cough* Suburban *cough*.

[Jen/yarnhoardinmama on Ravelry]

It's like having my own Consumers Report. LOL Seriously, I love that you are posting feedback on these products because then I know they are worth trying! Let me know in particular on the dishwasher detergent. :)