Review: Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent and Stain Remover

Over the past couple of years it’s been a lot of fun to try out different products and not only see how each one works individually, but to compare them to each other as well. Especially in the case of laundry detergents, since I’ve had the opportunity to try out several and have posted reviews of each one here. When I found out that I would be able to review Green Works’ new Natural Laundry Detergent, I was very excited since I’d been hoping that Green Works would come out with laundry products. I try to always use detergents that are dye and perfume-free for my clothes, due to allergy issues, and being able to use one that’s free of all harsh chemicals period is even better.

What they are:

Green Works is the ever-expanding line of natural household products from Clorox. Last summer they added a laundry detergent and a stain remover which help us Moms to turn our households even more ‘green’:

The Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent and Stain Remover, launched this past summer, upholds the same high-performance standard as other cleaners from the Green Works line. As we take care that chemicals don’t find their way into our kids’ hands, food, and toys, we don’t want harsh chemicals on their clothes either. We can feel assured that the dermatologist-tested detergent and stain remover will go gentle on the skin, while still fighting stains. Much research and technology went into the process of creating a natural plant-based detergent and stain remover. This resulted in a patent-pending formula, which the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for Environment program recognized as safer for families. The natural stain remover has the power to dissolve spaghetti sauce, chocolate, even grape juice – but is dermatologist-tested, color-safe and won’t leave a harsh, chemical residue. With its efforts, Green Works continually makes it simple for Moms to incorporate green living into their households.

The Natural Laundry Detergent comes in three varieties – original scent, lavender, and free & clear, and in either 30-load or 60-load bottles. Courtesy of Green Works and Mom Central, we received a bottle of the free & clear detergent, as well as a bottle of the Natural Laundry Stain Remover, to try out and review.

Here’s my take on them:

I actually had a difficult time testing out this detergent at first, due to the fact that my samples arrived late and coincidentally just a day before I underwent outpatient surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. My very helpful husband made sure to do all of the laundry in the house that weekend for me, but didn’t realize that we had gotten the Green Works detergent, so didn’t use any of it. Once I’d recovered enough to be able to carry laundry baskets up and down stairs, and the laundry had piled up again (as it always does, of course), I was finally able to give the Green Works detergent a try. And it was definitely worth the wait.

I really haven’t come across a laundry product that I haven’t liked and Green Works is no exception. What I like about this product more than many others however, is that not only do I feel better about washing my family’s clothes without the harsh chemicals but I can also feel good knowing that I’m helping out the environment as well. I am extremely glad that Green Works offers the Free & Clear option because that’s what I prefer to use anyway, and always have. At this point I’ve done about a dozen loads of laundry and all of the clothes have come out clean, bright and smelling fresh (without perfumes), whether I’ve washed in hot or cold water.

I had to wait a bit longer to try out the stain remover, since I didn’t have any new stains at first to test it on. Then I noticed one day that one of my incisions had bled a bit, through to my khaki pants. Just a few spots of blood, but I sprayed the Green Works Stain Remover on them and tossed them into the washer. That was the last I saw of the blood spots – they were gone when I pulled the pants out and hung them to dry. Since then I’ve tried it on several other stains, with the same result. And what’s even more – I figured it couldn’t hurt to try spraying it on old, set-in stains just to see what would happen, and I’ve been pleasantly amazed to discover that it does a good job taking those out too. For example, my 8-year-old is very hard on her clothes, and there’s one pair of light pink corduroy pants that I’d been horrified to find she’d worn in the sandbox at school and completely stained the knees with ground-in stains from damp sand one day. The pants had been washed several times since in vain – the stains were there to stay, I thought. I don’t have any pictures to show you, because I honestly only sprayed them with the Green Works Stain Remover on a whim, not thinking that it would make any difference whatsoever. I was completely surprised when I pulled them out of the basket of clean clothes and found that the smaller stains were gone completely and the stains covering the knees were much fainter than before. I’m planning to keep throwing them in the wash and spraying the knees each time – and I’m very confident at this point that the pants will actually be wearable in public again at some point. That’s huge for me – clothes are expensive and being able to use and hand down a perfectly good pair of pants like these will save us some money.

So far I can’t think of anything that I don’t like about the Green Works laundry products. I do hope that they come out with some type of fabric softener product though. I know fabric softener in general isn’t always good to use, but even just something to help control static in the dryer would be good.

The bottom line:

Green Works’ line of natural products are enhanced by the newest additions of laundry detergent and stain remover. Whether you prefer a little scent in your detergent or not, there’s an option to meet your needs. And the stain remover is one of the better ones that I’ve found. So far I haven’t seen a stain that it won’t help with, either partially or completely – even stains that are old or set-in.

Where can you find them?:

The Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent and Stain Remover can be purchased anywhere that other Clorox and Green Works products are sold, including several online retailers like Amazon. Prices vary depending on retailer and location, but there is a link on the Green Works website to a coupon where you can save $3.00 on the laundry detergent. And if you’re not 100% satisfied with the detergent, Green Works will give you your money back.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Clorox Green Works and received a bottle of Green Works Natural Detergent and Stain Remover to facilitate my review and a $20 thank-you gift certificate.

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