About a year ago Amanda Wucher-Aller and Kristin Ward decided to create their own detergent for their families. They wanted something they could use on all their clothes including their cloth diapers. Kristen's husband is a chef, Amanda's husband is in the military and they have four kids between them. So, they needed something that would wash even the dirtiest messes but was still safe for their families and the environment. They researched and put together a non-toxic eco friendly wash. They had friends and family test it out until they had the perfect combination. At the beginning of 2012 the two friends finalized their product and packaging, opening their store "A Happy Green Life."
In college Kristin studied anthropology and Amanda studied environmental studies. They are teaching their children that the earth is precious and needs to be preserved. This year they are trying to grow all of their own food in their gardens. When they have extra time, they love to visit the zoo to see the chimpanzees.
They love things from nature and individuals instead of big factories. They are passionate about being GREEN!
"Our families are trying hard to be green but that doesnt mean we are perfect. Far from it! I cant live without my air conditioner or my SUV."-Amanda
It is so nice to be working with like minded people. There are so many toxic chemicals in commercial laundry detergent. Some of them remain on your clothes and rub off onto your skin! Read my post about the toxic chemicals in laundry detergent and cleaners.
A Happy Green Life has supplied me with this bag of laundry wash (50/100) and a few samples. It can be used on all types of laundry including cloth diapers and military uniforms.
The ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Percarbonate, Fragrance or Essential Oil (optional)
"The fragrances that we do offer are not tested on animals and are formulated according to safety assessments made by the Panel of Experts of the (RIFM) Research Institute for Fragrance Materials and are carefully reviewed by the IFRA (International Fragrance Association) Scientific Committee."- A Happy Green Life.
My experience with it:
We have a top loader. I used this detergent for about a month on all of our clothes and cloth diapers. I even tried it out in my parents HE washer. I chose the Lavender Vanilla (essential oil) scent. I was also able to try a few samples of Sandalwood and Love Spell. The powder dissolved very fast and I never had a problem with clumping. I used both cold and hot water. All the scents were wonderful. I am sensitive to many synthetic fragrances. They usually give me headaches and make me sick to my stomach. I didn't have a problem with Love Spell and actually really enjoyed it! They offer a lot of great scents. There are too many to list so check them out here.
For clothing: I found that stains need pre-treating with this detergent. I run into that problem with every natural detergent I've used, so I have a routine down. I will soak the clothing in a bucket until I wash it or I will scrub it with a bit of detergent. That seems to get rid of most stains. We have a lot of dark and colored clothing though. This detergent worked really well on all of our clothing including: mine, my husbands, my messy toddler and my drooly baby.For cloth diapers: This worked very well with getting odors out. I didn't have any build up. I am exclusively breastfeeding our baby and our toddler wears trainers at night. So, I wash both diapers and trainers together. I had a bit of yellow staining from the breastfed poo but I was able to solve that by adding a little Oxobrite, oxygen cleaner.
That it is safe for my family and the environment. Of course, the scent is amazing also! I take a whiff of it every time I open the bag. It's quite therapeutic. I like how the clothes come out of the wash smelling like lavender vanilla. For me the smell didn't last through the drying phase though. Honestly, I haven't been able to make any unnatural scent last that long, so it doesn't bother me. We don't have a lot of cupboard space so I love having powdered detergent. It takes up less room and is much lighter than a huge bottle of liquid. Most of all I love that I can use this for everything and it doesn't cost an arm and a leg!
What would I change?
Personally, I would add more Sodium Percarbonate, which is what is in oxygen cleaner. I need to add more to get my diapers whiter but it may be a combination of the type of water we have and the washing machine I use. I have read some other different reviews on A Happy Green Life laundry wash. So, I think it varies from person to person.
What do I think overall:
I think results will vary but I have read a lot of great reviews on this laundry wash, so I can confidently say that you will love this! I definitely want more. It's in a convenient powder form and works great on all our laundry. I have even added it to homemade cleaners!
Read some testimonials
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WIN
Come back for the Summer Cloth Diaper Hop, June 21-30, and enter to win your own bag of natural laundry wash (50/100) from A Happy Green Life. Open to the US & CAN. Just look for this image on my sidebar.
