Charlie's Soap Review and Giveaway! {CLOSED}

Do you think you need to use harsh chemical detergents to get your clothes clean? Think again. Charlie's Soap completely shatters that myth. The truth is, most conventional detergents do not clean your clothes - instead they use brighteners and additives to make it appear clean. Isn't that gross? I think so. I don't want any chemicals on the clothing I wear, let alone my baby's clothes. Charlie's Soap sent us their Laundry Powder and All-Purpose Cleaner for review and here are all the reasons why we love them!

Ease of use: I haven't ever regularly used powder laundry detergent. For some reason I always chose liquid. After trying Charlie's Soap, powder makes a lot of sense to me. Although they do have liquid that I haven't tried, I'm pretty sure I'm a powder fan! Why buy something diluted with water if you are going to put it in water anyway, right? Powder is super easy to use, I just have a scoop handy and I can always adjust to as much or as little as I need. It dissolves very quickly in the water and it is portable so I can take a little along if we travel. The All-Purpose cleaner is in a handy spray bottle that isn't so large that it's hard to hold. You can also dilute it to desired strength, but I usually reserve it full strength for tougher messes that other Eco-friendly cleaners can't handle.

Performance: I love this stuff! The laundry powder really amazed me at the true test, cloth diapers. That is the primary reason I wanted to try it, I am always looking for great cloth diaper laundry products. Because Charlie's Soap Laundry Powder cleans down to the fibers and leaves no residue, it is ideal for cloth diapers. We had no stink, no stiff diapers, no new stains, and no rash on baby! It is really great on clothes as well, leaving them soft and odorless. I love it!

We put the All-Purpose Cleaner to the test as well. We have an old cast iron tub from the 1960s and a cheap plastic tub surround that we want to replace. First we wanted to clean it though and tackle the build up of soap scum and even mold in places! Yuck! Now, my mother was kind enough to help out. She has been a cleaning lady for the past 14 years, so she knows her chemicals. She was insisting we should use chemicals in our house as well. No, no, and no. With a 16 month old baby in the house the last thing I want is to pollute our indoor air with carcinogenic compounds. So I gave her the Charlie's Soap All-Purpose Cleaner. We first showered the walls and tub, sprayed this stuff on, and left it for a while. Then just a little scrubbing and it was good as new, all without chemicals! It has a slight smell, just smells like strong concentrated soap. It is an industrial strength cleaner, and I'm so glad they offer it to the public. I'll be tackling the oven next!

Value: When I test products I like to try the expensive stuff that I otherwise would not be able to afford. But it is nice to find things once in a while that I love and can buy myself without breaking the bank. Charlie's Soap is one of those. Eighty loads of the laundry powder costs $11.69 on Amazon, that's less than 0.15 cents per load! If you get the 5 gallon bucket it would be less than 0.10 cents per load. Compare that to around 0.40 cents per load for other non-toxic detergents! The All-Purpose Cleaner is anywhere between $9 and $14 for 17oz, and a gallon refill costs around $22.

Environment: Just like in value, Charlie's Soap stands apart in their commitment to the environment as well. Their products are over 97% biodegradable over 28 days (the minimum to be qualified as biodegradable is 80%). Completely non-toxic! I don't recommend eating it though.

Company: Charlie's Soap is a family owned company, and always has been since 1976. Through many years of financial ups and downs, the company has survived and is now thriving through word-of-mouth. I hope they'll never get sold to some large corporation! There should be more companies like this, simple, honest, and good at what they do.

One Eco-Babyz reader will win the same Charlie's Soap prize package, Laundry Powder (80 loads), All-Purpose Cleaner, and a canvas tote valued at $32.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

MANDATORY ENTRY: Go to the Charlie's Soap website and tell us something you've learned about their products or company AND become a Charlie's Soap fan on Facebook.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES (each on e in a separate comment, not valid unless mandatory entry above is complete; each is one entry unless otherwise noted):

2. Buy something at Charlie's Soap (10 entries)

3. Follow Eco-Babyz on Lunch

4. Follow @EcoBlogz on Twitter

5. Follow @charliesoap3 on Twitter

6. Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this post, mention @EcoBlogz and @charliesoap3 (leave permalink to tweet in your comment)

7. Subscribe to Eco-Babyz by email (2 entries)

8. Follow Eco-Babyz on Google Friend Connect

9. Vote for Eco-Babyz on Top Mommy Blogs, click here to vote (3 entries)

Contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on Tuesday, June 1st 2010. The winner will be selected using Random.org on Wednesday June 2nd and notified by email (make sure I have a way to get in touch with you, provide your email in the comment if it is not in your Blogger profile). Open to 18+ US residents only! Thank you!

Disclaimer:
I did not receive payment in any form for this review.

I did receive a sample of the product or service for testing and review purposes. This will in no way sway my opinion of the product or service. The review is in my own words and is my own opinion. Your results and opinion may differ.