There is a coupon for it in their latest promotion - I think it starts on the 10th of this month.

Thank you!
I almost picked up a jug and decided against it. With a coupon it will be a no brainer of a deal!

You're welcome. I was so bummed to read your post that Sam's is no longer carrying the large Vaska's. Somehow they never made it to my area of Washington anyway. Maybe the Greenworks will be an acceptable alternative.

I just bought container of Costco's Enviromentally Friendly detergent. We'll see how that goes, but it was rated pretty highly by CR.

Cheers!

covingtoncat,

Well other Sam's may still have it, but my local store doesn't. Just to clarify...

I really like the Costco's E.F.detergent! I have used it for years now. Not great for stain removal depending on what the stain is, but for everyday cleaning it's fine. I use it on my sheets, towels, delicates and darks and have great results. Wonderful delicate scent of lavender too.

I will get the Clorox because I love trying new products, even though I need it like a hole in the head! I share my stash with family members too, so everyone is happy! =)

Check out your local Target ,because today the Vaska jugs had a $2 coupon on them! (or did you say the product never made it to any store in your area??)

HI B!

Only select Targets have them - the closest to me is about 30 -40 mins away vs. my local that is about 10 - 15. How do you compare Vaska to Costco's EF?

TIA

I noticed soap.com has Vaska and you get free shipping with $39 order. Wish they shipped to Canada :(

Also 15% off first order and free shippig at $25.

I see they have the larger bottle of Herbatergent too.

It looks like they carry a lot - dangerous for product addicts :)

On Consumer Reports the Kirkland Signature Environmentally Friendly Ultra 2X HE rated a 59 (out of 100) at #6 on the list. The top brand, Tide 2X Ultra with Color Clean Bleach Alternative HE, rated a 74.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vaska - soap.com

covingtoncat,

IMO, not a huge difference, but mentally you know there is! =)
There was a thread not long ago that got me on the band wagon. It doesn't take an arm twisting for me to come on board unfortunately. Well with one exception.... Persil. I haven't bit the bullet due to pricing....

I would honestly say that Eco's, Costco's EF, and Vaska are similar, my opinion. I would happily use any of them without a doubt.
For some reason though, I love the scent of the Costco's EF the best. Nice subtle lavender smell.
I hope this helps you with your decision!
The best part is Costco will refund your purchase price if you decide you don't care for it! Win, win situation! =)

livebetter,
I don't put a whole lot into Consumer's Reports ratings. I like to use a product and decide. It's a personal thing for me. Always wish I could see how they do the comparisons.Yes, Tide is ultra popular and I bought some Free and Clear to try, but it just doesn't do anything for me. I feel it fades my clothes compared to others I use.
That seems like a good deal on soap.com though. Definitely beneficial for those who don't have local access to it!
Thanks!

bookert, I know they use test strips with certain stains and then "read" how much stain is left after washing in a machine.

I think it's probably pretty straight forward for cleaning ability. I mean it either removes the stain or not.

To your point though, I wonder what the long term use of certain detergents is. So Tide removes more stains than any other tested brand but how do clothes look after many washings?

Most of my laundry is not majorly stained. I'm more concerned with clean but also taking care of fabrics longer term (with two kids especially).

I quit using Tide several years ago and I've had clean laundry using various other brands (most of them more environmental).

FWIW, CR rated the Ecos brand very poorly. I tried it once and didn't love it. My mom does like it though. Personal preference for sure. As long as we each feel our laundry is getting clean.

On another poster's advice (Larsi), I tried Clorox Greenworks and really like it. I have to mix half unscented with half scented to get a finished product I like scent wise. I checked today and Costco Canada does not have it.

I haven't tried the Costco EF (but I'm tempted now) but I have used Vaska and Ecos. I think Vaska is in a field all it's own. Things just smell and feel different when washed with it. It's one of my favs (sheets, towels, my personal items like pj's). Smell is much more natural than Costco EF (IMO). I have smelled the Costco one. Vaska is like real herbs - South of France real. Heaven ;)

For those of you who have used Green Works and Costco EF - do you have frontloaders and if so, do the detergents rinse easily and have low suds? I have a Bosch Nexxt 500 and some detergents get really sudsy in my machine, namely Tide liquids.

I do use Tide for some clothes, mainly my husband's really dirty and greasy stuff, but I do worry that it fades clothes prematurely. Most of our clothes are not that dirty, and so I feel that a more gentle detergent is more appropriate for the majority of our clothes. I love Vaska for delicates, but I often find oily spots on my clothes after washing with it. I don't know if it is a residue from the detergent or a spot that just doesn't get clean, but it happens not infrequently.

I used to use Charlie's Soap but found that my whites were really gray and dingy after a while. I did like the fact that it was environmentally friendly, though. I've also used BioKleen powder but think it leaves my clothes stiff and scratchy, even with an extra rinse.

Surely the perfect detergent is out there somewhere.

I was going to post about this when I did my review of my new Miele machines.

I've noticed detergents that were way to sudsy for my previous Frigidaire are not too sudsy for the Miele. Weird.

I could not use Seventh Generation liquid previously as it took a few extra rinses and still there were suds on the gasket. Hardly any now in the Miele.

There is less water for sure in the Miele and I wonder if that has anything to do with less suds forming.

I'm convinced the Miele is rinsing much better that Frigidaire.

I only had too many suds twice so far and both instances were my own fault.

I believe optical brighteners have something to do with clothes looking faded over time (darker colors) so I try and use detergents without them. I also don't think they are really necessary and prefer my kids' clothes etc don't have them.

Without OBAs, I currently have Clorox Greenworks (regular scent, unscented), Vaska, Seventh Generation Liquid (Blue Eucalyptus and Lavender), and Seventh Generation Powder (White Flower & Bergamot Citrus). I also have some Persil color formulas but really can't tolerate the strong scents.

None of these over suds in my Miele W4842.

I LOVE the Clorox Green Works, and NO obas. I find the Green Works does suds somewhat more than other "he" detergents...but it rinses great. It is something like 95% Natural, plant based, has enzymes, and NO obas.

It is a really great product!!

livebetter,
Thanks for the info about the testing. Makes sense.
I agree about the long term issues with fading and/or harshness some detergents may have. Good point!
The Ecos is fine for non soiled clothing, gets the job done.
I haven't used the Vaska that much. Trying to use up some of my Eco's stock first! My nose thought the Vaska wasn't as natural, but I could be all wrong.
Do you have Ralph's stores?
I noticed today while shopping with a friend, that the Clorox Green Works small jugs are on clearance. This store had all 3 scents. It isn't near the savings that Costco has currently with the coupon, but better than nothing.

stbonner,
I currently use a GE Harmony TL w/out the heater. I see very little suds when using the 3 eco friendly detergents talked about. Sometimes I'm tempted to add more detergent. I don't.
The Tide Free and Clear produces suds of noticeable amounts, but not excessive in my machine. I'm not a fan of it.

larsi,
I believe I owe you the credit for your reviews of the Greenworks! Thanks! I do wish Costco carried the Lavender scented version though...

Washing a load of black clothes on a cold wash (I almost always wash in warm) with Greenworks. NO suds! I sometimes ck. the load at the start of a wash, I'm funny like that. Interesting.... do others who use this detergent have the same no suds issues?

I did my first load of wash with the Greenworks yesterday and saw no suds at all. I used the amount suggested on the bottle, which was 2/3 of the first line. This was a warm wash. Everything came out clean and smelled great. It seemed to rinse very nicely. So far I'm liking this stuff.

The current sale at Costco makes this a very good price. The jug was 180 he loads for $13.99 and there is currently a $3.00 coupon available. Might be time to stock up.

I have used either to line 1 or line 2 (large load) in my Miele and very little suds are visible. I often use the "sensitive" setting to get an extra rinse and everything rinses really nicely.

I like how fresh laundry smells after washing with my (personal mixture) of half scented/half unscented.

I just washed all my kids' stuff last night and everything was clean and smelled nice.

I wish I could get the lavender version in Canada to try.

Clorox Green Works is just OKAY. I sometimes will wash a mixed load containing darker colors and a few non-critical whites in order to get a full wash load. When using Tide, Persil and even Vaska the whites would come out... white! Using Green Works, however, my whites came out noticeably dingy and had taken on some of the dark tint of the surrounding load. Those faded whites were later re-washed in an all white load using Persil and sodium percarbonate and are sparkling white again!

While washing a few whites in a largely darker colored load is probably not a fair test, something in the Clorox Green Works is NOT preventing dyes (and perhaps even dirt?) from re-depositing onto fabrics. This is a concern for me not just from a cleanliness standpoint, but also makes me wonder what is being left behind and deposited onto my wash tub and parts.

Green Works also did not fully remove greasy stains from dark cottons - you can still see dark spots where the stains were previously.

I read on the Green Works web site that HE machines should get "less than 2/3 of the recommended dose". This is not disclosed anywhere on the bottle, which explains why some here are having suds issues. In my book "less than 2/3" means HALF, so those experiencing sudsing issues should reduce the recommended dose by 40%-50% and try again.

Way to go Clorox.

I just saw that too. I wonder if their new packaging will reflect this inforamtion? Not happy they didn't include it. I've been using to line 1 in my Miele and not a problem with rinsing.

My bottle of Greenworks states that HE machines should use "less than 2/3 of the recommended dose", which is what I've been using. No problems with too many suds here.

So I just checked. My original bottles do not say anything about HE but a newer bottle I purchased (newer graphics) does say 2/3. I hadn't started that bottle yet so hadn't noticed. This is not the really new green bottle.

Anywho ... they should have had it on there. I don't love detergents that tell you to use less for HE. This tells me it's not a true HE detergent. Huh ...

You will also note that the ingredients seem very, very similar to the new reformulated Seventh Generation liquid detergent. I am also suspicious of products that say to use less for HE machines - isn't the amount of detergent supposed to be commensurate with the amount of clothes and soiling, not the amount of water in the drum?

Clorox's dosing instructions directly contradict the SDA (Soap & Detergent Association) recommendations. Either Clorox is a rebel or something is amiss.