Most Effective Laundry Products for Simple, Clean Laundry

I always had trouble getting my laundry right. From all of the dirt and sawdust and grease on my husband’s work clothes, to urine and milk odors, spaghetti sauce and juice and blood stains, it was really a challenge to get everything to come out nice. If you and your spouse work in an office and you don’t have children then you may get by just fine with regular old detergent and some dryer sheets, but with us something needed to be done.

I tried a bunch of different products and methods, and finally this way seems to work successfully, is pretty foolproof, and is minimal hands-on effort on my part. There could be some other ways that would involve more hands-on labor that may do a better job, but when I use these products together I can be pretty sure I will get a fresh smelling clean load of laundry out of the dryer. And there are also products that you could make at home more frugally or naturally, but as I explained in my minimalist cleaning supplies post, I don’t have time to have a bunch of loads of laundry turning out stinky and half clean because I’m trying so hard to make detergent myself. If you want to find a recipe for homemade detergent at three cents a load, you can go do that, but you won’t find it here because I would rather tell you what honestly works than to give you a romantic homemaker-y DIY recipe that doesn’t work.

Detergent: Tide

I have tried various detergents, and nothing measures up to the power of Tide. I used to buy the Members Mark knock-off version from Sam’s Club because it was a lot cheaper, but it really didn’t do a good job, so what is the point? You want a product that works. They have different types, like one with downy in it, one with oxi-clean, different scents, etc. It really doesn’t matter which one you use as they all work really well compared to others.

Stain Remover: Clorox2 for Colors 3-in-1

Clorox2 for colors is a color safe bleach that works to remove stains, deodorize, and brighten colors. I have been really pleased with how it performs and I add it to every load in addition to the detergent. However do NOT get the regular Clorox2 for Colors as this was useless and did nothing to help my laundry, it has to be the three in one. they look almost identical on the shelf. I saw they recently started selling a 4-in-1, and that may be good as well but I’ve never tested it and I am really happy with how well it works. You also can add this to a bucket of water and soak clothing in it first for extra effectiveness, and you can put

Fabric Softener: Downy Beads

Dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener have not impressed me. Maybe you have to add an entire bottle to each load to make it smell nice for the load size I have, but the workhorse performer is definitely the Downy beads. The “light” downy beads are like “light” gatorade or “light” oatmeal packets – why would you pay for a diluted product when you can just add water or plain oatmeal to the full strength original? Just a cap full of these really freshens up a load. I don’t add them to every single load, like if I am washing towels I am not too concerned with them having an extra flowery smell, but with clothing it’s important to give them that nice scent.

Stain Remover: Oxyclean Spray

Besides the Clorox2 for Colors, which I add to every load to boost stain removal, I like to have a spray bottle of stain remover in the laundry room for specific spot stains that I want to really target. I like the Clorox2 because I add it to the load and don’t need to hunt for little stains, but if there is a spot of spaghetti sauce or dirt that I know about, I spray it down first to be double sure.

Whites: Borax and/Or Baking Soda

I use Borax and baking soda for whitening whites, although I can’t say for sure if they work, I do buy them in bulk and keep them in my laundry room. They both have other household purposes (baking soda for cleaning and deoderizing pee-soaked mattresses and borax for, of course, making homemade slime), so it’s useful to have them on hand. When I’m doing a load of whites, if I’ve made the effort to separate them, I usually go all out and add every product I can to try to get them as white as they can be (because realistically, who knows the next time they will get the privilege of a whites-only wash…)

I hope this is a helpful list to keep these things on hand and not to be overcrowded in your laundry room, but to have what you need to make sure your laundry turns out well. Especially with babies, kids, and dirty jobs, it can be a lot to keep up with, but I find that using these products makes it as streamlined and efficient as possible.

Feel free to download/save the watercolor clip art for your personal use or projects. Thanks!