Here’s my review on Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda, distributed by Moo Moo Kow. I know some of you have been waiting for this, after the article on How to Wash Cloth Diapers: Everything You Need to Know. Having used the entire packet meant for 50 loads, I like that Nellie’s is cloth diapers-friendly and suitable for sensitive skin (like mine and Vee’s). And there’s a discount code at the end for the detergent and Moo Moo Kow cloth diapers!
About Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda
These are the main features of the detergent:
- Ingredients stated on package: Sodium Silicate, Coconut oil based surfactants (Find details of ingredients here)
- Country of origin: Made in Canada
They’re available in 2 sizes — 50 loads packet and 100 loads tin.
First Impressions
Over the past year, many cloth diapering mums (especially in Singapore) have found it difficult to get the popular Pureen H-A-D Liquid Detergent. So when Abby from Moo Moo Kow approached me for a review, I gladly accepted, hoping to give mums an alternative option.
Cloth diapers users have very specific requirements for a suitable detergent. Generally, no fabric softeners, enzymes, chlorine bleach, essential oils, laundry soap, and artificial fragrance. For green reasons, I also prefer one without phosphate and is biodegradable. The simple ingredients in Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda seem to be up to the challenge.
Moreover, it’s also front loader and high-efficiency (HE) friendly, exactly what my washing machine needs.
Packaging: The 50 loads pack comes in a resealable plastic zipper bag, which is unique for powdered detergent.
Scoop: Initially, I couldn’t find the scoop and thought there wasn’t any. So I recycled a plastic medicine spoon to scoop the powder.
Our Detailed Review
Rating Guide: ★ Oh no! ★★ Poor ★★★ Fair ★★★★ Good ★★★★★ Excellent!
(a) Packaging: ★★★★ I like the zippered package, which keeps the powder neatly inside. The super-duper concentrated powder also takes up little space.
Powdered detergent is convenient during travels — I simply need to scoop some into an airtight container. In the past, I’ve brought liquid detergent around and faced a major leakage once. (Leaking detergent within the luggage is seriously no fun!)
However, I found the scoop only after many washes. Perhaps the scoop should be taped to the upper end of the package to prevent it from being buried deep down.
(b) Effectiveness: ★★★★★ I’ve tried Nellie’s with cold, warm and hot water; where it dissolves easily. When handwashing a few items, I used 1/2 a 5ml medicine spoonful. There was little suds and took about 4 rinses (in a small pail) to remove all the suds. This is similar to my experience with Pureen H-A-D. The laundry smells clean and of nothing artificial, which I like.
For several weeks, I used Nellie’s to machine wash full loads of clothes and cloth diapers. Initially, I experimented with a reduced amount of 1 x 5ml medicine spoonful. This was too little and the diapers didn’t smell clean. An extra rinse was needed to clean them.
Then I increased the amount to 2 x 5ml medicine spoonfuls. The clothes and diapers turned out clean and were residue-free. Even after using the entire pack, there was no need to strip wash the cloth diapers.
Both Vee and I have eczema and we’d no flare ups due to using Nellie’s. Great that it’s gentle to our sensitive skin.
(c) Overall Value: ★★ Each 50 loads pack (0.6kg) retails at SGD23 while the 100 loads tin (1.5kg) retails at SGD49. (In Canada, the retail price is much lower at USD9.99 and USD18.99 respectively.) I managed to use the pack over about 50 loads, which means SGD0.46 per load.
I did a price comparison with other cloth diaper detergents sold in Singapore. Of the below, I’ve only tried Nellie’s and have a box of GroVia Tiny Bubbles waiting to be tried.
Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda |
BumGenius Diaper Detergent |
GroVia Tiny Bubbles |
|
---|---|---|---|
Weight | 0.6kg | 1.7kg | 1.7kg |
Loads | 50 | 66 | 60 |
Price | SGD23 | SGD25 | SGD30 |
Price per load | SGD0.46 | SGD0.38 | SGD0.50 |
Tried? | Yes | No | Not yet |
Seller (Singapore) | Moo Moo Kow | Milagro Trading | Mummy Knows Best |
From the table above, I note that Nellie’s is most concentrated among the three, which means saving on delivery costs for online purchases.
Tip: For more savings on delivery costs, I’d buy heavy detergent at a retail store or fair.
Overall, Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda is a suitable detergent for washing cloth diapers and for a family with sensitive skin. Before getting it though, I’d wait for a good discount, perhaps 20% to make it more price competitive.
(Good news: limited time 20% discount code below!)
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What we like about it:
- Washes well with minimal and natural ingredients
- Suitable for washing cloth diapers (residue-free) and for sensitive skin
- In powdered form — convenient for travelling
- More concentrated than competitive brands (refer to table above) — save on delivery costs
What can be improved:
- Tape the scoop so that it’s easier to find
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Get Your Own (with Discount!)
To get your own Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda and Moo Moo Kow cloth diapers, visit Moo Moo Kow.
- Special Treat: 20% discount on Nellie’s detergent products; 10% on Moo Moo Kow cloth diapers (read review here)
- Discount Code: MR20110623
- Validity Period: Until 22 July 2011
- How to Buy: Please email your order using Moo Moo Kow’s contact form and indicate the discount code above. Or visit its booth at Baby Expo 2011 (1-3 July 2011), Singapore Expo Hall 6B, Booth D3.
Live outside Singapore? You may also check the price at Amazon here: Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda, 50 Loads Bag*
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Disclosure: I received a Nellie’s All-Natural Laundry Soda 50 Loads pack for review and Moo Moo Kow is a banner ad sponsor at the time of writing.
*: affiliate link to support the growth and maintenance of Mummy’s Reviews™
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P.S. Catch up on all my cloth diapering tips here.
Hi Vee, thanks so much for having reviewed this. in fact I am using Nellie’s right now but I cant seem to figure the amt right. I wash my CD daily, abt 7-8 CD in a front loading machine. not sure if it is HE.
Any advise?
Hi cxinyi, 7-8 CDs seem like a small load. You may start with half a scoop. Then touch and smell the diapers after they’re washed.
– If they feel soapy, then rinse again, reduce amount next time.
– If they smell of pee, then rinse again. If they smell very bad, do a short wash with some detergent. Increase the amount next time.
wah! thanks for the fast reply! hope you are still enjoying the confinement =)
just to clarify, if they smell of pee, I should rinse again. and should that repeat rinse get rid of the smell, then i should increase the amt of detergent the subsequent wash. is that correct?
Yes, you’re right.
Confinement just ended few days back, and I’ve been busy learning to cope with 2 kids. Ha…
I was surprised to find nellie’s all natural laundry soda at Ace Hardware earlier today. The 50 load pack was about RM50 (SGD20) and the 100 load tin was RM93 (SGD36). I think the cheapest you can get is from iherb. International shipping is a flat rate of USD4 to most countries and the 50 load pack is only around USD8 whereas the 100 load tin is around USD17!
Hi Adila, thanks for the update! 🙂