Why I Stopped Using Tide/Gain and What Laundry Detergent I Use Now!

Tide is the best selling laundry detergent in the United States. And it used to be the #1 in my house. After talking with a dermatologist, oncologist, and chemist who specialized in Laundry – I quit Tide.

Tide is FULL of Toxic Chemicals that aren’t needed. Chemicals like 1,4-DIOXANE (which causes cancer), synthetic dyes (that’s why it’s blue), and other gross ingredients like optical brighteners.

Here’s my story:
I do 10+ loads of laundry a week. I am a full time mom, and that isn’t even my day job! I try to limit processed foods in my home, but my kids still love & eat macaroni and cheese twice a week. On the journey to having a cleaner home I realized there are some easy things to do and some harder things to do. Tide scores an F with the EWG.  Refusing to buy big box brand laundry detergent was a VERY easy thing to do.

5 Reasons I Stopped Using Tide & Gain:

1) 1,4-DIOXANE
Tide has small amounts of 1,4 dioxane, which can cause cancer. “Exposure to 1,4-dioxane occurs from breathing contaminated air, ingestion of contaminated food and drinking water, and dermal contact with products such as cosmetics that may contain small amounts of 1,4-dioxane. Exposure to high levels of 1,4-dioxane in the air can result in nasal cavity, liver, and kidney damage” I don’t think I need to say anything more about that.

2) Synthetic Blue Dyes
Tide is blue because it has synthetic blue dyes. Just why?! Why does there need to be a blue dye in my laundry detergent?

3) Plastic Jugs
700 million plastic laundry detergent jugs are made every year. Most of these end up in the landfill or, worse, the ocean. I want to stop single use plastics wherever I can. I switched to a new product that comes in paper packaging. I no longer contribute 17 big plastic jugs into the world.

4) Optical brighteners
Optical brighteners are synthetic chemicals that are added to liquid & powder laundry detergents. Tide & Gain add this (unnecessary) chemical for the sole purpose of making clothing appear whiter and brighter. This makes clothing appear cleaner but not necessarily cleaner! It also damages your color clothing.

5) Dry & Itchy Skin
My skin isn’t sensitive. But my husband and my daughters have sensitive skin. Using Tide and Gain makes their skin dry & itchy. The synthetic fragrance and artificial dyes mean Tide isn’t hypoallergenic and these ingredients can cause skin to be dry & itchy.

Don’t detergent chemicals wash out?
No, I also learned that the ingredients in your laundry detergent aren’t being washed out of your clothes. They’re intentionally meant to last so we can experience that “clean” aroma. So that means when we sleep in our sheets, when we pull on our favorite hoodie, and when we get our kids dressed in the morning they are coming repeatedly in contact with these chemicals.

What I Use Now: Clean People

I now use CLEAN PEOPLE Laundry Detergent. And I love it. It’s called Clean People because it doesn’t have gross indredients (no 1,4 dioxane, no synthetic dyes, no optical brighteners). Their formula is hypoallergenic meaning it won’t dry out your skin or make it itch.

Clean People is all about death to single use plastics. So their laundry detergent uses paper packaging instead of a plastic jug! Don’t just take my word for it, read the 5 star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ customer reviews.

Right Now, Clean People has a Buy One Get One (BOGO) Deal going when you use coupon code BOGO, so it’s a great time to buy.

Clean People Laundry Detergent