Monday, May 23, 2016

#ComeClean with Seventh Generation


I received a coupon to try Seventh Generation laundry detergent, which is free of artificial brighteners, dyes and scents, through their online community Generation Good. I started out very skeptical of this brand, especially when it came to some of the heavy duty laundry loads that come through my washing machine...like dog blankets and bedding, rags, towels and workout clothes.  Anything the dogs touch becomes engulfed in a cloud of fur, and this time of year, dirt.
Coco and Chanel are small, but mighty dogs. Their favorite places to play are the couch and the bed. They love to sunbathe in the backyard. To most, this means laying in the sun. To them it means rolling in the dirt...in the sun...then begging to come inside to clean off. With the warm weather, they leave a trail of dust wherever they go.




So back to the detergent...because it was free, I was willing to give it a chance, but I made sure to give it the most intense test I could think of...the dog's blankets. No matter how often I wash these blankets, they're always smelly, muddy and furry. This would be the ultimate test for Seventh Generation and would make or break them in my opinion. I usually toss their blankets in the wash with 2 laundry pods and 1/4 c vinegar. I wash them on the cold cycle, extra rinse and then toss them in the dryer. The combination of double detergent and vinegar is usually enough to leave the blankets fresh for a few days (or until Chanel finds them and burrows into the warm pile).



To really give Seventh Generation a test, I washed the blankets on the same setting (cold, extra rinse) with no added detergent. I used 1 load of detergent, as measured on the cap. This was a little tricky...the cap didn't have the usual 1, 2, 3, etc. markers. There was a small graphic on the back of the bottle with instructions on how to use the indicators on the lid to measure your detergent. Once I found this, it was smooth sailing. I added my usual 1/4 c vinegar (as I add this to all of my laundry) and set the wash in motion. Once the cycle ended, I gave the blankets a quick sniff before tossing them into the dryer...so far, so good. I couldn't believe that they were fresh smelling and clean after 1 wash and minimal detergent. I tossed them into the dryer and back into the dogs little paws they went.

The blankets have now been on our bed for them for the last week and the only signs of dog are Chanel's white fur. I am definitely impressed with Seventh Generation laundry detergent. I love that it is chemical free, especially since my weird little dogs love to lick their blankets. I know that they are not ingesting any harmful residual detergent that may have been left un-rinsed. Chanel has been a licker since the day we adopted her, and this was never something that I considered until learning about #comeclean with Seventh Generation detergent.

Thanks, Seventh Generation for keeping my dogs clean and safe!!