# What's dangerous about Charlie's soap...



## mousebandit

if you don't strip your washer first? I know everone on here talks about stripping their washer first, but I thought that was just a recommendation. Then I got my Charlie's soap last week, and it says something about it being dangerous if you don't - but it doesn't elaborate.

And, of course- this obviously means that I have to use Charlie's soap for ALL my laundry, right? Does it work good on grimy, greasy, men's work clothes??? How much to use on loads like that, and while I've got your attention, how much do you all use on CD's? (small loads of CD's). I've got the pump thing, so how many partial/cups, or how many pumps?

THANKS! I'm so close now!

Tracey Mouse


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## Mamato3wild ponnie

I dont know what's dangerous but once i had a stain that wouldnt come out and i sprinkled a little charlies powder on the fabric and rubbed it together real good and the fabric got super duper hot and my hands were on fire....it was so weird. I've never heard of that happening before...but just thought i'd chime in. I dont think it's dangerous....i understand that charlies doesnt work as well if you switch back and forth between different detergants. I just cant let go of shaklee's detergant....I have charlies and need to start using it ...baby coming in 6 weeks and going cloth...so i have to make that move...but....lol


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## JeDeeLenae

There used to be lots of talk of Charlies and chemical burns. If you do a search for "chemical burns" on here, you'll probably find more information.


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## mum06

I have a front-loader and I found Charlie's is fine for lightly soiled clothes, but it does nothing for my kid's play clothes. I decided that I would just make my own instead of shelling out $15 a month. When I first stripped my machine, I just used our clothes and nothing happened. No weird stains or anything.


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## Meems

i've had no issues w/ charlie's. i think there were a lot of babies w/ sensitivities to it for some reason. i read somewhere on here to use the full amount suggested for CD. i use pretty close to that, but not that much. i also use it on some of our clothes, but not all. DH has nasty work clothes so i use reg deterg for his clothes.


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## tex.mom

I'm starting to suspect our detergent is to blame for ds being so prone to rash lately (he actually had an open sore a couple weeks ago) and in looking around I found this (newtoclothdiapers.com):

Are all detergents ok to use?

No. You'll want to make sure you use a detergent, not a soap. Soap will build up and cause them to repel. To minimize irritation, look for a fragrance free detergent. Some babies are sensitive to enzymes too, so look at the label for those. Some moms find that their babies are sensitive to whitening agents. Some popular detergents are store brands! Tide is ok too, but be sure it's just regular tide, not the kind with Downy added or a free and clear detergent. A very popular, inexpensive brand is Wind Fresh from Sam's Club.

Charlie's Soap, Sensiclean, and Sportswash are commonly marketed for washing cloth diapers. Some use them with no problems, but I've heard too many stories of babies with chemical burns caused by these detergents. If you must use one of them, rinse well and watch closely for a rash that doesn't go away, gets raised bumps, open sores, or looks like a yeast rash.


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## Tinker

I tried using the full amount of Charlie's once and I had to rinse and rinse and rinse, before there were no more suds. And no it wasn't the first time I had used it. In fact this was just last week and I have used Charlies for about a year, and my dipes had been recently stripped.

I use barley a quarter of a scoop of detergent, and run them through a whole extra hot wash. But we have hard water and I have to be careful or we get build up real easy.


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## Kerr096

I was actually just saying to dh that I am totally not happy with charlies soap. I did the whole wash a large load with no diapers in and then wash your diapers 4 times. (I dried them in between also) and I put a pocket diaper on her and as soon as she peed, she smelled like the diaper pail. I then rewashed all the diapers and decided not to use the charlies anymore. I feel I am wasting to much electric and water now. I have had such great luck with Trader Joes next to Godliness soap (which got a 4 star review on diaper jungle.) Also after dd peed in the diaper that had the smell she started with redness on her bottom. she had never had a diaper rash before. I then put balmex and a pampers sample I had on her and it cleared up in a day. After all that washing, I was not get stressed out over balmex on the diapers.


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## Maeve

We tried Charlies Soap and hated it. I don't even know if we finished it, that's how much I disliked it.

I prefer TJ's or Bi-O-Kleen.


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## LolaMommy

i just started using it and we have hard water, so it's not the best, but i love it for the non- stained clothes. i have had it get hot while rubbing it on clothes. weird.

it's definitely for those with soft water. you can call them and they will help you use it better in hard water.


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## lolar2

It works fine for us. I think it also depends on your water.


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## Aries1985

I use Charlie's and I love it. We've had no issues and it's taken out cooking oil and blood with no effort or pre-soaking. It's been working very well for my cd's too.


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## nighten

I love it. And I have very sensitive skin. I would strip the washer first (my preference is to use a tblsp of Simple Green with an old ratty towel -- it's quick and easy) though, ideally.

The chemical burn issues seem to be more from the Charlie's dislodging potential years' worth of buildup and residue, then these chemicals/ingredients getting redeposited (because IME Charlie's can either clean well or remove buildup well -- it doesn't do both at once very well) and baby's very sensitive skin reacting to it, understandably.

To avoid any risk of that I would absolutely strip the washer. It's easy to do, so why not?

(I'm not discounting the potential for there to be some people who are sensitive to an ingredient in Charlie's, but most of what I've read indicates the real culprits are the buildup and residue from previous detergents and additives, and Charlie's is just acting to remove that.)

We use Charlie's for everything -- CDs, baby clothes, dog beds, greasy work clothes -- you name it.

The only stain it hasn't gotten out is rust. Everything else -- and I mean EVERYTHING -- it has. Sometimes takes a while soaking but it works.

I love it. I know it isn't the best choice for some folks with hard water, though, but for me, it's been an outstanding detergent. I've tried a few others from time to time just to see and keep going back to Charlie's. No regrets here at all. We prefer the liquid to the powder -- but we've got an old washer.


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## LolaMommy

nighten, thanks for the info! what is simple green and is it non-toxic? i "stripped" our washer with the double scoop of CS as it recommends, but didn't see anything happen. why do you like the liquid better? better peformance?

thanks!


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## SleepyMamaBear

i agree with everything nighten said, except we prefer powder to liquid.








really good post Renee!

we love Charlies and use it on everything, dog beds, clothing, bedding, towels, dirty work shirts, play clothes for kids, mamacloth, everything. it rocks my socks.


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## nighten

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LolaMommy* 
nighten, thanks for the info! what is simple green and is it non-toxic? i "stripped" our washer with the double scoop of CS as it recommends, but didn't see anything happen. why do you like the liquid better? better peformance?

thanks!

You're welcome! Simple Green is nontoxic, and all natural but it is very concentrated, quite caustic and harsh on fabrics, thus the ratty old towel trick.









Charlie's will remove the residue from your washer but not as effectively and quickly as SG in my experience. You can get SG in the auto department at Target. It's also great for cleaning other stuff around the house (diluted). But if your washer is old, and especially if you've ever used any fabric softeners or additive-rich detergents (IOW, nearly all mainstream, even some "free&clear" ones), then I'd definitely get some SG and strip it. Just wash one towel on hot with about a tblsp of SG, and I'd run an extra rinse just for good measure after.

I prefer the liquid Charlie's to powder because our washer is old and powder tends to clump a bit, plus the liquid Charlie's is easier to use as a stain remover.









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*And to the OP:*

Use the recommended amount of Charlie's on your laundry. Unlike most detergents it's 100% water soluble, so that means it rinses out clean every time. Most other mainstream detergents have additives that leave a residue, which is why it's good to reduce the amount used. But Charlie's takes 1/8c per large load as I recall (liquid -- not sure about the powder, but I'm sure it says on the box). That's exactly one pump, if you're using the gallon size.

Now you can use more than one pump for heavy stains, or if you're like me, you can squirt some right on a stain to let sit, then wash (with another pump of Charlie's because you forgot there was already some on the stain







). It's fine up to four pumps to wash out clean but no way would I use that much. No need. The most I think I've ever used is one and a half pumps in a large load. That includes the amount already on a stained item (like a diaper insert).


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## LolaMommy




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