By now, most anyone reading my blog knows that the coconut oil produced for and sold by Tropical Traditions is truly my go-to coconut oil. It was the first coconut oil I tried and for reasons I have discussed in other coconut oil giveaway posts, it is a truly wonderful company with a great product. I kind of have a crush on the company if I am being honest.
The thing is, Tropical Traditions does not JUST deal in coconut oil and coconut products. (Although Tropical Traditions IS the best place to get coconut oil!) They are a very diverse company offering a myriad of products. I have ordered a lot of different items from them in the past but had not yet explored their household products. Being the green living, crunchy mama that I am, I thought that I would take their powdered laundry detergent for a test drive to see if it holds up to the homemade version I swear by.
The wonderful folks at Tropical Traditions were more than happy to send a box of powdered laundry detergent my way. And upon arrival, the rigorous testing began.
Here is my laundry list (pun intended) for an average week:
- 2 loads of cloth diapers and family cloth (mostly family cloth as Tiny only wears a diaper at night)
- 1 load of bath towels
- 1 load of cloth napkins and kitchen towels
- 1 load of cleaning towels (sometimes that is pushed to every other week)
- 1 load of husband’s work jeans
- 1 load of husband’s work clothes
- 1 load of husband’s other clothes
- 2 loads of Tiny’s clothes
- 2 loads of my clothes
- Bed sheets (every other week) alternating with the dog bed (every other week because he has diabetes and really, really smells up his dog bed)
If you are counting, that is 13 loads of laundry per week. I ONLY wash four days a week. So that is 3-4 loads per washing day.
I wash everything on cold to save money and the earth’s resources. I don’t sort by colors/whites/darks (mostly because I refuse to purchase clothing that will bleed and need special attention). The only time anything gets special care is if I happen to have a delicate item like a special occasion outfit.
I NEED a good detergent. Did I mention that I am in love with the one I have been using forever?
Before I share my experience with the Tropical Traditions detergent, let me tell you a little bit about their product.
Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent cleans and removes stains from laundry with the power of Oxygen Bleach Destainer and Deodorizer. The Powdered Laundry Detergent is safe and effective at ALL temperatures on whites, permanent press, bright colors, pastels, prints, and delicates in hard or soft water. It is not suitable for Silk or Wool.
Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent is non-toxic, environmentally safe and contains no phosphates. The Powdered Laundry Detergent cleans and safely bleaches clothes with the added power of Oxygen Bleach Destainer and Deodorizer.
There are no harmful by-products upon decomposition. Powdered Laundry Detergent dissolves as completely as liquid detergents and rinses away completely leaving no residue in your clothes. It contains no dyes, perfumes, fillers or phosphates.
Ok, sounds pretty good right? Good for you, good for the environment, cleans clothes. Three way win!
But how does it really work?
Let’s just say that the homemade detergent I have been using is now trembling in fear of becoming extinct. I actually saw my detergent looking at a resort brochure for a permanent vacation in the La Brea Tar Pits. (What? You don’t believe me?)
I put the Tropical Traditions Laundry Detergent (TTLD) through its paces. Right out of the gate I decided to see how it worked on cloth diapers and family cloth. It had been a while since I had stripped the diapers and let’s just say that they needed it. So I was really curious to see how the TTLD would handle such a high-needs load.
Much to my surprise, the TTLD did a pretty darn good job right out of the gate. It did not completely remove the odor build up in the cloth diapers but it did help. The diapers actually smelled better than they had recently. Score!
My husband’s work clothes and jeans were the next loads up to bat and the TTLD came out swinging! He always complains that his clothes don’t “smell” clean despite the fact that I add essential oils to my homemade detergent. When I made him do a very scientific sniff test, my husband actually thought that the unscented TTLD did a better job of making his clothes smell clean. They looked clean too. Score again!
I suspected that the TTLD would perform well on Tiny’s clothes, my clothes, bath towels, bed sheets, and our cloth napkins/kitchen towels. It did a great job. There was no residue. It took out some stubborn stains without any sort of pretreating. It eliminated odors, especially some of the mildewy ones that tend to plague our kitchen towels. I was pretty impressed.
The last load I tested the TTLD out on was the dog bed. I must share that this bed NEVER smells good. If I can get it semi-not-stinky, I am happy. If it gets mostly clean I am happy. I don’t expect miracles. Although it was not a miracle worker, the TTLD actually did an outstanding job and the bed only had a faint odor of diabetic dog and not the bowl-you-over smell it tends to hold onto. It was also VERY clean. Two of the older stains were pretty much gone and the new stains were distant memories. VERY IMPRESSIVE! Super score!
I was really very impressed with the Tropical Traditions Powdered Laundry Detergent. Since I have a front loader, HE machine, a little goes a looooong way. So this detergent is actually very affordable for me. In doing a cost breakdown, my homemade detergent is still a little less expensive per load BUT it is one notch below the TTLD in terms of cleaning ability. So the extra few cents per load is worth it for a better clean.
Want to win your OWN Powdered Laundry Detergent? Well, you can thanks to the generosity of the good folks at Tropical Traditions.
All you have to do to enter is to subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter (where you will stay up to date on sales like free shipping!)
Then, leave a comment on this post (be sure to include your email if it is not linked to your profile)!
But wait! There are MORE ways to win!
Extra Entries are SUPER EASY. Leave a second comment with the numbers of the corresponding entries. So if you did them all you would simply say “I did #s 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Easy, easy peasy! I will do the heavy lifting at the end of the giveaway.
Here are all the extra entry options. If you are already doing these, cool. If not, have at it!
- Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook
- Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter
- Follow Tropical Traditions on Pinterest
- Subscribe to Hybrid Rasta Mama via RSS and/or email
- Like Hybrid Rasta Mama on Facebook
- Follow Hybrid Rasta Mama on Twitter
- Follow Hybrid Rasta Mama on Pinterest
This giveaway opens today, May 15, 2012 and closes May 25, 2012 at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be selected via random.org. I will email you and you will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. Open to U.S. residents only.
And because I am a coconut oil fanatic (remember my 160 Uses for Coconut Oil post), I want to make sure that you do check out some of the great information on the Tropical Traditions site about coconut oil. You can learn more about what virgin coconut oil actually is as well as how to use it! And of course you can check out their three different types of coconut oil including Gold Label Coconut Oil, Green Label Coconut Oil, and Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil.
Good Luck and remember, if you can’t wait to try it, buy it!
If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.
I did #1,3, 4, 5, 7.
Subscribed to TT newsletter.
subscribed to the tropical traditions newsletter~ Love their products!
…& did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7! Thanks~
I love Tropical Traditions. Their coconut oil is the best I have tried. I have already done 1,3,4,5 & 7. I would love to try their laundry detergent!
Subscribed!
Bigallfish (at) gmail (dot) com
I did numbers one and five.
I subscribed to the Tropical Traditions newsletter
jjak2003 at gmail dot com
I did #1,2,3,4 and 7. Thanks for the giveaway!
jjak2003 at gmail dot com
I am subscribed to Tropical Traditions newsletter with the email givenmay@yahoo.com!
This comment has been removed by the author.
@Courtney Tucker
I did #’s 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Thank You!
givenmay@yahoo.com
I did #s: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7
ecastroreale@gmail.com
I subscribe to TT newsletter.
Did 1,3,4,5,7
i subscribed to their newsletter already with sexynaudia4u at yahoo dot com
I did em all! =]
1 & 5: Tamira Hill
2 & 6: @naudii
3 & 7: pinterest.com/naudii
4: sexynaudia4u at yahoo dot com
oh, i SO want to try this! i’m noticing that numbers of the others with multiple comments are off now that there, well, multiple comments… i plan to leave multiples, but i don’t want to make it more confusing with the numbers… i wonder if just telling you on the 25th how many comments i’ve made would do? that might be easier to check…
i’m following you on pinterest nad twitter….
I’m already subscribed to their newsletter! Thanks for the giveaway!
(moskitchen[at]yahoo.com)
I did 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7.
(FB and pinterest names are Marielle Elise; email is moskitchen[at]yahoo.com)
i get their newsletter
tcogbill at live dot com
awesome
I’m a TT email subscriber (reducefootprints at gmail dot com)
Thank you for all the extra entries and making it so easy! I did #s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
My FB Name: Sml Footprints
My Twitter Name: @smallftprints
Email: reducefootprints at gmail dot com
@Small Footprints
Whoops … and my Pinterest name is “smallfootprints”
I am a newsletter subscriber. Thanks for the chance to win!
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook — Crave to Save
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter @CrazyItalian0
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Follow Tropical Traditions on Pinterest– Crave to Save
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
Subscribe to Hybrid Rasta Mama via RSS
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I like you on FB — Crave to Save
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I follow you on twitter @CrazyItalian0
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I follow you on pinterest — Crave to Save
gina.m.maddox (AT) gmail (DOT) com
I have subscribed to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter.
Sandra
annegeddesfly@yahoo.com
I am subscribed to Tropical Traditions newsletter.
I did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
I subscribed to the Tropical Traditions newsletter.
slrdowney at hotmail dot com
I subscribed to Tropical Traditions newsletter and did 1,3,5,7.
ferdeez@beu.midco.net
I already subscribed to Tropical Traditions newsletter
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Like Tropical Traditions on Facebook (gala ya)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter (@galyettina)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Follow Tropical Traditions on Pinterest (Gala Z)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Like Hybrid Rasta Mama on Facebook (gala ya)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Follow Hybrid Rasta Mama on Twitter(@galyettina)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
Follow Hybrid Rasta Mama on Pinterest (Gala)
galyettina at yahoo dot com
I get their newsletter.
Angie
14earth at gmail dot com
Going to try to help you with that end of the giveaway heavy lifting here! LOL Bonus entries: I did them all!
I did #s 1,2,3,4,5,6,7.
My Facebook and Pinterest name is Tofu Fairy and my Twitter name is MsTofuFairy. Hope that helps!
Angie
14earth at gmail dot com
@katychick Winner Winner! I sent you an email so be on the lookout! Congrats!
Thank you to EVERYONE who entered! Our winner is:
katychicksaid May 16, 2012 12:35 PM
Stay tuned for more giveaways from Tropical Traditions! They are such an awesome company!
I subscribe. eclairre(at)ymail(dot)com