Welcome to the Clean Cloth Nappies wool wash round-up!

For the last few months, I’ve been testing 17 detergents we’ve deemed safe for wool.

Some of these detergents are developed specifically to be used on wool, others simply meet the criteria needed to not cause wool to degrade prematurely. 

There are three important criteria for a detergent to be suitable for use on wool or silk:

• Liquid
• Enzyme-free, or free from proteolytic enzymes (proteases)
• pH neutral, or close to it

The main component of wool is a protein called keratin. Proteases are included in household laundry detergents to remove protein-based stains such as blood and grass stains. Unfortunately, proteases do not distinguish between stains and protein fibres. Washing wool with a detergent containing proteases will degrade it.

When it comes to detergents, it’s important to use a liquid when washing wool. This is for three reasons. 

1. Powder detergents are too alkaline and will damage wool.
2. Liquid mixes better at the lower temperatures needed to wash wool in machines
3. Liquid detergents mix readily with water and are less likely to make direct contact with the wool when added to the water whilst powder takes longer to dissolve, increasing the risk of unmixed powder making contact with the wool.

Now that we’ve covered the selection criteria, it’s time to playback the highlights reel. I’ve broken this into several categories.

Detergent recap

Some of these detergents needed some extra oomph so I’ve noted where I’ve used a laundry booster to improve detergent performance. For a laundry booster, I used Vanish Gel, at a cost of $0.81/ 60ml ($27/2L). Entries with + required boosting every wash and entries with ++ only required boosters on stubborn stains.

Vanish Gel is the default wool-safe laundry booster in Australia and New Zealand. Aldi occasionally releases a liquid version of their Di-San Laundry Soaker.

Best dedicated wool wash

This one was an easy win for the only dedicated wool wash with enzymes: Dirt Delicates.

This detergent is wildly expensive when you look at the cost per litre, a whopping $25.55 per litre. When you factor in how little you need to use, it works out to be 36 cents per load.

The protease-free enzymes in Dirt Delicates won’t harm the wool. They lift a lot of soiling from dirt and plant matter, which is the majority of the soiling I deal with when it comes to wool.

The fact that you don’t have to use much nor faff around with measuring caps that just make a mess, further solidifies this as my top choice for a dedicated wool wash.

Worst dedicated wool wash

Honestly, this was a tough one. Not because they all did good but because the majority didn’t. It came down to two for me: Martha’s and Softly. Both of these detergents were terrible at lifting soiling, were heavily fragranced (Martha’s took the cake on this one) and sudded to the high heavens. Not only that, they were both rudely expensive. Martha’s works out to be up to 64 cents a load and Softly up to $1.04 a load, with both still needing boosting from Vanish gel, adding an extra 81 cents per load.

Whilst Earth Choice also performed terribly, at least it was dirt cheap. Can’t be mad at a cheap detergent for being bad at its job.

All that being said, Softly wins this round for worst dedicated wool wash.

Best wool-safe liquid detergent

I’m not letting my bias control this, I promise. Anyone who has read my reviews knows my love of this detergent. It’s cheap, at $14 for 2L, effective and available basically everywhere. My only issue is the fragrance can be a bit much at times. 

That’s right, Fab Liquid takes the win for this one. Persil Sensitive is a close second and an exceptional option for a fragrance-free wash.

Worst wool-safe liquid detergent

Again, this one was a bit of a toss-up. The majority of detergents that don’t have enzymes are not very effective at removing soiling and breaking down stains.

Clean Apple Splash wins this one. Not only was it a terrible detergent – you had to use a lot of it and boost every load, as well as battle the inevitable suds monster – but you also had to pretreat most of the small stains a detergent should be able to lift without pretreatment.

The only saving grace is its price, but even then it’s not worth the effort to try and make it work.

Most expensive detergent

For this, I calculated the cost per wash based on a 2L bottle if there is one available, if not then it is worked out on the next size down and calculated up. This is to keep it as consistent as possible, as most of the detergents tested offered a 2L option and it is the most economical way to buy unless you have lots of storage options and muscles like Popeye.

Coming in at a whopping $1.41 per load, The Pink Stuff Non Bio wins this category. There are some countries where this is a cheap option, but for me here in little old Aotearoa, it’s rudely expensive. 

Cheapest detergent

As with the most expensive detergent, this was worked out on the same criteria.

Coming in at 21 cents per load, Earth Choice Wool & Delicates wins this, although it does need boosting or pretreating. When you add the cost of Vanish Gel to boost a cycle, it costs $1.03. Not great value, but this isn’t about value, only cost.

Best value detergent

More important than the cost categories, best value is calculated on the cost of a load, and the cost of adding laundry booster (if needed).

This category is probably the most important one as we all work to find the balance between most effective and the lowest cost in a world where prices are skyrocketing.

The winner for this category is Dirt Delicates, the only detergent I didn’t need to boost. I’m sure there would be some stains like EBF poo or pumpkin that would benefit from being boosted, although I wasn’t in a situation to test these.

Cost per load is 36 cents.

Worst value detergent

It should come as no surprise that the winner of this is The Pink Stuff Non Bio.

Needing boosting for heavy soiling and moderate staining, it brings the cost of a load to $2.22 when you factor the cost of a dose of Vanish gel (81 cents) to the already expensive $1.41 for The Pink Stuff.

Dishonourable Mention to Softly, which also needed boosting and comes to $1.85.

Wildcard: biggest surprise

That ecostore Wool & Delicates and ecostore Laundry Liquid range performed basically the same and it was pretty decent!

With how poorly the other plant-based detergents I tested performed, I had very low expectations. 

Whilst the cost of Wool & Delicates is an eye-watering 90 cents a load and it needed boosting or pretreating for some of the more heavily soiled items, the cost of (ecostore) Laundry Liquid, which performed pretty much the same, was only 31 cents a load, $1.12 when boosted with Vanish Gel.

Final thoughts

Whilst I’ve made many a witty remark and light-hearted banter throughout this crusade of mine to find the Ultimate Wool Wash (not trademarked but if someone wants to use it, hit me up), it does have some seriousness to it.

Wool is a finicky fibre and this can put a lot of people off using it. Companies can profit off this by charging astronomical prices for poor-performing detergents and turn around and say it’s the consumer’s fault if something goes wrong.

Don’t let misinformation and inaccurate labels fool you. Wool is an incredible fibre, it’s renewable and significantly more environmentally friendly than other petroleum-based materials.

With some evidence-based information and a good liquid, enzyme-free (specifically free of protease) detergent, you too can enjoy all the benefits of wool without the absurd price some companies charge for their subpar products.

PS: run a drum clean cycle on your washing machine and check the filter while you’re at it.