Eco Sprout Natural Laundry Detergent

eco sprouts cloth diaper detergent review

Hard water. Really, really hard water.

My kitchen faucet has little white balls of mineral deposits all over it from water droplets flying when we wash dishes. I scrape them off and they are back the next day. Our water is so hard that if I drop a single bead of water into a glass and let it dry, it actually forms a little ball instead of a white stain. My hair is actually course and crunchy from washing in this water, when it has never had that texture in other apartments. This has made diaper washing interesting to say the least. Some detergents simply do not work at all and some have been pleasantly surprising. Our latest detergent adventure has been with Eco Sprout.

Eco Sprout is a dad created and family owned brand of cloth diaper detergent formulated specifically for cloth diapers. You can use your Eco Sprout detergent on all laundry, but it was designed to be just the right combo of natural ingredients to be diaper safe and kick ammonia to the curb.

Eco Sprout Ingredients: Sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate, natural water softeners, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, natural & biodegradable surfactants. Natural fragrance in scented versions. This detergent is free from dyes, brighteners, enzymes, phosphates and is 100% biodegradable.

Eco Sprout comes in four sizes including bags of 96/192 loads, 48/96 loads, 24/48 loads, and 4/8 loads. The largest bag of 96/192 loads is only $24.95, so Eco Sprout is actually a little cheaper than a lot of other boutique brands.

Since I have such hard water, Eco Sprout recommends four full tablespoons of their detergent in my top loader and sometimes even a cap of water softener. I appreciate them addressing this issue when plenty of other detergents claim to work fine in all water types with no adjustments. This means that the 24/48 load bag I used will last about 16 washes with very hard water. Most of you can get the full 24 or 48 loads depending on your machine and water.




I used my normal wash routine of a warm pre-rinse, hot wash (stop machine and allow a 30 minutes soak in hot water), warm rinse, extra warm rinse. I do the soak during the wash since my machine only offers a short wash that doesn’t work very well. I did need to use the full four tablespoons of detergent, which does make the bag not last very long. However, I do like how Eco Sprout worked. It doesn’t really suds up, but I could see it pull out some old detergent that wasn’t rinsing properly before.
eco sprout cloth diaper detergent

Admittedly, I added a 1/4 cup of oxygen bleach powder about every third wash or so to soften my water and help with mineral buildup. That is not any fault of Eco Sprout though. Eco Sprout detergent has gotten my diapers clean every time minus one particularly gross load that I ran twice. I had the limited edition holiday scent which was like a mug of spiced cider. I would love to try the lavender scent! You can currently get Eco Sprout on Lavender Chamomile, Green Tea, Sandalwood Vanilla, In the Buff (unscented), Fresh linen, and the occasional seasonal scent. Most of the time, the scent rinses out completely, and what little left was gone out of the dryer.

I love that Eco Sprout is a little lower in price than its contemporaries since I need to use so much. Overall, I would actually recommend this detergent over most of the other boutique detergents based on performance, price point, company mission, and availability. Eco Sprout is gaining in popularity and is available at several small online stores, but you can also order it straight from their website.

Update: Once we moved to an area with softer water, this detergent worked much better for us!

*Detergent c/o Eco Sprout. This review was my honest opinion and was not otherwise compensated.

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124 thoughts on “Eco Sprout Natural Laundry Detergent”

  8. Lindsay

    I look.for natural ingredients, and gentleness. I usually prefer unscented as.well so that option is a must!

  21. Sierra

    I am all about unscented for as much stuff as I can. I like something that washes out well in my front loader. I would also love to find some affordable enough to use the same stuff on all my laundry. I am want something that keeps stains at bay… don’t really care about diaper stains, more toddler shirt stains 🙂

  22. Stephanie

    While some of the scents do sound exciting, we are a family with very sensitive skin so I’d choose In the Buff.

  23. Stephanie

    When buying a cloth diaper detergent, I look for the usual – no brightners, no fragrence, etc. We’ve used 3 different types before, 2 of which were standard every day laundry detergent you can buy at a grocery store (both were recommended by others who use cloth) and the 3rd was a cloth diaper detergent. All 3 seemed to work great, and the cloth diaper detergent we got was really reasonably priced! Plus, because its in a powder form, it takes up less room and the large bottles of detergent I buy for my other laundry.

  26. Lauren Simms

    I look for a detergent that will be easy and convenient to use while caring gently for my cloth diapers to help extend their life.

  34. Sarah B.

    I look for a cloth diaper detergent that WORKS and actually gets rid of urine/feces and their smell.

  45. Kristi Cartwright

    I am looking for a detergent that is effective, affordable and good to use on all our laundry so we can keep it simple 🙂

  48. jamie davis

    When it comes to cloth diaper detergent I look for the least amount of unnecessary additives possible. I don’t like strong scents either.

  53. Lauren

    I like the fresh linen scent, though I also really liked the ocean scent. I look for a detergent that can cut ammonia.

  55. Amanda Alvarado

    I look for something that will work in hard water and that smells good! Of course it has to get them clean and it’s a plus if it can be used on all other laundry too!

  59. Bekah

    So far, I haven’t had to do much looking when it comes to my detergent; I researched a lot while I was pregnant, and selected something that didn’t contain any of the “no-nos” for CDs, was available at my local walmart/grocery store, and is reasonably priced. So far, so good, but my DD had some irritation around her legs and I’m not 100% convinced that it’s not from our hard water and/or detergent buildup (though she hasn’t had any other reaction in the 11 mos. we’ve been CDing). Anyway, another mystery for another day. I like being able to just run to the store when I run out of detergent, because it’s my luck that I realize that I’m out after I’ve already dropped dirty dipes in the machine lol!

  63. pollyanna

    i check to make sure it cleans my diapers with only one wash.. also that it rinses great and most importantly that its not to harsh on my babies skin.

  66. Julie

    I look for something that works, doesn’t cause my diapers to repel or smell, keeps my diapers looking and smelling nice. It has to be within my budget too. It would be nice to be able to buy it locally.

  77. Pingback: Eco Sprout Natural Laundry Detergent Giveaway! - Greenmommy

  83. nicole lewis

    i would pick fresh linen unless i could get my hands on the peppermint candy cane 🙂

  86. Anne M

    What do I look for in a cloth diaper detergent? Something safe/non toxic for my family. Also, I like having the option of unscented. And something that will get the job done, yet is still gentle enough on cloth diapers!

  92. Marysa

    For detergent, I look for something that doesn’t leave behind residue, doesn’t have optical brighteners, or perfumes.

  101. Katie Pitcher

    I would choose sandalwood vanilla scent, and in detergents, I look for something that is cheap-ish, and washes completely out so I don’t need to strip my diapers often.

  109. Rachel

    I look for something that is cloth diaper safe first of all….then something that gets the smell out:)

  111. Jennifer

    I look for a detergent that is scent free but will also get my diapers clean and is safe for my baby. I also make sure that the price is reasonable and will be safe on my diapers.

  123. Lori D.

    I look for something that takes out the odors well and is definately safe for us and the environment!

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