Review: Ecover Concentrated Laundry Liquids

What an odd thing to be reviewing you may say. Yes, it is true I am reviewing 'Laundry Liquid' AKA washing powder alternative/washing detergent/thing that gets washing clean. As a mum, and I am sure most of my readers will be able to relate to this, my washing machine is on maybe around 3 or 4 times a day. A son obsessed with rolling around in dirt and another son unable to control where he gets food substances, OK I will let him off he is 15 months lol! But you get the picture.

One particular incident this weekend:

Seven year old son decides he wants to climb in to his grandfathers shed. The shed has the kind of door that has two halves; I think it's called a stable door? Anyway, he decides he is going to use the step ladders that are out the garden to climb over the bottom half to get inside. Problem was when he got inside the step ladders fell to the ground and so he was stuck in there for around 10 minutes before any of us noticed he wasn't playing up the top of the garden. Needless to say, he was covered in dirt, grease and grime from the step ladders and inside the dirty shed. Boys will be boys and it takes a tough cleaner to live up to my expectations but would Ecover live up to the challenge?

Ecover is a renowned ecological brand. I'm all for things ecological, nature friendly, kind to skin and all the rest but above all the product has to work. If it doesn't it doesn't matter how ecologically-friendly it is; it's a failure!

Anyway, down to the nitty gritty. The test.

Test involved washing countless muddy socks and jeans and food stained clothes.

Did it pass? It certainly did. All washing came out fresh and clean. Even more importantly, it didn't cause any skin reactions in any of our family. Reading up on the product, I found this was because Ecover use only sustainable plant-based and mineral ingredients and so there is no need to worry about harsh chemicals being left on your clothes. It was also nice to read about all the green credentials.

The green credentials for any of you wishing to know are:

• No optical brighteners
• Minimum aquatic toxicity
• Fast and complete biodegradability
• No phosphates

Also the fact that concentrated laundry liquids come in smaller packets means that there is reduced CO2 emissions in transport and less water used during the production process.

So would there be anything I would want to change about Ecover Concentrated Bio Laundry Liquid or Ecover Concentrated Non Bio Laundry Liquid?

Hmm, well they are priced at £5.69 each. This is a little pricier than my usual brands but I would be able to overlook that because of the many satisfying attributes of this product.

There are two things that I would like to suggest to Ecover though. These being that I would like the fragrance to be a little stronger. I love bringing out my clothes and smelling a fragrance but it was a little too weak for my nostrils. That's just a little moan however, and I would still more than happily buy the product.

Now, down to the more serious issue.... These are only currently available in Waitrose or Ocado, which leaves me somewhat at a loose end as I don't shop at either of these stores. This means I won't be able to get my hands on this wonderful product, which I am more than disappointed about.

So come on Ecover, you now have another fan awaiting this product. So I really need to see this in a Tesco or Sainsbury's store sharpish....


For more info visit www.ecover.com

I will leave you with an interesting fact on why it is so important not to have phopshates in your laundry products. Phosphates in cleaning products contribute to the eutrophication of rivers. Eutrophication happens when rivers are starved of oxygen and obviously lead to a serious impact on aquatic life. Ecover has been producing phosphate-free detergents since 1980s.