(Last updated: August 14, 2026.)
This is a list of fragrance free detergents I have tried, ranked in order of how well I tolerate their sensory profile. My comments about how these detergents smell is AFTER washing and drying, on properly cleaned textiles. This ranking is NOT about detergent performance… only my sensory ranking. All of these detergents work fine for me in practice, but:
- My laundry is pretty easy - light soiling in general and very little particulate soil.
- I always pre-treat anything visible with Puracy Baby Stain Remover.
- I only wash at 40C or 60C. My shortest wash stage time is 50 minutes.
- I always pair my detergent with FEBU booster so I’m getting a full enzyme suite regardless of the detergent I’m using.
- I have very soft water and front loader washers, so I always use the maximum number of extra rinses available.
As always, your situation and detergent needs may be different from mine!
Detergents I Like#
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tide Free and Gentle | This is a well formulated and inexpensive detergent. It leaves behind a small residual yeasty smell that took me a while to get used to but now I tolerate ok most of the time. I use this on my kid’s school clothes and any laundry that’s a bit more “needy” than usual. I tend to avoid it on bedding. Note that the “Odor Refresh” version is a little more chemical smelling and I didn’t tolerate it as well. Also, the “Advanced Care” version at CostCo is the same as the regular free and gentle formula minus one synthetic soil release polymer and is probably the best deal going in laundry detergents. |
| Molly Sudds Baby Liquid | Pretty basic formula, cleans well for uncomplicated laundry, and has a VERY neutral sensory profile. For folks with significant sensory issues this detergent sits most squarely at the intersection of good and invisible without breaking the bank. (Note that while this baby liquid product is good, the Molly Sudds laundry powder is an abomination and should not be used.) |
| Whole Foods 365 Concentrated Liquid | This detergent has a very mild but distinct sensory profile - it leaves slight caramel/sugar notes and none of the yeasty notes you get with some plant based alkyl poly glucosides. It’s basic and cheap. The main pitfall is that it’s quite watered down so the dosing needs to be higher than other detergents and actually even higher than indicated on the packaging. I suspect that most folks who struggle with this detergent just aren’t using enough. I use this primarily for bedding where I want a little of the residual scent as a pleasant masking fragrance. (Note: this is the liquid detergent in the white opaque bottle, not the one in the clear bottle labeled “organic”. The organic liquid is truly hot garbage and should not be used.) |
Detergents I Like with Reservations#
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| AspenClean Liquid | I quite like the sensory profile of this one. Unfortunately it has soapy ingredients which can be problematic over time so don’t use it if you have hard water, and don’t use it regularly even in soft water (especially on towels where it could lead to texture problems over time). I keep it in rotation because it’s wool safe and I use it for wool socks and wool blankets. Rinse this aggressively if you use it. The formula is almost identical to the Dirty Labs Delicates and Hand Wash formula but it’s slightly cheaper from AspenClean. I consider the two interchangeable. |
Detergents I Don’t Like#
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Liquid | This has a strong smell during use that I don’t love, but it blows off enough in the dryer that the end result is tolerable. It performs well when dosed properly (you need more than suggested on the label), but it’s quite expensive so I don’t really use it. |
| Seventh Generation Ultra Concentrated EasyDose | Performs well and is really cheap. Leaves behind a noticeable off smell that I don’t like. |
| BioKleen Free and Clear Liquid | I really wanted to love this based on the formulation, but it has overpowering yeasty notes that persist even out of the dryer. I couldn’t handle it. |
Detergents with … Complications#
I liked Puracy and has been a good detergent for me. But the company has been going through some growth related growing pains and there have been issues that have showed up with formulations and labeling. For example, they briefly started adding linalool to their “free and clear” stain spray, then after the outcry switch to adding lime oil but keeping the inaccurate “free and clear” labeling. (The baby stain spray is actually free and clear FYI.) Then in my latest purchase of their detergent I think their surfactant sourcing has changed and the detergent now has a sort of old corn / grain smell that persists on the clothes… and maybe even some plasticizer contamination. It went from being a detergent I liked and was even starting to love, to a detergent that I can’t handle at all… especially on bedding. Also I think the concentration has decreased a bit because the dose seems to need to be a little higher than previously. Anyway, I think it’s best to avoid Puracy for now if you have chemical or smell sensitivities sadly. Here are my notes prior to these issues.
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| Puracy Unscented Liquid | This is expensive but it has a robust surfactant system and anti-redeposition agents. It’s missing any anionic surfactant so it might underperform the Tide Free and Gentle for particulate soils but it has a more neutral sensory profile. Tradeoffs. It can be a bit sensitive to dosing as it’s a bit sudsy because of the cocamidopropyl betaine (CPB). The CPB is somewhat novel in the formulation and I think they use it to good effect. Note that some sources of CPB are (or at least have been in the past) prone to impurities that are common skin irritants but I haven’t found the Puracy to be anything less than mild and transparent so I think they’re sourcing an appropriate grade. |