Welcome to my updated review of Truly Free (formerly “My Green Fills”) nontoxic laundry detergent. 🙂
I am updating this post after FIVE YEARS of using Truly Free, and I’m happy to say that with years now of baby and kid-stained shirts and smoothie and grease splashes of my own, I am even more grateful for a nontoxic, natural laundry detergent that works!
I remember the first time I switched to “natural” laundry detergent in 2008, shortly after my cancer diagnosis. It seemed pretty decent and not much different than my old Tide or Gain (except a lot less toxic!) Then I had kids and…YAH. This is where my “natural” laundry detergent was put to the test.
At first, I doubted myself at times- that perhaps I just forgot to put the detergent in the washing machine?? That’s how little of a difference the detergent made on my baby’s stains! It had nothing on diaper blowouts and dried, day old spit up. Onesie after onesie was ruined, even after pretreating it.
And over the years it had just gotten worse and more frustrating as my kids grew and stains became more fierce.
Thankfully, with Truly Free I’ve finally found a non-toxic laundry system that works, and I’m going to talk a little about that today. 🙌
Review of Truly Free Laundry Detergent: How I Started Using Truly Free
(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Visit here for complete disclosure.)
We met Stephen Ezell, the CEO and co-founder of Truly Free: Natural, Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent, when my husband’s film company began some awesome work with the Hope 4 Cancer clinic in Mexico to produce a few small films telling the stories of several of their patients.
One day I walked into our bedroom (with a basket full of clean laundry to fold, funny enough) where Kevin was on a business call with Stephen. Kevin had me say a quick hello to Stephen, and the three of us ended up chatting for a while. Kevin mentioned to me that Stephen’s other company, Truly Free, produced small batch, non-toxic and eco-friendly laundry detergent. I could be embellishing this- but I swear I remember snarkily saying “and it works???!”
Stephen laughed and casually said to me that he would send me some samples, and two days later we got them and tried them out! Here’s what I thought about it and my extremely honest review- because after FIVE years, I still really, really love Truly Free and have my subscription box set to every three months. 😊
Who Started Truly Free?
In 1982, Ruth Smith- formulator of the original My Green Fills product, started making her own natural, hypoallergenic laundry detergent to help her children who suffered from severe skin allergies and used it for over 30 years!
In 2012, Stephen Ezell joined the company as CEO and created the easy, subscription based, eco-friendly laundry supply system that Truly Free is today.
What Makes Truly Free Different?
You already know about Truly Free being completely non-toxic and environmentally friendly, but the main standout to me is that you only ever need ONE laundry detergent container. After that you buy biodegradable paper-based refill packets of the powder concentration and then mix it with warm water and shake to blend.
Truly Free doesn’t even *technically* make a “laundry detergent” or “soap.” They prefer to say “laundry wash” as detergents are filled with toxic fillers, preservatives, perfumes, and dyes, and fillers that stay on your clothes. Their Laundry Wash simply does what it says- gently washes through your clothes without leaving anything behind.
Their Laundry Rinse functions similarly to a fabric softener without leaving chemicals behind on your clothes.
How Does Truly Free Laundry Wash Work?
To get started with Truly Free you need to set up your initial subscription. You then set up a frequency that you want to receive your order. (I get the Buy 5+ items option and set my frequency to every 3 months.) If you buy 5+ items at a time, you get each item at 40% off. This is how I am able to get all of my non-toxic laundry products for a family of 7 for under $15 monthly.
Also- it is super easy to change your subscription order in your account, and if you forget to pause an order or forget to change an order, customer service is extremely accommodating.
With your initial order you will receive your Truly Free containers (choose Laundry Wash only or Laundry Wash + Rinse.) After this purchase you won’t ever purchase another container again and will only receive packets of the powdered detergent that you will mix with warm water in the same container over and over again. 😀
No more giant laundry detergent containers in the landfills or recycling bin. No more lugging giant containers of laundry detergent from Costco each month.
Note: For my family of seven, I purchase 3 Laundry Wash, 2 Laundry Rinse, and 1 Enzyme Stain Remover every three months. I also occasionally purchase the Stain Stick and Drier Angels + refills with my order.
Try Truly Free today and get free laundry wash for LIFE + FREE SHIPPING!
What is Truly Free Laundry Wash Made Of?
Sodium Citrate, Tetrasodium Salt, Sodium Carbonate, Polyacrylic Acid Sodium Salt, Signature Scent Blend of Essential Oils (including: ORANGE OIL, LIME OIL, FIR NEEDLE OIL, CLOVE LEAF OIL, LAVANDIN ABRAILI OIL, EUCALYPTUS OIL), Plant-Based Surfactants [Sodium Cocoate].
See the Products Page to read all of the ingredients for each product and check out the starter kits to choose from.
My Before and Afters: Does Truly Free Work As Well As Tide or Gain?
YES. Absolutely. I will say for stubborn stains it is important to use a pre-treatment of a small bit of detergent and the Truly Free Non-toxic Stain Stick along with the Enzyme Stain Remover and it has been amazing.
One major perk is that because it is a natural product, you don’t need to immediately wash your clothes after pretreating the stain. You can just throw it in the hamper after using the stain stick and wash the next time you do laundry!
Here are few before and afters of my kids’ most recent attempts to ruin their clothes. I used the Laundry Wash, Rinse, and the Enzyme Stain Remover along with the Stain Stick. Most of these stains have been on these clothes for hours or possibly even weeks!
A few of the pictures I forgot to take before pretreating them so they are wet.
Chocolate and tomato sauce…the ultimate test. Perfectly clean outcome.
Blueberries. Yikes.
Perfectly clean.
Blueberry smoothie discovered three days later in the hamper.
Practically gone. Ran through one more time with the Enzyme Stain Remover and it’s gone.
An old sticker. Perfect. The circle you see is the graphic on the other side of the shirt.
How Much Does Truly Free Laundry Products Cost?
Anywhere from $20-35 to get started. Shipping is ALWAYS FREE! Yeah!
If you have active messy children, I definitely recommend the adding the enzyme stain remover and stain to your first order, which will last for MONTHS (and years for the stain stick.)
After your initial subscription you may want to adjust your next order to only get the Laundry Wash, Rinse, and Enzyme Stain Remover every 3 months for an HE Washer.
One container of Laundry Wash has lasts me about a month for my family of 7 (make sure to only use 1/3 – 1/2 a cap depending on the load size.)
How Do the Products Smell?
I was a bit concerned about ANY scent on my clothes because I haven’t had scented laundry detergent since 2008! When I first got our Truly Free order five years ago, I thought that there was a pretty strong but pleasant smell. After washing, the scent is very subtle and I really love it. If you are sensitive to smell, go for the Unscented Laundry Wash as your scent choice when ordering, but like I said, I actually really like the scented.
How Do I Cancel or Change My Subscription?
Log in anytime to your Truly Free account to change or cancel your subscription. They also have phone and email options.
What Other Products Does Truly Free Offer?
Truly Free has some really fun and quality products for all cleaning purposes! Here are the ones I have tried:
Laundry Wash – serves as the laundry “detergent”. Comes in scented or unscented.
Laundry Rinse- serves as a fabric “softener.” Comes in scented or unscented.
Enzyme Stain Remover- works on stains without harming your clothes.
Non-Toxic Stain Stick– a MUST HAVE if you have kids! Works for pretreating stains.
Dryer Angel – handmade with love by women around the world. This serves to add extra scent (using essential oils) to your clothes and significantly reduces static cling.
Oxyboost Powder- super concentrated hydrogen peroxide, bleach free color brightener. Can also be used for cleaning tile, bathtubs, toilets, removes soil with power of oxygen.
Essential Oils- I have the set of 5 and I really love diffusing these blends. They are very affordable and have great scents. 🙂
(Truly Free also has Sunscreen and Bug Spray but I have yet to try it.)
Cleaning Caddy– I love this product! It includes a medley of all of their cleaning products. Right now you can get it for only $49 + free shipping. You will be set for a year with cleaning products. Refills can be added to your subscription box each month. It includes: 2-pack everyday cleaner + bottle, 2-pack heavy degreaser + bottle, 2-pack bathroom cleaner + bottle, 2-pack glass cleaner + bottle, 2-pack stain and odor remover + bottle, and space refresher + bottle. all come in the cutest little caddy, too. 🙂 Check out what it all looks like HERE.
My Thoughts:
Starting with my initial impromptu chat with their CEO, Stephen Ezell to when I mixed my first container, the experience with Truly was fantastic. It actually has made doing laundry feel different and enjoyable.
Pros:
- I love Truly Free’s focus on the no-waste model and reducing plastics significantly.
- I love that they empower women in struggling communities around the world by working with them to produce Truly Free products.
- I love that my clothes smell fresh, are free of fillers and dyes and are thoroughly cleaned without leaving residue behind.
- I love that I can pretreat clothes easily without having to immediately launder.
- I love that because Truly Free is a subscription, and I never have to think about laundry detergent at the store or lug a heavy container home.
Cons:
I had to dig deep for cons, so here it goes:
- If you don’t like subscriptions or having credit cards on file in an online account, you may not like Truly Free.
- It might take you a few months to figure out how much laundry wash and rinse you need every month and you might order too little or too much. (You just adjust this in your account.)
- The scent might be too strong for some people. Order unscented to be safe if you are sensitive to smells.
I hope you all give Truly Free a try. It is definitely worth seeing if you like it! It may even make a great Christmas present for the right person. 😀
Try Truly Free and get free refills for life + FREE SHIPPING!
-Cortney 🍏
I am at the daughter-in-law’s house doing laundry with the Truly Free laundry wash – and my question is that I don’t notice any bubbles in the wash . Is that normal?
Thanks much.
YES! It doesn’t have that surfactants that cause the bubbles. 🙂
Hi, Cortney! I just read through your updated review and am interested in switching to Truly Free. I was wondering, though, if you have any information on if it works well for cloth diapers?
Also, would you happen to know how long the household cleaners last (as in, do they go bad)? We are in the “small children stage” and will fly through the laundry wash but probably not the cleaners. 😂
Thank you! And thank you for your blog!
I totally get the little kid phase 😉 I’m actually not sure how long the cleaners last, but you buy them separately than the laundry products, so you can just get one package to try. I found this very helpful article about cloth diapers and Truly Free! https://blog.trulyfreehome.com/cleaning-cloth-diapers/
Have you noticed it fading the colors of your clothes or pulling? I find it’s done both to mine and I use the small HE amount in my machine. Anyone else?
I haven’t at all! I have been using MGF for 4 years and haven’t noticed that?
I did not order refills. I still had some. I got an order. It was charged to my account. it had 2 $28 charges. I think one was charged when my card was compromised. I was waiting for new card. I received another order I have not opened and am sending it back. I had already told someone there when I needed some I would order it. Don’t send until I order it
Hi Anne, my blog only reviewed My Green Fills. You will need to contact their customer support. 🙂
Can I just buy the laundry detergent without the rinse?
I sent a message to MGF but haven’t heard back yet. You may want to call their customer service and ask. 🙂