J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent Review | Green Up Your Laundry

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This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about a more natural laundry detergent option; a few months ago I reviewed the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda which was my first experience using a powder detergent in my wash. I fell in love with using a powder, but there were a few things that I found the Nellie’s Laundry Soda fell short on.

Therefore, I decided to order the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent from Well.ca; it also has plenty of positive reviews with 4.5/5 stars.

J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent Review

J.R Watkins was founded in 1868 and began with a bottle of liniment; made for hard-working mothers to help with pain relief, naturally. throughout the years, j.r watkins has continued to grow and has expanded their product range. however, one thing remains the same and it’s their commitment to high-quality and effective products.

Finding powder laundry detergent in North America is a struggle; I’ve been on the hunt at every grocery store in my area and have yet to find one. It’s a real shame because after making the switch to a concentrated powder formula I don’t want to go back to typical liquid laundry detergent. Why pay more for water? 

The J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent is dye and fragrance-free, works in both cold and hot water and has been certified for the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Designed for the Environment Program.”

In each 2.27kg (5 lb) box you can complete 40-80 loads depending on whether you have a top or front loading washer.

How does the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent Compare to the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda?

If you have a front loading washing machine, you’re better off using the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent.

What is in the J.R Watkins Laundry Detergent?

• Sodium Sulfate. Is used to bulk up the product and lower cost per gram.
• Sodium Carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash.) Is used as a water softening ingredient; It is a mild skin irritant when used in concentrations above 15% however it is a naturally occurring ingredient.
• Sodium Percarbonate. Is used as a whitening agent; it is essentially a dry form of hydrogen peroxide.
• Sodium Alkyl Aryl Sulfonate. Is used as a surfactant*; could be contaminated with ethylene oxide.
• Primary Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate. Another surfactant*.
  *surfactant is another term for cleaning ingredient.

I was expecting for the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent to have more in common with the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda for ingredients.

Interestingly, there is only one ingredient that directly crosses over: Sodium Carbonate (Soda Ash.)

So, does the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent clean my clothes?

In short, yes. I have yet to test this particular detergent on stubborn cloth diapers but I have noticed that unlike the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda, this does not seem to leave any sort of residue on my dark clothing. Even when washed in cold water (which most of my clothing is.)

I do have a white shirt that has seen some discoloration since it’s first wear which began when I was still using the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda. Therefore it’s hard to say whether the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry detergent has made it worse or not.

It’s important to note that we use well water, not treated city water. We have lots of iron and naturally occurring minerals in our water; even though we have a water softening system I have noticed that iron deposits are unavoidable.

I can’t blame the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent nor the Nellie’s All Natural Laundry Soda for not being able to remove those stubborn deposits; though the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent has a whitening agent within it that helps to minimize the stains unlike the Nellie’s Laundry Soda.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with the J.R Watkins Powder Laundry Detergent. Although I do not have a front loading washing machine I find that it still performs well and I can see myself repurchasing this detergent in the future.

What laundry detergent do you use?
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