While there are many types of detergent, only a handful will adequately clean fabrics or clothes, so finding the best liquid laundry detergent can be challenging. If you have sensitive skin or allergies, the Best Laundry Detergent list narrows even more as certain types might make you itchy or break out in a rash. The trick is finding a detergent that not only works and smells good but won’t cause your body irritation. We spent over 12 hours researching the best liquid laundry detergent options, and we’re confident we’ve selected the best of the best. Planning to replace your old washing machine? Find suitable alternatives in our best washing machine guide.
Our top pick is the Gain Liquid Plus Aroma Boost liquid laundry detergent because it’s priced competitively, offering up to 48 loads per 75-ounce bottle, and it comes with two. It also works with both standard and high-efficiency washers and offers an incredible scent, keeping fabrics and clothes fresh. Of course, it’s not the only detergent we chose. Almost everything else uses natural ingredients, offers a high load count and works with all washer types. Keep reading to learn more about our top picks.
Top 7 Best Liquid Laundry Detergents
#1 Gain Liquid Plus Aroma Boost Laundry Detergent
Award: Top Pick
WHY WE LIKE IT: As one of the most competitively priced detergents on the list, this liquid detergent works in all washing machines, including HE, and can be used with both cold and hot water. Also, it cleans great and smells great, leaving clothes with a fresh scent. Both bottles offer up to 96 loads total or 48 per bottle.
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- Very pleasant scent
- Comes with two 75 ounce bottles
- Up to 48 loads with a single 75oz bottle
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- Not made with natural ingredients
- The Watery mixture needs more detergent per load
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Gain’s Liquid Plus Aroma Boost Detergent is relatively cheap, comes in some pretty sizable containers — two 75 ounce bottles — and it smells great. All of those things combined have earned it our top pick. Unfortunately, it’s not made with natural or eco-friendly ingredients like some of the other options on the list.
The detergent is a little more watery than some of the other options, which means you’ll need to use a bit more per load than recommended. That said, you get multiple bottles, plenty big enough to last for a while. The pleasant scent the detergent gives off leaves your clothes smelling fresh and clean, without being too overbearing. This detergent is the best all-around solution, making it great for anyone. It is the best laundry detergent on our list.
#2 Mrs. Meyer’s Lemon Verbena Laundry Detergent
Award: Honorable Mention
WHY WE LIKE IT: If you want something completely natural and eco-friendly, this pick should be your go-to. It is biodegradable so it’s safe to flush, and just as safe for use with your clothes and, by proxy, your body. It’s low sudsing, which makes it suitable for use in standard and high-efficiency washers, but effective enough that it can clean soiled laundry and fabrics adequately.
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- Biodegradable & all-natural
- Great for hypoallergenic
- Low sudsing, safe for use in HE washers
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- Single 64oz bottle offers 64 loads, on the low side
- Not antibacterial
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Unique to Mrs. Meyer’s Lemon Verbena laundry detergent is the fact that it’s biodegradable and completely eco-friendly. That also means it’s safe for your body and should be suitable for anyone with sensitive skin or allergies. A single 64-ounce bottle offers up to 60 loads per, which isn’t nearly as much as some of the bigger bottles on the list but still plenty to make it worthwhile. Furthermore, it works with both standard and high-efficiency washers and doesn’t create too many suds.
Mrs. Meyers will clean soiled laundry quite well, but it’s not antibacterial. It’s great for anyone that doesn’t need a disinfectant solution for their clothes and prefer all-natural ingredients with a low environmental footprint. It works great with the best front load washing machine
#3 Puracy Natural Fresh Linen Laundry Detergent
We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock
Award: Best Value
WHY WE LIKE IT: Puracy’s Natural Fresh Linen liquid laundry detergent offers the most bang for your buck as it comes with two bottles for a total of 192 loads. The detergent is hypoallergenic and made with natural plant-based ingredients, great for anyone with sensitive skin.
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- Hypoallergenic & natural ingredients
- One 24oz bottle offers 96 loads, comes in a 2-pack
- No risk plan means you can return anytime if you’re not satisfied
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- Not antibacterial, may not remove difficult stains
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Puracy’s Natural Liquid Laundry Detergent stands out because it comes in a relatively small bottle yet offers a lot of loads per. With a 24-ounce bottle in a two-pack, you might be surprised to know the bundle offers 192 loads total or 96 loads per bottle. That’s because you don’t have to use much in each load to clean the clothes and fabrics. Plus, it’s designed for those with sensitive skin and allergies, devoid of sulfates, bleach and other toxic chemicals. That makes it a great recommendation for just about anyone but it also makes it one of the best laundry detergents if you suffer from rashes or itchiness caused by standard detergent brands.
It’s purportedly “created by Doctors” and uses natural, plant-based ingredients that are suitable for use with all forms of clothing, including delicates. It comes in either fresh linen or free and clear scents, both of which leave clothes smelling great without being so potent it turns you off. If you prefer pods, you will want to read about the best detergent pods.
#4 Biokleen Natural Scent-Free Laundry Detergent
Award: Best Quality
WHY WE LIKE IT: Biokleen’s liquid detergent is plant-based, eco-friendly and non-toxic. That makes it an excellent option for anyone with sensitive skin or allergies. This particular mix — which includes citrus extracts — works well to clean stains and produce odor-free loads.
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- Great for stains & works with HE machines
- Plant-based, eco-friendly & non-toxic
- Ideal for those with allergies and sensitive skin
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- Non-scented, no fragrance
- Shelf-life (expiration date) not provided
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Biokleen’s Natural Scent-Free Liquid Laundry Detergent is made in the USA and includes plant-based, eco-friendly and non-toxic ingredients. Made with extracts of citrus and grapefruit seeds, it offers a relatively strong cleaning for stainless, odor-free clothes and fabrics. Each bottle is quite large too, containing 150-ounces of the mixture. That should be good enough for about 300 HE washer loads, or 150 standard loads. The natural composition also means it’s ideal for people with bad allergies or sensitive skin.
All of that is also available at a decent price, about average compared to the other liquid detergents on the list. Furthermore, it can be used with any water temperature be it cold or hot. One concern to note, however, is that no expiration date is provided, so there’s no way to know the shelf-life after the bottle has been opened. With natural ingredients — like citrus extract — that’s a little more important to consider.
#5 Arm & Hammer Liquid HE Laundry Detergent
Award: Best Clean
WHY WE LIKE IT: Arm & Hammer’s Liquid HE detergent is one of the best and most powerful cleaning solutions on the list. Thanks to the lovely scent and the inclusion of baking soda, the detergent can eliminate strong odors and tough nasties from your laundry.
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- Powerful cleaning fights strong odors
- Extra-large 210oz bottle offers around 200 loads
- Low sudsing, good for SE and HE washers
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- Can be an irritant or allergen
- Not great for those with sensitive skin
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While Arm & Hammer’s Liquid HE Clean Burst laundry detergent is not made with all-natural materials, it does employ the cleaning power of baking soda. Unfortunately, that also means it might be an irritant for those with sensitive skin and allergies. It comes in an extra-large 210-ounce bottle, which should offer around 200 loads. The detergent is suitable for use with standard and high-efficiency washers and is low sudsing meaning it won’t leave residue or soap on your fabrics and clothes.
It has a pleasant scent even in the standard version, but there are other scents available like Tropical Paradise and Sun Kissed Flowers. The wonderful scent, coupled with the strong cleaning makes this the ideal detergent for anyone that wants to rid their laundry of grime and strong odors.
#6 Persil ProClean Liquid Laundry Detergent
Award: Best Odor Eliminator
WHY WE LIKE IT: While Persil’s ProClean Liquid Laundry Detergent does have a lower load count, it’s available in larger bundles, so it’s easy to personalize amounts based on what you need. If you genuinely want to clean out weird smells in the washer drum, clothes or anything else inside, this is the detergent to go with.
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- Ideal for odor elimination and cleaning washer drums
- Available in bulk with up to 4 bottles per set
- 82.5oz bottle offers 110 loads
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- No mention of natural or included ingredients
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The Persil ProClean Liquid Laundry Detergent comes in a single 82.5-ounce bottle, which should last for about 110 loads. While that is on the low side compared to some of the other bottles on the list you can buy Persil’s detergent in bulk sets, up to a total of four. It does not include natural ingredients and there’s no mention of them, so if you prefer to have a healthy, eco-friendly detergent this is not it. It does use a concentrated “formula” which is excellent for cleaning soiled laundry. The fresh scent is rather strong, too, so it can help remove bad odors.
You can use Persil’s ProClean detergent in standard and high-efficiency washers, which makes it great for just about anyone. Again, those with sensitive skin or allergies may want to go with one of the more natural options.
#7 Earth Friendly Products Lavender ECOS Liquid Laundry Detergent
Award: Custom Award
WHY WE LIKE IT: It’s hypoallergenic, ph-balanced so it’s not too harsh and made with all-natural plant-based ingredients. It comes scented with lavender essential oils, which is strong enough to eliminate odors and clean clothes yet not overbearing.
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- Hypoallergenic and ph-balanced for sensitive skin
- Scented with lavender essential oil
- 100oz bottle offers 100 loads
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- Labeled as made in the U.S. but with “global ingredients”
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Earth Friendly Products’ ECOS 2X liquid laundry detergent is hypoallergenic and ph-balanced, which means it should be great for anyone with sensitive skin or detergent-related allergies. The mixture includes natural plant-based ingredients and lavender essential oil. While the detergent does have the “made in USA” label, the ingredients are globally sourced, so there’s no way to tell where they are from. The detergent is free of dyes, optical brighteners, parabens, phosphates and phthalates — all toxic in one form or another.
The detergent is good for use with any temperature, hot or cold, and should work well on stains too. It doesn’t matter whether your washer is HE or old school either, the detergent works in both. One 100 ounce bottle will get you about 100 loads, and it comes bundled in a pair so you get up to 200 loads total. The price is relatively cheap too, especially when compared to some of the other detergents on the list.
How We Decided
Because there are so many different types of washing machines out there, both standard and high-efficiency, it was important that all selected detergents are universal. Indeed, everything on this list is suitable for use in either type of washer, most of which use fewer suds which means they won’t leave any residue or clog the tub.
It’s difficult to select an entire list of the best overall all-natural solutions, especially since some of the more concentrated formulas are known to clean soiled laundry a lot better — like Arm & Hammer’s Liquid HE detergent. However, out of the detergents we tested, we chose a healthy mix of both types, natural and manufactured.
Finally, every bottle on this list — big and small — offers a reasonable amount of detergent within, with the smallest bottle offering around 50 loads. Many of the options on the list offer more than 100 loads per bottle, which is what we tried to adhere to most.
Product Category Buying Guide
The Most Important Features to Consider
- Machine Compatibility
Take a moment to think about how you run your washer most often. Do you use hot or cold water? Do you select an extra rinse cycle, or just leave it on the standard settings? Its operation will help determine the type of detergent you need. It may also affect how well the solution cleans your laundry, and whether or not soapy residue is left behind. As long as you choose a detergent compatible with your washer, such as HE-ready for high-efficiency machines, you should be just fine. Luckily, everything on our list is compatible with both standard and high-efficiency washers, so if you’re choosing one listed here you don’t have to worry. If you’re selecting a detergent that’s not on the list, just be sure to note what type of washer it’s compatible with. - Natural versus Manufactured
Anyone could make an argument for all-natural and eco-friendly products, and it’s reasonable to migrate towards them over anything else. Many of the natural detergents on the list use plant-based ingredients that offer an allergen-free and environmentally-friendly solution. That said, they don’t always clean as well as some of the more concentrated, manufactured solutions. Natural compositions do, however, accommodate those with more sensitive skin and allergic reactions. If detergent tends to make you itchy, break out in a rash or worse, you should be using one of the more mild, natural options. If you don’t have sensitive skin, however, and need to ensure your soiled laundry is extra clean and smells great, go with the manufactured solutions like Arm & Hammer or Persil ProClean. - Bottle Size and Mixture
Next, think about how often you do laundry and how much detergent you need? Larger bottles hold more detergent and that usually means more loads. But it also depends on the detergent itself and how well it mixes when in the machine. Too many suds and you’ll end up with soapy residue on your clothes, but too little and they won’t get all that clean. You want just enough to clean the fabric and make everything smell nice. For detergents that aren’t as strong, you’ll be using more per load, which also affects the total amount just as much as the bottle size. If possible, it’s always best to get a smaller bottle of a new detergent and do a trial run. This allows you to see how much you need per load, and how fast you might use up a larger bottle. It also has the benefit of allowing your body to get used to the new detergent, and you can pick out any issues like allergic reactions or worse.
