Breaking Down The Ingredients in Our Human-Safe Laundry Detergent

It’s here! After numerous formula iterations, we just launched our Laundry Detergent powder. This product has been something we’ve wanted to create for a long time, and we’re so excited to share it with you.

Our #1 Priority: Human Safety

As always, our number one priority when creating a new product is using human-safe ingredients. Each individual ingredient has to be rated 1-2 on EWG Skin Deep, rated "A" on EWG Healthy Cleaning, or be an approved ingredient by MADE SAFE. 

Features of Our Ingredients

After human-safe, we wanted to make sure this product performed well and was sustainable. With all of that said, our Laundry Detergent is:

• Plant and mineral based 
• Ethoxylate free (no 1,4-dioxane)
• Free of chlorine-bleach 
• Phosphate free
• Sulfate free
• Fragrance-free 
• No harmful VOC emissions
• No harmful SVOC emissions
• Safe for sensitive skin when used as directed
• High performing even in cold water 
• Not harmful to aquatic life 
• Biodegradable
  

A Breakdown of Our Ingredients

We believe in company transparency, which is why we want to tell you about each and every ingredient in our products.

Below is a breakdown of our ingredients and their function within our Laundry Detergent! 

• Sodium Carbonate acts as a builder in detergents, enhancing cleaning by binding to hard water elements like magnesium and calcium. This prevents hard water from reducing the detergent’s effectiveness. It softens water, removes minerals that cause hardness, and ensures detergents penetrate fibers properly, keeping laundry whiter, brighter, and fresher. It also prolongs garment and machine life, lifts soil from fabrics, and optimizes pH levels, making it an essential ingredient for effective cleaning.

• Sodium Percarbonate is a powerful, human-safe laundry booster that offers bleaching, deodorizing, sanitizing, brightening, and cleaning capabilities. It effectively removes stains and disinfects by killing bacteria, viruses, fungi, mildew, and algae. It is activated by all temperatures especially when combined with TAED. It brightens, whitens and deodorizes without the harsh effects of chlorine bleach, though it may lighten non-colorfast fabrics. Avoid use on silk, wool, and leather, and handle with gloves.

• Sodium Gluconate is a chelating agent that binds and removes minerals and metals from water and surfaces, breaking bonds that hold stains to fabric. It acts as an anti-redeposition agent, preventing soil from redepositing on fabrics during washing. As a builder, it softens water, prevents color fading by binding dyes together, and acts as a preservative to inhibit microbial growth in products.

• Decyl Glucoside and Lauryl Glucoside are surfactant cleansing agents that reduce surface tension, making it easier for the detergent to mix with and remove dirt, grease, and grime. They improve the wetting ofsurfaces, help emulsify and break down oils and dirt, and promote ease in rinsing and removal from fabric. They also stabilize oil and water mixtures and create stable, long-lasting foam. Decyl Glucoside forms a rich foam quickly that disappears fast, while Lauryl Glucoside has a slow, stable foaming action.

• Sodium Metasilicate acts as a laundry booster and enhancer by softening water, augmenting stain removal, and neutralizing acidic soils. It emulsifies fats and oils, disperses or dissolves protein stains, and improves the cleaning efficiency of surfactants. As a foaming and wetting agent, it helps remove organic matter during washing, prevents dirt redeposition on fabric, and breaks down the bond between stains.

• Tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) acts as a laundry enhancer by boosting sodium percarbonate’s stain removal, deodorizing, disinfecting, whitening, and brightening capacity. As a bleach activator, it catalyzes the reaction between sodium percarbonate and soil particles, enabling low-temperature bleaching, whitening, deodorizing,  and cleaning. This saves energy and preserves both fabric and fabric color.

• Protease enhances cleaning efficiency by breaking down protein stains, making it especially effective in cold water, and designed to avoid setting stains in hot water. It improves stain removal for substances like blood, egg, gravy, grass, dirt, and bodily fluids by breaking proteins into smaller, soluble fragments. Active at low temperatures, it increases detergent efficiency but can break down silk and wool fibers, so avoid using it on these fabrics.

• Amylase boosts cleaning efficiency, especially in cold water, by breaking down stains without harsh chemicals. It effectively tackles starch-based stains, turning them into smaller sugars that are easier to remove. This improves the detergent's performance and helps remove stains from foods like sauces and ice cream, as well as blood, grass, and soil. Without amylase, starch can bind to dirt, making the wash less effective. Amylase is active at low temperatures, ensuring effective cleaning even in cooler water.

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate is a surfactant that removes oil, dirt, and bacteria from fabric by reducing surface tension. It helps detergent mix with and remove grime, improves wetting, and emulsifies oils for easier rinsing. As an emulsifier, it stabilizes oil in water and removes fabric softener residue. It also acts as a foaming and dispersing agent, keeping particles stable and suspended for better removal during rinsing.

• Sodium Polyitaconate or Polyitaconic acid stabilizes surfactants, enhancing their effectiveness. It also increases foam volume and viscosity, leading to richer, more stable lather.

Proper Use of Powdered Products

All this being said, when safe ingredients are used in a powdered laundry detergent there should be no eye, skin or lung irritation if used as directed. We want to ensure our customers are using our product properly to avoid any sort of irritation. A few things to look out for:

• It's important to avoid inhaling any powdered product when transferring from the package to the washing machine to prevent breathing in particulates.
• This is a laundry powder - intended use (transference from package to washing machine with a scoop) does not involve skin or eye contact.
• Wash hands after contact is made with the powder.
• Do not overload the washing machine to ensure adequate rinsing of the clothing. If you have sensitive skin this is important with any powdered detergent! 
• This powder should not be ingested. 
• Avoid contact with eyes and flush with water if occurrence happens. 

Our Ingredients = Our Mission 

We share our ingredients and their function with you as we want to highlight the dedication, thought, and care that went into selecting our ingredients. Our focus has always been on creating formulas that are both safe and effective—for you, your little ones, your pets, and the planet. 

At Branch Basics, human health is our number one priority, and that will never waver! This core value guides every single ingredient choice we make. Our products are the vehicle for our mission to help people experience the power of pure by tossing the toxins and creating a healthy home.