Kirkland Brand Laundry Soap (From Costco) Review - Free & Clear Scent

by Diane

Diane has shared her Kirkland brand laundry soap review, from Costco.

Diane says:

I purchased the Kirkland brand (Costco's signature brand) of Free and Clear Laundry detergent.


I chose to purchase this product based 1) on my experience with other Kirkland brand products and 2) on the cost associated with this product. The price was considerably cheaper when you based it on a per load basis.

I don't like the fact that it is more cost up front due to the size of the bottle, but it is worth it due to the cost per load.

I like this detergent because it does a great job of getting smells and stains out of all my clothes except my family's gym clothes.

For some reason this detergent does not work well with items that are extra smelly and sweaty. I had to purchase a more expensive brand just to wash our gym clothes.

Both my daughter and I have sensitive skin so it is important to me use a detergent that will not irritate our skin. I have found that this product lives up to this expectation.

If cost were not a factor, I think I would still purchase this product. It works just as well as name brand products and I can buy it in a larger quantity at a time. This is important to me because I don't have time to constantly run to the store because I ran out of detergent and with having children, I have to do a lot of laundry.

Taylor says:

Thanks Diane for sharing your review of Kirkland brand laundry soap.

I know what you mean about kids and an abundance of laundry. They seem to dirty clothes very quickly, don't they?

It is harder to find a hypoallergenic laundry detergent that is a generic or store brand version that you can feel confident about, so I'm glad you've shared your experiences with me.

Has anyone else used Costco's laundry detergent? If so, please share your laundry detergent review here, to tell me what you think about it. (You can also share reviews of other brands too!)

***Update 1: Make sure you read the rest of the reviews I have collected since although this first one was positive, many others are not. While obviously some people like it, this version, although it is marketed as hypoallergenic, caused allergic reactions in at least some people, as they reported below, so make sure to read everything before choosing this store brand of detergent!***

***Update 2: In addition, one reader has shared how her dogs broke into this detergent, and were made ill. You can read her story here, which serves as a safety lesson for all of us about storing our laundry products! ***End Update

Kirkland Free & Clear Ultra Laundry Detergent Caused Allergic Reaction

by SR101 Reader

An SR101 Reader shared her experience with Kirkland Free & Clear Ultra laundry detergent.

SR101 Reader says:

I broke out in a rash which covered most of my body after wearing PJ's washed in this product.

We are taking the product back for a refund and I am awaiting, with interest, Costco's response to a letter that I wrote to them in this regard.

Taylor says:

I'm sorry to hear you had an allergic reaction to this laundry detergent. That can be very uncomfortable, and also frustrating since it is advertised as hypoallergenic. Unfortunately, even free and clear versions of detergents may cause some people to have allergic reactions, since everyone's exact laundry detergent allergy is different.

Has anyone else used this product and had problems with it?

I would love to hear even more reviews of it, good or bad.

You can share your laundry detergent review here, for this or any other brand, sharing how it worked for you.

Kirkland Free & Clear Ultra Gave Me A Rash Too

by Nick M

In response to the previous SR101 reader's experience Nick wrote in to share what happened when he used this detergent.

Nick says:

I have the Kirkland Free and Clear Ultra, but believe this detergent gave me rashes as well. I have it all over. I've tied it back to this detergent.

Taylor says:

Thanks for sharing your experience Nick, and I hope you begin to feel better soon.

Well, now that is two people who've said this detergent, which is supposed to be hypoallergenic, didn't work well for them in this department.

I would love to hear from even more readers, sharing their experiences with this detergent, good or bad.

Yet Another Allergic Reaction From Kirkland Free and Clear

by Than
(South Pasadena, CA)

After reading the other reviews and experiences above Than wrote in to share his experience too.

Than says:

Just wanted to chime in that I also got a severe rash after using this laundry detergent. We threw the bottle away afterwards and went back to Tide and everything cleared up.

A week ago my blessed Mother-in-Law decided to do my laundry. Two days later an awful rash developed. We asked her what detergent she used and sure enough Kirkland Free and Clear was the culprit.

I've never had any allergic reaction to any detergent, but this supposedly hypoallergenic detergent is anything but for me.

Taylor says:

Thanks Than for sharing your experience with Kirland Free & Clear, although I'm sorry this happened to you.

It is especially frustrating, I know, because it is supposed to be hypoallergenic. I guess it goes to show we all have different sensitivities, so we just have to be careful with what we use that will go close to our skin, like laundry detergents and other laundry supplies.

I would love to hear even more reviews and opinions about this detergent, good or bad. You can share your experience here.

***Update: Another reader has shared her experience with this detergent with me briefly. She says:

My daughter and I both have bad rashes on our faces, we are very fair skinned. I had to go to skin doctor - I am going back to Tide.

I Will Never Use Free & Clear Ultra Again

by Shavonne

Shavonne says:

My fiancee and I grabbed this trying to save a few bucks, since we are both on a very limited income.

At first it was fine, but after about a week and a half I started noticing that I was becoming increasingly more itchy, as was my fiancee.

After about 3 weeks I had to start taking a benedryl to stop the itching and just last night my back broke out in neck to lower back hives and that is when we figured it was the the laundry soap, especially after I read all the reviews on this page and others.

From now on I will not be using any Kirkland brand products. This has soured me completely.

Taylor says:

Shavonne, sorry to hear about your experience, and I hope you and your fiancé feel better soon.

Kirkland Ultra Clean Free And Clear Is Not "Improved" If It Does This!

by Michelle
(San Jose, CA)

Michelle says:

Recently my entire family started itching, especially on our backs.

My husband suffers from allergies so we always get the free and clear detergent.

We had never had any problem before, but finally narrowed it down to our Kirkland detergent.

My husband said to double check to be sure I got the right one.

That's when I noticed the bottle said IMPROVED formula. That has got to be the problem!

We are going back to Tide.

Used Happily For Two Years But Now Giving Me Bad Rash

by Marilyn

Marilyn says:

This has been my first choice for laundry for more than two years because it cleans great and has a great price AND had never caused any type of allergy reaction.

However, I bought a new bottle about two weeks ago and now I have a growing VERY itchy rash over most of my body and can find no explenation.

I read that some people become reactive to Oxyclean so I washed my bed linens and pjs twice in Free and Clear and it just gets worse.

I see a dermatologist soon so and will use some other deterget. Any suggestions?

Taylor says:

Sorry to hear this detergent has been giving you allergies. This is especially exasperating because it is supposed to be hypoallergenic.

I have a list of free and clear detergents here that you can check out to see if you can find a new variety that will hopefully work better for you. Good luck!

Mine & My Husband's First Reaction To Laundry Soap From This Brand

by Lisa

Lisa says:

About a week or so into using this brand for the first time I was having skin reactions.

Then, tonight my husband said all the talk of itching was making him want to itch, and when he took his pants and boxers off it revealed the same red inflamed lines on his skin where the waistband had presssd against his skin.

It has me waking up in the middle of the night, itchy skin and burning red marks where clothes were pressed firmly on skin...so happy to have figured it out!!!

Used For Years Without Problems Until New Looking Bottle

by SR101 Reader

I have sensitive skin, thank you psoriasis, and have used the Kirkland Free & clear for YEARS without a problem.

The last bottle we bought had a different look to the bottle but I figured it was just a new look.

I didn't think any more about it until I broke out in a rash in a very private area.

So not cool and very uncomfortable/awkard.

It took me a week or so once the rash came out and trying to think of anything different in the wash until I remembered the bottle was different.

Guess I will be going commando for a while and am heading to the grocery store tonight to buy some other brands of detergent.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Costco but will absolutely never buy this again.

Don't Even Think About Using It For Toddlers Or Babies

by John

My son is 3 1/2 years old. We've been fighting eczema for 3 years.

I never thought of this detergent because of it being "free and clear". WRONG.

It finally hit me reading on a site that claims its going to be the detergent if diaper area is great but everything else is awful.

24 hours after washing with Borax from Target the "eczema" is gone 50% so I KNOW now it's this detergent.

I plan on making a video with not only the $1000 in lotions and crap I put on counter for a pic but the rash area vs diaper area. It's very easy to see.

Just rewashing the clothes now leaves a detergent scum on the washing agitator.

Be careful everyone this isn't what everyone thinks it is.

Kirkland Free & Clear Laundry Soap Gave Me The Worst Rash EVER

by Penny

It seems, unfortunately, I keep getting stories from readers sharing their bad experiences with this laundry detergent which is supposed to be hypoallergenic. The latest is from Penny.

Penny says:

I tried the Kirkland Free and Clear laundry soap and holy geez I broke out in a HORRIBLE rash.

I didn't even think of the possibility that it could be the laundry soap because I've never had a reaction to laundry soap before. I spent 3 nights awake scratching before I finally realized that it was the laundry soap causing the problem.

It really was awful. Back to Tide Free and Clear for me.

I would like to say though, overall I have been happy with Kirkland products.

Taylor says:

Penny, I'm sorry to hear about your problems with this product. It definitely sounds like a laundry detergent allergy to me. I hope you start feeling better soon.

Based on all these bad reactions to this detergent I am updating my hypoallergenic laundry detergent page to warn against using this particular brand -- it seems to give too many sensitive skinned people bad reactions. That's too bad since it is a lower cost detergent, and it is often hard to find lower cost varieties that are scent free.

Does anyone else have another detergent they'd like to recommend that is both low cost and scent free? If so, you can nominate what you think is the best laundry detergent here.

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