We use Biokleen, and aside from a really intense berebere (Ethiopian hot pepper) stain, it has gotten out everything. I just use the regular detergent as a pretreatment for stains, and there’s no need for a second product. I keep a small bottle of it in our bathroom linen closet, which is where our dirty clothes hamper lives, and rub it into stains at the end of the day as I’m tossing items into the hamper. By wash day (up to a week later), the detergent has worked its magic, and stains come out.

I use Method which you can get at Target. I especially LOVE the packaging of the pump – it’s a small, cool-looking and easy to use pump that has 50 loads in it and you almost can’t believe it because it’s so SMALL. The baby version smells delicious too. And the bonus is that my plumber tells me to use half the amount they recommend in my machine, which means one small container is 100 loads of laundry for about $12. You can’t lose! As for stains I use OxyClean spray which gets out just about everything with my extremely messy 3.5-yr-old daughter (paint, soup, markers, glue, dirt, etc).

Homemade! I make laundry soap using pure soap (like ivory), borax, washing soda, and water. There are countless recipes online, and you can add essential oils if your family isn’t sensitive to it for scent (we like lavendar oil). To brighten whites (and disinfect the washing machine a bit) we add a cup of vinegar to the load. It takes about 20 minutes total to throw together a few gallons (and I find that 20 minutes even as a full time working mom of 3 very small boys), and you use about 1/4-1/2 cup per load – one batch lasts my family about a month. In addition to being detergent free and environmentally friendly, it is so cheap that it’s nearly free.

Many stains can be removed by pouring boiling water on the stain, but you can also make a paste of hot water and baking soda (add a little hydrogen peroxide and you have basically made oxyclean) and scrub that on the stain or do a few hours’ soak in the washing machine in hot water and baking soda.

I think the only detergent that works nearly as well as Tide and is still affordable, especially for a big family, is Seventh Generation. You can even get it at Target now for under $20 (for the big one!). If I have stubbornly stained clothing I’ll put one of those new Tide stain removers gel things in with it, but there’s a part of me that thinks I’m succumbing to a scam with them!

Recently started using Ecos, found at Costco, and so far I like it (but it’s still pretty new so I can’t say for sure): http://www.ecos.com/ecosliquid.html#spec

i use seventh generation or method, and both seem to work well enough for me. we don’t ever seem to have any stains so terrible that these products won’t get them out.

We got Soapnuts for a mild baby detergent, and liked it so much that now it’s all we use! We originally got the liquid concentrate from NaturOli (http://naturoli.com/) but are currently using the less-concentrated Maggie’s Liquid (http://www.amazon.com/Maggies-Soap-Nuts-Liquid-32-ounces/dp/B001HXG0M6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1294430613&sr=8-5). We like that, in addition to working really well on all kinds of stains, the soapnuts are totally naturally-derived and make our clothes really soft, so that we don’t need fabric softener.

Another Charlie’s Soap vote! In addition to the things the others have mentioned, I’ve noticed it seems to last a long time–one small bag lasted me 3- 4 months! ($12/bag) But the thing I love most about Charlie’s is that it doesn’t bother our childrens’ eczema AND our clothes never have a static problem. I tried to go back to Tide when my youngest turned 1 but suddenly our clothes were static-y again and both my boys started getting eczema rashes again. Back to Charlie’s!

I like method (especially the pump bottle it comes in) I also really like Nature Clean which is reasonably pried and comes in large refill sizes, that are even more economical

Rockin’ Green is great. I started using it for cloth diapers and loved it so much we use it for all our laundry now. It works better that the tide I had always used and it’s Eco-friendly and a family business. http://www.rockingreensoap.com

Charlies Laundry Soap – hands down! I buy it in the gallon size (liquid – they also sell powder which I hear is great) and shipping is free. I started using it for my son’s rashiness, and it not only cleared that up, but cleaned everything SOOO much better. try it out!

I’ve been using ‘green’ laundry detergent for 4 years & have used many products… seventh generation, the costco enviro-friendly brand (can’t recall the name), method, etc… but by far my favorite is biokleen.
My kids (3yo & 1yo) have sensitive skin & this brand has been the best at cleaning yet not irritating their skin.
Sometime, when I’m dealing with heavily soiled items, I’ll presoak them in Borax & also add some to the wash-load… & there have been very few stains that don’t come out.
The packaging isn’t as pretty as Vaska, but it’s not repulsive to look at. :)

charlie’s soap! i live overseas [so can't go buying detergent all that often] and love charlie’s soap because it really does last a long time and is so reasonably priced. i buy the powder form and it’s light and easy for someone to bring over to me in their luggage. clothes seem to be perfectly clean! i buy from amazon as well for free shipping.