Fragrance Free Detergent Reviews

(Last updated: July 5, 2026.)

This is a list of fragrance free detergents I have tried, ranked in order of how well I tolerate their sensory profile. My comments about how these detergents smell is AFTER washing and drying, on properly cleaned textiles. This ranking is NOT about detergent performance… only my sensory ranking. All of these detergents work fine for me in practice, but:

My laundry is pretty easy - light soiling in general and very little particulate soil.
I always pre-treat anything visible with Puracy Baby Stain Remover.
I only wash at 40C or 60C. My shortest wash stage time is 50 minutes.
I always pair my detergent with FEBU booster so I’m getting a full enzyme suite regardless of the detergent I’m using.
I have very soft water and front loader washers, so I always use the maximum number of extra rinses available.

As always, your situation and detergent needs may be different from mine!

Detergents I Like#

Product	Notes
Molly Sudds Baby Liquid	Cleans well and has a VERY neutral sensory profile. This is the detergent I use most. (Note that while this product is good, the Molly Sudds laundry powder is an abomination and should not be used.)
Whole Foods 365 Concentrated Liquid	This is the liquid detergent in the white opaque bottle, not the one in the clear bottle labeled “organic”, which is truly hot garbage and should not be used. This detergent has a very mild but distinct sensory profile - it leaves slight caramel/sugar notes and none of the yeasty notes you get with some plant based alkyl poly glucosides. It’s not a great heavy duty cleaner, but it’s cheap. The main pitfall is that it’s quite watered down so the dosing needs to be higher than other detergents and actually even higher than indicated on the packaging. I suspect that most folks who struggle with this detergent just aren’t using enough. I use this primarily for bedding where I want a little of the residual scent as a pleasant masking fragrance.
Tide Free and Gentle	This is a well formulated inexpensive detergent. It leaves behind a small amount of residual smell that’s lightly yeasty if it’s under-rinsed, so make sure to rinse properly. I use this on my kid’s school clothes and any laundry that’s a bit more “needy” than usual. I tend to avoid it on bedding. Note that the “Odor Refresh” version is a little more chemical smelling and I didn’t tolerate it as well. Also, the “Advanced Care” version at CostCo is the same as the regular free and gentle formula minus one synthetic soil release polymer and is probably the best deal going in laundry detergents.

Detergents I Like with Reservations#

Product	Notes
AspenClean Liquid	I personally love the sensory profile. It’s one of the few smells that my nervous system finds consistently calming. Unfortunately it has soapy ingredients which can be problematic over time so don’t use it if you have hard water, and don’t use it regularly even in soft water (especially on towels where it could lead to texture problems over time). I keep it in rotation because it’s wool safe and I use it for wool socks and wool blankets. The formula is almost identical to the Dirty Labs Delicates and Hand Wash formula but it’s slightly cheaper from AspenClean. I consider the two interchangeable.
Puracy Unscented Liquid	Cleans well, neutral sensory profile, somewhat expensive. It can be a bit sensitive to dosing as it’s a bit sudsy because of the cocamidopropyl betaine (CPB). The CPB is somewhat novel in the formulation and I think they use it to good effect. Some sources of CPB are (or at least have been) prone to impurities that are common skin irritants but I haven’t found the Puracy to be anything less than mild and transparent so I think they’re sourcing an appropriate grade.

Product

Notes

AspenClean Liquid

I personally love the sensory profile. It’s one of the few smells that my nervous system finds consistently calming. Unfortunately it has soapy ingredients which can be problematic over time so don’t use it if you have hard water, and don’t use it regularly even in soft water (especially on towels where it could lead to texture problems over time). I keep it in rotation because it’s wool safe and I use it for wool socks and wool blankets. The formula is almost identical to the Dirty Labs Delicates and Hand Wash formula but it’s slightly cheaper from AspenClean. I consider the two interchangeable.

Puracy Unscented Liquid

Cleans well, neutral sensory profile, somewhat expensive. It can be a bit sensitive to dosing as it’s a bit sudsy because of the cocamidopropyl betaine (CPB). The CPB is somewhat novel in the formulation and I think they use it to good effect. Some sources of CPB are (or at least have been) prone to impurities that are common skin irritants but I haven’t found the Puracy to be anything less than mild and transparent so I think they’re sourcing an appropriate grade.

Detergents I Don’t Like#

Product	Notes
Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Liquid	This has a strong smell during use that I don’t love, but it blows off enough in the dryer that the end result is tolerable. It performs well when dosed properly (you need more than suggested on the label), but it’s quite expensive so I don’t really use it.
Seventh Generation Ultra Concentrated EasyDose	Performs well and is really cheap. Leaves behind a chemical off smell I don’t like.
BioKleen Free and Clear Liquid	I really wanted to love this based on the formulation, but it has overpowering yeasty notes that persist even out of the dryer. I couldn’t handle it.