Purex Natural Elements: Product Review
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It's the weekend! And you know what that means...cleaning. You thought we were going to say something more exciting, perhaps? But no...it's all about the chores this weekend. But cleaning can be fun when you're trying to do it the eco way. (Remember our post on cleaning with lemons?) Eco is especially fun when you're on a budget because it forces you to be creative, as in, How many uses can I find for vinegar and baking soda???
But when it comes to washing the clothes, we admit we're just not that clever (yet!). So our best bet is to use an environmentally friendly detergent, preferably one that's not going to force us to break open our child's piggy bank.
Enter Purex Natural Elements.
First impression: Price. It's good. $3.49 for a 50-oz. bottle, $6.99 for a 100-oz. bottle. Seriously...how many environmentally friendly detergents do you know of that sell for that price?
Second impression: Scent. It's yummy. Actually we can only vouch for 1/3 of the natural fragrances available (we highly recommend Apple & Melon!) but we were tempted to peruse the shopping aisles at moments when others weren't looking so we could attempt to get a whiff of the other scents: Linen & Lilies and Cherry Blossoms & Vanilla.
Third impression: The cleaning test...we started with a load of towels, because you can really tell how good a laundry detergent is by throwing in a load of towels, you know what we mean? Did they come out smelling clean? Check! (see above reference to yummy apple & melon) Did they come out fluffy? Check! Did they cause us to flare up in hives and curse the day we were drawn into the clutches of that sweet temptress known as Apple & Melon Purex Natural Elements? Nope. No hives (great news for the rest of our weekend).
All-in-all, Purex® Natural Elements laundry detergent delivered.
It's environmentally friendly...this biodegradable detergent includes 100-percent natural cleaning ingredients derived from sustainable, renewable resources and natural fragrance extracts. It's hypoallergenic, free of phosphates and dyes, and comes in recyclable packaging. Plus, Natural Elements is twice as concentrated as regular detergents, so you use less.
It's budget-friendly...most eco cleaning products are going to cost a bit more, but Purex comes in at a very low cost making it an easy decision to switch.
It works...let's face it, no amount of marketing, not even marketing of the apple and melon variety, matters if the product doesn't work. This one works. We've got the fluffy clean towels to prove it.
Purex Natural Elements is available at supermarkets and mass retail locations nationwide. Try it and let us know about it! Or go to our forum and let us know what eco cleaning products you think are a steal.

Comments
thanks for reviewing this… i use seventh generation detergent, but it’s expensive! it’s good to know about something more economical… we’ll definitely give it a try.
Cool, I haven’t seen this. I wonder if it’s launched nationally? Our local employee-owned warehouse store had Ecos 50 oz. for $6.99 this weekend, but I’m unsure about quality so I haven’t tried it (I’ll have to see if I can get a small amount from the bulk coop dispenser for “towel test”—great idea!) Laundry soap has been my last green hurdle. The problem, ironically, is I don’t really want it to smell like apples & melons, or lilies and magnolias. I want it to smell like Tide, sigh. I am a freak :-(
Excellent and thorough review! I wonder if it excels at intense cleaning… My wife works in a hospital and when we throw her scrubs in the wash, we want to be sure the detergent is doing a thorough job!
Thank you for bringing another great budget-friendly eco product to our attention!
- Aaron Dalton, Editor, 1GreenProduct.com
These were on sale at my grocery, which also had a coupon in its flyer. I picked up two 32-oz bottles for $1.66 each—such a deal! I’ve been using the cherry vanilla and very happy with them so far.