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I originally shared a review of MamaSuds products in May of 2013, so I’m calling this an updated version. That review included my thoughts on her liquid laundry soap and her castile soap. If my memory is right those were the only 2 products she was making at the time, the roots of her business. In the past 10+ years she has expanded her line quite a bit and now offers a nice selection of laundry and cleaning products. I worked with Michelle to offer MamaSuds products to my buying club for over a decade. Her products were a staple offering, and Michelle was amazing to work with.
When I saw she had a new liquid laundry concentrate in a refill pouch, I reached out to Michelle to inquire about sampling it. She sent me not just that, but very kindly offered to send me 1 of everything she makes so I could do a thorough review and share my thoughts with you. It was definitely time, I can’t believe it had been so many years since I shared my review initially!
So let’s get into the products. I always like to share a reminder that I don’t expect 100% of products to work for 100% of people that try them 100% of the time. We all have different machines, water types, and expectations on what makes an effective product. Something that works great for 1 person, might not for the next person.
I think the thing I appreciate most about these products is their simplicity. I adore short ingredient lists of things I recognize and can pronounce. MamaSuds products are based around her castile soap which is made from distilled water and saponified olive oil, that’s it! It seems more and more people are learning they have sensitives or allergies to coconut oil, or other oils commonly found in all-natural products. That’s a reminder that just because something is natural, safe, gentle for most people, there is still a possibility others might be allergic to it. When I’m asked for a brand recommendation that does not include coconut oil, this would certainly be a top choice! Of course, I do wish the olive oil was organic, but I imagine the price would make her products unaffordable for many.
A concern I do have is that I’ve read that olive oil is going to continue to go up & up in price due to drought and other factors in the areas that produce it. So I’m honestly a bit leery of products that are based off it as a major ingredient. But for MamaSuds, and all others who depend on it, I hope the prices can stay reasonable!
It made me happy to surround myself with Michelle’s products in my kitchen and laundry room for a few months, it truly was so nice to have access to her entire line to give it all a thorough test in my house. Let’s look at the products starting with the product that makes up the base of most of the rest of the products: the Castile Liquid Soap. It is available in 16oz or gallon size. When I offered MamaSuds products via the buying club, many people purchased her castile and really enjoyed the versatility it offers. I always suggested starting off with smaller sizes to sample the products before committing to a gallon. The soap really lasts a long time! Many of you might be familiar with other big name castile soap brands, 1 of which advertises theirs as an 18-in-1 soap. Castile is basically considered an all-purpose soap; you can use it for most of your soap needs.
My favorite of all her products is the dish soap bar. I started using it exclusively when I took the above pic on 10/13. It’s 1/15 as I type this, and there are still several uses left as you’ll see in the photo below. So 3 months of use! At $13 for the bar, that’s pretty reasonable for a safe dish soap! It has 1 ingredient: saponified olive oil! I have tried other dish soap bars before, and they’ve all left streaks and grime behind. MamaSuds gives a nice number of bubbles and washes really clean. For the most part, I’m handwashing pots, pans, and larger utensils. My plates, glasses, bowls are all glass and go in the dishwasher most of the time, but I do occasionally hand wash some glass and am very happy with how clean it comes out with this dish soap bar! She adds this note, and I know this advice should definitely be followed**Be sure to use a slotted soap dish, this will make the soap last longer and not get soft. Bamboo pot brush works very well too.
I love that the hand soap comes in a glass pump top and is available in lemon or unscented. I always prefer glass over plastic whenever possible. It works great, and the lemon smells great. I’m a huge fan of citrus, especially in my kitchen. It also helps cut grease. Unfortunately, the auto dish powder has never worked for me. I tried it when it 1st came out many years ago, and it just doesn’t do well with my machine and hard well water (no water softener). We have a new dishwasher since I originally tried it, my hope was maybe it would work this time around, but it doesn’t. It leaves my dishes super grimy and with a filmy coat. I even tried to add an additional small amount of citric acid which can boost cleaning power, and that didn’t help. However, I do know several people who always ordered this via the buying club when I offered it, and it works well for them. I LOVE that she offers samples for just $5, so you should definitely give it a try to see if it works for you!
Laundry: I used 1/4 cup (2 oz) oz of liquid per load in my top-loading, non-HE machine and am completely satisfied with how well the product works. We have hard well water with no softener. It is available in unscented, lavender or lemon (scented with essential oils). I used the whole 64 oz jug up 1st, then refilled it with the 16oz concentrated pouch which you add to the jug then top off with water. In addition to seeking a safe laundry product, I prefer to avoid big plastic jugs too. So while the original product is indeed a large plastic jug and the refill still comes in plastic, the refill pouch has a much smaller footprint than a big plastic jug. You could skip the jug and just order the refill pouch and mix the concentrate in a glass jar, if you wanted to avoid the large plastic jug altogether. Here are the ingredients: potassium olivate (saponified olive oil), water, sodium carbonate, and sodium borate, pure essential oil of lavender, lemon, or unscented.
She also offers a stain stick to pre-treat areas you think might stain. Again, this product is made from 1 ingredient: saponified olive oil. It’s basically the liquid soap in a stick version. It’s small, but affordable and lasts forever. I’ve used it numerous times and hardly put a dent in it. The Oxygen powder I don’t use it super regularly but like to do an extra deep clean on towels, linens and blankets periodically, so I include this on those loads. I always dissolve it in hot water first, then add it to the load after the washer has filled with water.
On to the dryer. I had a bit of sticker shock when I saw the $15 price tag on a single dryer ball. However, they are HUGE. They are about the size of 3 of my smaller dryer balls. And I love that they are made from upcycled materials. Also, they’re pretty! Pretty things make me happier when doing mundane chores like laundry 🙂
For the bathroom she offers her very popular toilet cleaning tabs. These were super popular during the buying club. Ingredients: sodium bicarbonate, non-GMO citric acid*, water, essential oils of tea tree, organic peppermint, and lemon. Just toss in your toilet, let fizz out and scrub clean. According to her website, the citric acid lowers the pH of bacteria, helping scrub them away. I love that she offers misfit (imperfect) tabs too! There are also other uses that she lists for them such as adding them to your diaper pal, garbage disposal, washing machine, and MORE! I love that this product is plastic-free!
Of course, the all-purpose spray cleaner can be used anywhere in your house. Ingredients are her castile soap as a base, with the addition of aloe vera gel juice and non-GMO citric acid plus a germ-fighting type blend of essential oils. I was sent the concentrate, which can make eight 16oz spray refills! I absolutely love products that are super concentrated. They cut down on shipping multiple products over time and of course reduce plastic waste!
In addition to the auto dish powder which doesn’t work well for me (but again I totally encourage you to try a sample to see if it works for you), the only other products I wasn’t a huge fan of were the bar soaps. I found them to be a bit on the soft side, even with a soap dish I just thought they didn’t last real long. While I generally do prefer bar soaps to liquids to avoid that plastic container, I do prefer her liquid castile to the solid castile bar based on my experience with my family of 4 using it and the other bar soaps sent to me. For the price, I have a hard time recommending them. Other than that, I really, truly enjoyed each & every product and find them to be a good value and absolutely have no concern with ingredients which is very refreshing to be able to say.
I love that MamaSuds offers samples and concentrates, as well as bundles for kitchen, bathroom and laundry. One of the main reasons I started my blog almost 13 years ago was to accompany my personal mission to support small, made in the USA safe, natural (and organic as much as possible) products. MamaSuds is made by a small, woman-owned & operated MI-based business. It makes me very happy to offer my support and encouragement as she slowly but surely grows her brand! These are the exact type of brands I like to use, recommend, and work with as an Affiliate. I really hope you’ll give these products a try and share your feedback with me and the group too. I always value your input!
Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA! 