Tide laundry detergent has been faithfully cleaning America's clothing for generations. However, do you know what exactly is in that powder or liquid you are pouring into your washing machine? Especially for families that have sensitive skin allergies or are striving to be environmentally friendly, it can be helpful to know exactly what's in your box or bottle of Tide.
Original Tide Detergent Ingredients
The original orange-packaged tide that your grandmother always used is still providing a great, clean laundry solution for countless modern families. Outside of the standard powder that is still readily available, the liquid concentrated Tide is also a hit. While most concentrated detergents are made up of sometimes 80% water, Tide ingredients have more cleaning power with less watered down aspects, allowing it to pack a powerful punch without ruining your clothes.
So what exactly is in this magical powder? Tide is made out of surfactant molecules, which have two components - water friendly and anti-water. The water friendly ingredient is called hydrophilic and breaks the water's surface tension. The anti-water component (also known as hydrophobic) attracts soils and stains, freeing them from various types of fabrics. In Original Tide, you will also find fluorescent whitening agents to help brighten clothes, enzymes to remove tougher stains such as blood or grass marks, and various fragrances to help provide a fresh scent.
For a complete list of Tide ingredients for any Tide laundry product, you can check the Tide website or P&G Product Safety page.
Tide for Sensitive Skin
Everyone from young children to mature adults experience a negative skin reaction at some point in their life. However, those with chronic issues such as eczema or contact hives may benefit from a sensitive skin-designated laundry detergent. Tide Free (for sensitive skin) is free of all dyes and perfumes found in your standard detergent. It has been dermatologist tested to ensure no irritants ruin the promise.
Tide Free also includes ethanol, monoethanolamine, sodium borate decahydrate, and sodium hydroxide. Again, for a complete ingredient list, check your packaging or the website. In this list you will also find "active ingredients" including hydrogen peroxide, which can be controversial in the arenas of personal health and environmental responsibility.
Tide Purclean
Tide Purclean™ plant based liquid laundry detergent, is made for sensitive skin. Tide Purclean liquid is touted as the first 75% plant-based liquid laundry detergent that delivers the cleaning power customers are accustomed to receiving from Tide. It is free of dyes and chlorine. Purclean liquid detergent even cleans laundry washed in cold water. It's available in unscented or honey lavender.
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for Tide Purclean detergent includes:
Fragrances
Solvents (allow detergent ingredients to mix)
- Water
- Alcohol
- Propylene glycol
Surfactants (cleaning agents):
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
- C12-16 pareth
- C10-16 alkyldimethylamine oxide
Enzymes (clean stains):
- Subtilisin
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase enzyme
Ingredients that assist cleaning:
- Sodium citrate: This is a softener for water that helps the detergent to clean in hard water.
- Sodium salts of C12-18 fatty acids: This ingredient is known as a suds reducer that aids cleaning power of detergent in hard water.
- Polyethyleneimines alkoxylated: This is a polymer that suspends soils to lift from the laundry.
- Sodium borate: This is a stabilizer for the detergent cleaning enzymes.
Tide Free & Gentle
Tide Free (for sensitive skin) is free of all dyes and perfumes found in your standard Tide laundry detergent. It has been dermatologist tested to ensure no irritants ruin the promise. The various forms of Tide Free include:
- Tide Free and Gentle Liquid Laundry Detergent
- Tide Free and Gentle Powder Laundry Detergent
- Tide PODS® Free and Gentle Laundry Detergent
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for Tide's Free and Gentle detergent includes:
Surfactants (cleaning agents):
- C10-16 pareth
- Sodium C10-16 alkylbenzenesulfonate
- C10-16 alkyldimethylamine oxide
Enzymes (clean stains):
- Subtilisin enzyme
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase enzyme
Enzyme stabilizers:
- Sodium borate
- Sodium cumenesulfonate
- Sodium formate
Solvents (allow detergent ingredients to mix):
- Water
- Propylene glycol
Ingredients that assist cleaning:
- Sodium salts of C12-18 fatty acids: This reduces suds.
- Sodium citrate: This is a water softener.
- Polyethyleneimines alkoxylated: This polymer suspends dirt.
Tide Simply Free & Sensitive
Tide Simply Free & Sensitive doesn't contain any dyes or perfumes. You can use it in standard and High Efficiency (HE) washing machines.
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for Tide Simply Free & Sensitive detergent includes:
Solvents (allow detergent ingredients to mix):
- Water
- Propylene glycol
- Alcohol
Surfactants (cleaning agents):
- Sodium and MEA laureth sulfate
- Sodium and MEA C10-16 alkylbenzenesulfonate
- Sodium and MEA lauryl
Enzyme stabilizers:
- Sodium borate
- Sodium formate
- Calcium formate
Ingredients that assist cleaning:
- Sodium and MEA citrate is a water softener.
- Pentasodium pentetate is a cleaning aid.
- Fluorescent brightener 71 is a whitening agent.
Tide Plus Downy Free
Tide Plus Downy Free comes in powder, liquid and PODS®. It is hypoallergenic was developed for anyone with sensitive skin. In fact, it is dermatologist-recommended and recognized by the National Eczema Association (NEA) and the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF). There are no dyes or perfumes irritants.
- Tide PODS® Plus Downy Free
- Tide Plus Downy Free Liquid Laundry Detergent
- Tide Plus Downy Free Liquid
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for in Tide Plus Downy Free detergent includes:
Solvents:
- Water
- Propylene glycol
Surfactants (cleaning agents):
- C10-16 pareth
- Sodium C10-16 alkylbenzenesulfonate
- C10-16 alkyldimethylamine oxide
Enzymes:
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase
- Subtilisin
Enzyme stabilizers:
- Sodium cumenesulfonate
- Sodium borate
- Sodium formate
Ingredients that assist cleaning:
- Sodium salts of C12-18 fatty acids reduces suds.
- Sodium citrate softens hard water.
- Polyethyleneimines alkoxylated suspends dirt.
Tough Dirt Tide Detergents
More powerful Tide laundry detergent ingredients are needed for tough dirt. These Tide detergent ingredients are designed to get the toughest stains out of your laundry loads.
Ultra Oxi Liquid
Tide Plus Ultra OXI Collection is available in powder, HE liquid and PODS®. This long-lasting freshness detergent has pre-treaters built-in to give it a deep cleaning power.
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for Ultra Oxi Liquid detergent includes:
Solvents:
- Water
- Propylene glycol
- Alcohol
Surfactants:
- Sodium and MEA laureth sulfate surfactant
- Sodium and MEA C10-16 alkylbenzenesulfonate
- C10-16 pareth
- Sodium and MEA lauryl sulfate
- C10-16 alkyldimethylamine oxide
Enzymes:
- Subtilisin
- Amylase enzyme
- Pectate lyase
- Mannanase enzyme
Enzyme stabilizers:
- Sodium borate
- Sodium cumenesulfonate
- Calcium formate
- Ethanolamine
- Hydrogenated castor oil
- Sodium formate
Suds reducers:
- Phenylpropyl ethyl methicone
- Simethicone
- Trimethylsiloxysilicate
- Sodium and MEA salts of C12-18 fatty acids
Colorants:
- Polyoxyalkylene substituted chromophore (cyan)
- Polyoxyalkylene substituted chromophore (violet)
Water softeners:
- Sodium and MEA citrate
- Pentasodium pentetate
Specific ingredients:
- Polyethyleneimines alkoxylated suspends dirt.
- Fluorescent brightener 71 is a whitening agent.
- Fragrances
Tide Sport Odor Defense Collection
Tide Plus Febreze Sport Odor Defense™ Liquid Laundry Detergent is designed just for athletic gear. It contains 10x the normal cleaning power. Available in liquid, HE turbo and PODS®.
List of Tide laundry detergent ingredients for Tide Sport Odor Defense Collection
Solvents:
- Water
- Alcohol
- Diethylene glycol
Surfactants:
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Sodium C10-16 alkylbenzene sulfonate
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
- Mea-dodecylbenzenesulfonate
Enzymes:
- Subtilisin
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase
Enzyme stabilizer:
- Sodium borate
Suspend dirt:
- Propoxylated ethoxylated amine
- Polyethlylene imine ethoxylate
- Pentasodium pentetate
pH balancers:
- Ethanolamine citrate
- Sodium citrate
- Ethanol amine
Aids process:
- Propylene glycol
- Fatty acids, C12-18 and C18-unsatd, mea salt
- Hydrogenated castor oil
- Calcium formate
- Simethicone
- Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Fluorescent brightener
Fragrance and fragrance stabilizers:
- Phenylpropyl ethyl methicone
- Methoxypolyoxymethylene melamine
- Sodium bisulfite
Tide Power PODS® Collection
When you need 50% more cleaning power, Tide POWER PODS® collection is ideal for heavily soiled laundry. If you need 10x the Tide detergent ingredients to tackle grease, oil, and red wine, then the Tide POWER PODS® collection is a popular choice.
List of Tide detergent ingredients for Tide POWER PODS® includes:
Solvents:
- Propylene Glycol
- Water
- Glycerin
- MEA salts Of C12 - 18 fatty acids
Cleaning agents:
- MEA-LAS
- MEA-laureth sulfate
- C10-16 pareth
Enzymes:
- Subtilisin
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase enzyme
Suds reducers:
- Phenylpropyl ethyl methicone
- Simethicone
- Trimethylsiloxysilicate
Dirt suspensions:
- Pentasodium pentetate
- PEG-136 polyvinyl alcohol
- PEI ethoxylate
Water softener:
- MEA-citrate
Stabilizers:
- Styrene/acrylates copolymer
- Hydrogenated castor oil
- Calcium formate
- Sodium bisulfite
Other ingredients in Tide Power PODS®:
- Disodium distyrylbiphenyl disulfonate whitening agent
- Denatonium benzoate bitter agent (taste)
- Fragrances
- Polyvinyl alcohol polymer film container
Colorants:
- Polyoxyalkylene substituted chromophore (violet)
- Polyoxyalkylene substituted chromophore (cyan)
- Polyoxyalkylene substituted chromophore (yellow)
Tide Alternatives
If you're concerned about Tide laundry detergent ingredients, you might choose a natural or organic alternative. You can also make your own homemade laundry detergent. Environmentally laundry detergent isn't so great of an option. But for many it is a necessity, and companies like Tide are trying to find a compromise.
Tide High Efficiency Detergents
With Tide HE Turbo, you can enjoy a super concentrated formulation that uses only a very small percentage of the water used in traditional loads. To use Tide HE Turbo, you must have a high efficiency (HE) washer, but once you have purchased one you can enjoy the environmental friendliness of getting more loads done with less detergent used. Tide HE Turbo is advertised as saving up to 25 minutes in your wash cycle since the HE Turbo Smart Suds rinse out almost immediately.
List of Tide detergent ingredients for Tide HE Turbo includes:
Solvents:
- Ethanolaminem
- Alcohol
- Propylene glycol
- Colorants
- Water
Cleaning agents:
- Sodium and MEA laureth sulfate
- Sodium and MEA lauryl sulfate
- C10-16 pareth
- Sodium and MEA C10-16 alkylbenzenesulfonate
Stabilizers:
- Calcium formate
- Hydrogenated castor oil
- Sodium cumenesulfonate
- Sodium borate
Suds reducers:
- Sodium and MEA salts of C12-18 fatty acids
- Trimethylsiloxysilicate
- Simethicone
- Phenylpropyl ethyl methicone
Water softeners:
- Sodium and MEA citrate
Enzymes:
- Amylase enzyme
- Mannanase enzyme
- Subtilisin
Process aid:
- Sodium formate
- Fluorescent brightener 71 is a whitening agent.
Odor removers:
- Diethylenetriamine
- Methyl di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate
- Perfume fragrances
Cleaning aids:
- Pentasodium pentetate
- Polyethyleneimines alkoxylat
Tide Pure Essentials With Baking Soda
If you love the idea of going natural with your laundry, check out Tide Pure Essentials with Baking Soda. As the name suggests, the key ingredient found in this formulation is baking soda, giving your fabrics a gentle wash that is complete and effective without shortening the life of your clothes. Tide Pure Essentials with Baking Soda doesn't contain any phosphates.
List of Tide detergent ingredients for Tide Pure Essentials with Baking Soda includes:
Stabilizer:
- Polyethylene glycol 4000
Surfactants:
- Alcohol ethoxysulfate
- Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate
- Alcohol sulfate
- Pareth-9
- Lauramine oxide
Enzymes:
- Protease enzyme
- Amylase enzyme
Dirt suspensions:
- Diethylenetriamine pentaacetate, sodium salt
- Borax captures
- Citric acid
Aids process:
- Water
- Propylene glycol
- Calcium formate
- Sodium formate ethanolamine
- Polyethyleneimine ethoxylate
- Diethylene glycol
- Ethanol
- Dimethicone (suds reducer)
- Fragrance fragrance
- Disodium diaminostilbene disulfonate brightener
- Disodium distyrylbiphenyl disulfonate brightener
- Dipropylethyl tetramine chlorine scavenger (color care)
pH neutralizer:
- Sodium hydroxide
- Sodium carbonate
Tide Ingredients for Popular Tide Detergents
When you decide to use one of the popular Tide detergents, you can easily check the detergent ingredients so you know what is going into each load of laundry. If you have chemical sensitivity or need an ultra powerful detergent, Tide detergent ingredients give you a wide range of choices. This product is also considered one of the best smelling laundry detergents, another perk you might want to consider.
