Bio or Non-Bio

Quick, you need to wash your clothes and you're in England. What kind of laundry detergent do you buy???

When we first moved here I bought some eco-friendly co-op brand stuff that says "bio" on it. It works well enough, but I noticed on the label that it is not for use on wool and silk. We don't have a lot of wool or silk, but we have some (I think). So I purchased a special detergent for hand-wash items, including wool and silk. (I don't "hand wash" anything, that's the name of a super delicate laundry cycle, right?) This stuff says "non-bio."

I began to wonder which was best to use on underwear. Maybe this seems like a silly question, but you want underwear to be really clean, and you don't want to wash them with anything that might irritate your skin. The gentle detergent said it might irritate skin, but I was worried that if the tougher cleaner was too tough for wool and silk it might not be so good for skin either (not sure this makes sense, but look -> I was right!).

I finally went online and looked up what "bio" and "non-bio" mean. Apparently, "bio" detergents have enzymes that eat away stains even at low temperatures, BUT they can irritate sensitive skin (so my strong cleaner was out). "Non-bio" detergents don't have the enzymes so they are nicer to your skin but not as good at low temperatures (okay with me because I wash underwear on hot). Unfortunately, the "non-bio" I had bought was a potential skin irritant for some other reason. So, I went to the co-op and bought another "non-bio" detergent.

"Bio" for most clothes.
Regular "non-bio" for underwear.
Hand-wash "non-bio" for delicates.

I think I've got it straight now.