A New P&G Product gets tested in the South

[joelippard]

I'll be sticking to my usual Tide

Nothing goes in my GM Frigidaire's but Tide Powder. I use the Mountain Spring scent because it resembles the smell of the original most closely, in my opinion. I love the high sudsing, you can see dirt riding on top of those suds and when the overflow rinse kicks in all those dirt and suds float away, or in case with the 1-18 it get's slung out of the top holes of the tub and stays away from the clothes below.

 

[kenmorekeith]

Vintage scents

dirtyduck

I buy Tide He from time to time but I have really been enjoying that new Cheer brightclean HE. It works great and smells nice not to heavy. Also C/R gave it a good rating higher than Tide and less per load. What do you think about these new laundry sheets? Will you them a try? I get a 64 load bottle of Cheer at target for $8.87 not bad.

 

[mysteryclock]

Vintage scents

Makes me wonder if there was something in the original, vintage Tide scent that is "chemicala non grata" these days -- i.e. subsequently banned or widely frowned-upon? Of course anyone with a decent nose in the perfume industry should be able to come up with a modern mimic of it, I would think, although developing one that also lasted through the dryer w/o discoloring clothes, changing scent dramatically or exploding would be a neat trick of organic chemistry.

 

[jeffg]

chemicala non grata

Manufacturers aren't required to list laundry detergent ingredients, so few people know how long that list might be.

Part of the reason detergents (and washed clothing) don't smell as good as they used to is the lack of STPP in formulations. It was one of the keys to a "fresh" smell, even with unscented detergents.

 

[j2400]

I wonder if a lot of people don't like heavily scented detergents because otherwise their clothes won't smell clean. A good, heavy dose of Tide, followed by a heavy dose of Downy, followed by seven sheets of Bounce, will leave enough scent to make it seem "kinda sorta" to some fresh even when clothes are never washed in anything but cold water, in a modern BOL washer.

 

[j2400]

I, myself, usually dislike scents...particularly the ones that are used in most modern laundry detergents, which smell like an exploding perfume factory. A perfume factory that makes that really cheap, really nasty perfume they sell by the gallon to unknowing little kids to buy for Mommy's birthday.

Usually, I prefer no scent, particularly when I dry outside. A light scent for inside drying (air or machine) is OK, and possibly a good idea.

 

[mysteryclock]

Sometimes scents help...

Well as a Charlie's Soap user I occasionally find myself wanting a detergent that has at least a ~very~ light scent. Case in point -- we're nighttime potty training around here right now so sometimes we end up with some exceptionally smelly items to launder along with the usual kids grimy clothes. When I wash these in CS they come out physically clean (no stains) but still don't smell as fresh as I would like. I get around this by using some Biokleen Bac-Out in the wash cycle which contains both enzymes and a lime-citrus scent, which is really quite mild once the wash is done and seems to completely eliminate any remaining odor.

Not sure if it is the enzymes or the scent which does the trick, but I suspect the latter because I can get the same better-smelling effect by adding a few drops of lemon oil to the white vinegar in the rinse.

I think a light, natural scent may be the way to go. Surprisingly, I sort of like the Bac-Out lime, and I'd like to try some of the Vaska natural lavender detergent if I could ever find any at a retail location.

 

[MikeS]

A Scent That's Not Overpowering

It has been hard to find a detergent that has a nice scent but doesn't linger on like cigarette smoke or cheap perfume.
By accident, I found the answer at my local Big Lots store.
It had 32 ounce bottles of Sunlight Multi-Action 3X concentrate with "lemon fresh" scent on sale for just $2.20 each. Being a cheap so and so, I bought three bottles and put them to work on my wash. (I also know Sunlight is sold in Canada and the Big Lots specials may have been the last of the Unilever-made formulas before The Sun Company bought Unilever's detergent brands in the US and Canada.)
I was very pleased. The formula didn't oversuds in my trusty Roper automatic; my whites and colors came out clean and bright, and the pleasant lemon scent pretty much disappeared after a tumble dry.
All in all, a successful experiment. I plan to buy more Sunlight before Big Lots sells out!

 

[laundryboy]

Vintage Scents

I always remember using SOLO and YES in my grandmothers wringer and then in her Whirly.. If only they would bring them back...

 

[danemodsandy]

One Reasonable Scent Is....

....The current "Smells So Good" formula Oxydol (lime green jug). I get it at Big Lots. Cleans very well, cheap at $3 for a 33-load bottle, and the scent is reminiscent of old Tide or Oxydol or something else with phosphates. Not perfumey, just a nice clean smell you can live with.

In this house, there is a complete, total, absolute boycott on Proctor & Gamble stuff until they stop over-scenting everything. I'm sick and tired of having my nose run and my eyes water from so much needless perfume, particularly on sheets. If I wanted my bedroom to smell like Paris Hilton, I would invite her to spend the night.

 

[angus]

Interesting that you found that stash of Sunlight here in the US and at Big Lots no less. The nearest Big Lots to me is around 20 miles away and is a real bust. The only detergent brands I ever see there are the usual Purex, Trend, some All and Sun products. Oh, well, this is the Northeast...

 

[jamiel]

We've gotten that same shipment at our Big Lots. I bought one packaged with a kid's T-shirt for the same $2.20. In Detroit we occasionally see Canadian detergent (particularly at independent stores) but often see Canadian bleach (particularly house brands)...they use a slightly different bottle style than the US norm...I think the factory is in London, ON. We also (at least theoretically) have an old bleach company here too (Roman Cleanser). Don't know if they still manufacture or not...

Bleach is very expensive to ship so it's manufactured close to consumption...Clorox has something like 20 factories around the country.

 

[MikeS]

I'm Surprised As Well

Sometimes you have to go to Big Lots at the right time to get a deal. And yes, I'm surprised to see Canadian detergent in a Las Vegas store. I've also seen Sunlight packaged with a T-shirt for the same price (too small for me); bottles of the HE version (I have a regular top loader) and the 2X version in various scents (I'm happy with the "Small & Mighty" 3X formula). My Big Lots also sells Oxydol, Purex, Trend and Sun. But the Sunlight discovery was a dream come true--at least for now. Who knows what I'll find next?

 

[fridgiman]

For my money bring back the old fragrances of :
Tide
Cheer
Oxydol
Dash
Salvo Tablets

We should all start a letter writing campaign to the manufacturers and let them know that there is a market out here for those classic aromas.

 

[jt1985]

Introducing...

 

[mixergal]

I have MEGA allergies...

so I hate it when I'm in an elevator with someone who REEKS of detergent perfumes! I have to use unscented everything - unscented Tide (its the only detergent I've found I'm not allergic to), unscented dryer sheets (bounce - same thing - not allergic to it), etc. I've had to figure out through trial and error which brands I'm sensetive to, and I stick to what works like glue. It stinks when a company changes its formulation or stops producing a product I use. I've had some miserable times between products as I find a replacement for an old faithful!

In using all of the unscented stuff I have come to associate clean laundry with laundry that doesn't smell like anything. It's a bummer sometimes - the names of those scents are beguiling...but I just know if I try it my nose will run from the smell, and as soon as I slip something on that's covered in that perfume I'll break out in huge, itchy hives wherever contact was made.

I don't know what chemicals manufacturer's use in their scents, but I am sensitive to bar soap, handwashing dish detergent, laundry soap, and dryer sheets/fabric softener. I haven't found a single liquid fabric softener I can use, so I have given up and I stick to dryer sheets to control static.
Shampoo, conditioner, most lotions, and most lotion soaps don't bother me at all, though - strange, isn't it?

-Sherri

 

[pulsator]

Does that box say "Fresh Scent"? Does that mean it won't come in the original Tide scent???

 

[j2400]

One issue to keep in mind that, apparently, some "unscented" products are, I've been told, scented with substances that will make it smell like there is no scent. (Confusing and crazy? You bet.)

One reason I often use "natural" products is that, at least as far as I can tell, when they say "unscented" they mean just that.

 

[launderess]

Mysteryclock

It is not the scent but the enzymes that are responsible for your "fresh" smelling laundry. Bac-Out is a WONDERFUL product for getting "BO" out of laundry.

Most bodily fluids including sweat are protien based, and that is a job for enzymes.

Whenever one has linens or anything else which has more than the usual whiff about it, add 1-2 tablespoons of vintage "Biz", and that takes care of that. Though billed first as laundry pre-soak, then a bleach, vintage Biz contains two ingredients that work well on odors. Sodium perborate and enzymes.

L.

 

[mysteryclock]

Biokleen

Launderess,

The vinegar + lemon oil must have just been a pretty effective masking agent, but I think I prefer the Bac-out approach as well since it also works great on yard clothes, etc.

Have you tried any of the other Biokleen detergents?