ACDO washing powder.

[aquarius1984]

Interesting about Acdo being easy on the suds but sending sensors into turmoil.

Ive had a box of this for well over a year - I did one wash with it in my Zanussi Jetsystem and it didnt alter any wash times or prompt and extra rinses.

I need to get using it up - will try it in the Bosch and see what happens to the wash times and rinse sensors.

Perhaps im best trying it on some towels - they always seem to put the Bosch's rinses to the test and it always adjusts itself to cope with rinsing difficulties giving perfect results.

Bold always prompts deeper and longer rinsing yet other P&G detergents seem to allow lower water levels and shorter rinses.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I've tried ACDO since then, a couple of loads of white towels, resulting in speedy cycles on the 'autocare' programme.

The problem seemed to occur when I washed a load of coloured clothes: jeans, T-shirts, underwear.

I was wondering if Acdo was allowing clothing dyes to bleed into the water, causing murkier water, and confusing the optical sensor? That might explain it. Perhaps Acdo powder doesn't have 'dye-lock technology'?

 

[launderess]

Ingredients:

Acdo Soft & Gentle contains among other ingredients: 15 - 30% Zeolite, 5 - 15% Oxygen - Based Bleaching Agents, Soap, Less than 5% Non-ionic Surfactants, Polycarboxylates, Perfume, Optical Brighteners, Contains Butylphenyl Methylpropional

Directions:

How much to use See pack for full dosage instructions. Prewash: Add an extra 50g (60ml) of powder alongside the dosage recommended for your main wash. *This pack contains up to 10 standard washes based on normal soiling and medium water hardness. Hand Washing For soft water thoroughly dissolve 50g (60ml) of Miracle ACDO to every 4.5 litres of hot (60°C) water. For hand water use 75g (90mls). Let water cool to suit fabric type. Always read the garment wash care label. Always test coloured items for colourfastness first. Wash loose colours separately in cool water. Rinse well before drying. Don't wash if in doubt. Hand Washing Delicates Wash Wool and Viscose Rayon in warm (40°C) water, squeezing gently and quickly in the suds. Never leave to soak. Don't dry Wool in direct heat or sunlight. Remember that Flame Resistant Finishes can be impaired if washed in ACDO or any other soap powder. Do not soak non-colourfast items. Wash Care Remember. Always check the garment wash care label and machine instructions before use. Do not wash flame resistant fabrics in hot water, i.e. 50°C. Do not soak flame resistant fabrics, leather of garments with metal fasteners. When hand washing, people with sensitive or damaged skin should avoid prolonged contact with the wash solution and always rinse and dry hands after use.

Off the mark this powder contains quite a lot of Zeolites. Normal detergent powders like Persil or Ariel have only on average around 5%.

http://https//www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B...ProductDesc=1#product-description_feature_div

 

[rolls_rapide]

Thanks, Launderess!

Interesting, your ingredients are slightly different to our ACDO product.

Our "Original Miracle ACDO" (as linked above in Paulc's Reply #4), has the following ingredients:

15-30% Zeolites,
5-15% Oxygen-based bleaching agents, Soap,
<5% Optical brighteners, Polycarboxylates, Perfumes.

There aren't any Non-ionic surfactants in our version, just soap.

(And then I followed Launderess's link...)

It would appear Amazon.co.uk have goofed! They've muddled up the products. We don't have the "Soft & Gentle " version. Wrong ingredients.

 

[launderess]

Non-ionic surfactant blend

Along with soap isn't a bad way to go really. Back in the day many "soap" based laundry products (White King was one brand sold in USA) had such formulas. It gave the best of both worlds.

Soap makers late as the 1950's at least in USA added phosphates to their "detergents" for obvious reasons when doing the wash with pure soap. Consumer Reports in the 1950's tested and rated such "built" laundry soap based "detergents" and noted while most all gave good results in the wash, none contained enough phosphates to deal with hard water rinsing. That is you would still need to add some sort of water softener to the first rinse (and maybe the second) depending upon local water hardness.

Once phosphates were removed from laundry products in the 1960's or so White King and others came up with adding surfactants. This would help overcome some of the drawbacks (again) of using pure soap for wash day. You certainly wouldn't need all the Zeolites the above product seems to contain.

The original Persil solved the hard water and soap problem to an extent by using sodium metasilicate (silicates being the "SIL" in PerSIL), but guess ACDO decided to go another way.

When using any of the soaps in my vintage stash (P&G, Savon de Marseille, Kirkman's Borax, Ivory Snow, Lux Flakes, etc...) most always use both phosphates and a liquid detergent (normally Tide Free and Gentle).

First the Tide contains anti-foaming agents that will keep down the froth which naturally comes from using soap on wash day, especially in a H-Axis washer.

Two, the liquid detergent acts as a "builder" bringing water softening, soil suspension, anti-redeposit and other goodies to the wash; again to counteract the not so good properties of using pure soaps.

All this allows one to wash without soda or Zeolites and thus gives a softer result with less rinsing required.

 

[spiraclean]

Last week I finally managed to get hold of some of this, and have been trying it out on a few loads to see how it fares. Only used it for white washes so far, but initial impressions are good. Love the smell, it reminds me very much of a detergent from years ago although trying to recall which one exactly has left me stumped.

It does behave rather differently to a synthetic detergent. At the start of the wash, the water remains clear with no suds, looking almost as though no powder has been added. Once the wash starts warming up, the water takes on a slightly milky look with a few bubbles, eventually forming a thin layer of proper suds once higher temps are reached.

Usually my Bosch sudslocks and adds an emergency rinse or two every time I wash a full load of towels, regardless of how little detergent is used. With a full 105 ml dosage of Acdo, it went straight through the first spin without any issues. The rinses are cloudy at first, becoming progressively clearer, but with absolutely no foam. I'm finding three rinses does the trick for me, and a fourth would probably be overkill.

It does appear to work well on normal "grubby" loads, with everything coming out perfectly clean and white. Have not had the opportunity to use it on anything badly stained yet, so I'll be interested to see how it copes there. Due to the lack of enzymes, it might benefit from a bio prewash in such cases. Then again, given the high bleach content, and the ability to dose generously when needed without risk of sudslocking, I suspect it could well do just fine on its own.

Think I'm going to stick with this one for a while, it's ticking all the boxes for me. If I recall correctly it was something like £1.75 per box, and at that price I'm seriously considering stockpiling some just in case it proves harder to find in the future.

 

[rolls_rapide]

"reminds me very much of a detergent from years ago"

Reading your post, I got a sudden twinge of a memory!

I went and sniffed the ACDO packet again, and first thought was...

it's not unlike ARIEL twintub powder! (when powders smelt of soap, and not of air-fresheners).

My second thought was Persil Automatic of the early 1980's.

I suppose most of the powders of the 60's, 70's and 80's would smell of soap fragrance. It's only since 2005 that manufacturers have been trying to out-do each other with overpowering stenches. And I think modern Persil Bio Powder smells like mouldering toadstools.

 

[spiraclean]

Funny you should say that, because those were two of the powders I was thinking of when I first smelled this. Perhaps it has notes that are slightly reminiscent of both, hence why it's hard to pin down exactly where I recognised the smell from.

Persil Bio is a great performer, but I don't like the current scent either. Entirely subjective of course, but I pick up on an underlying "tang" that unfortunately reminds me of sick. Same goes for yellow Comfort Sunshine.

 

[aquacycle]

I don't like the current scent either

Skip powder in France is Unilever's TOL brand and is the same formula as Persil Bio in the UK but with a different scent. It's much nicer - smells a bit like Persil Performance. It's in a blue box like our non-bio, but it is biological.

 

[rolls_rapide]

I don't like the current scent either

My mum uses modern Ariel Bio. And in all fairness, the perfume is better than it was a year or two before, and leaps better than the 2005 effort.

The Ariel powder smells nice in the packet, and it smells nice as the washing machine flushes the powder drawer. But I am not keen on the fragrance once items have dried - such as on towels. I keep getting an underlying synthetic fruity smell that to my nose, just shouts "cheap bargain basement".

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Where did you buy the Acdo powder from Spiralcleam?

 

[johnny42]

ACDO washing powder

I tried ACDO on my white dish towels and they came out brilliant. I used my wringer washer to do this load of laundry. However, I do still get some granules stuck to the agitator after I have emptied the tub.

Does anybody remember FAIRY SNOW ?

LIBERATORDELUXE....I purchased my ACDO at my local HOME BARGAINS store. They regularly stock it there.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Fairy Snow

I remember it, and I've a vague memory of the colour 1970s television adverts.

I actually remember more vividly, the "Pure New Wool" advert that had a sheep and a front loading automatic.

I vaguely remember an advert where a child was wrapped in a luxurious bath towel. I presume it was for "Lenor" or "Comfort" fabric conditioners.

I remember the "Drive" detergent advert, where a drop of solution was added to a Petri dish and caused the oil to disperse.

I remember "Daz" and the 'doorstep challenges'. And 'Square Deal' "Surf".

 

[liberatordeluxe]

I got two boxes of Acdo powder but yet to try it. It smells very nice though in the box.