*Ahem* Why Wasn't I Informed?

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I'm very proud to have the first box ever sold!! 
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why is shipping so expensive?

Is it comparable to the earthfriendly detergents I buy???
I was told by a guy who empties septic tanks and etc that powders dont break down as well in septic tanks..
I got an older Asko and really crazy about it. so I buy the low suds earth friendly types.....Plus we have such hard water
Im still looking for a single Flair
thanks guy
 
IIRC, the "earth friendly" products are simply made from plant-based surfactants and perfumes, more often.

Unfortunately, this could mean they're made from palm oils/sugars, and contributing to that only keeps the destruction of rainforest at an all time high.

These plant-based surfactants often aren't as good as the real deal, and therefore, these products often perform the worst out of all detergents.

As for powders not completely dissolving, thats something thats based on how you add the detergent, like whether or not your pre-dissolve it, water temperatures and even the cycle times.

In hard water, the washing-soda in the detergents will often form a precipitate of the calcium and magnesium minerals, which may very well be the cause of your buildup.
 
To answer some questions

My Internet Guru - wants me to produce a 50 load box which will keep the total shipping weight under 2 pounds. 2 Pounds is the critical value for shipping. It jumps up once you are over the 2 pound limit. 

I am setting the machine this week to fill 50 load boxes so we will see what that shipping tops out at.

 

As to septic systems I don't have direct experience but I have friends who do and so far it has not been a problem. There is sodium carbonate in Rosalie's just like most other detergents powder or liquid. However if it is dissolved in the washer it shouldn't build up in the septic. Cold water washing might inhibit that dissolving.   But I have been told its the bleaches- chlorine and oxygen that wreak havoc with septic systems by shutting down the enzymatic processes. Rosalie's has no bleaches nor optic brighteners. 

 

Washer111 is correct when he says "These plant-based surfactants often aren't as good as the real deal, and therefore, these products often perform the worst out of all detergents. "

 

I also recently found out that to supply this industry with plant based surfactants , that rain forest jungle is being mowed down to plant palm trees and they are cutting into pristine areas which is threatening the Orangutan's existence. That these new fields of palm which are bound for chemical cracking plants to make surfactants are heavily sprayed to boost yields since no one is going to be eating them.  I don't see anything green in this. The surfactant that comes out of palm fats is a man made chemical in the end product, there is nothing natural about it.
 
Presumably the "patented" formula involves the use of non-foaming surfactants. I am familiar with their existence due to surfactants used in automotive racing non-glycol coolant additives, which aid in cooling simply by increasing wetability but don't do much to raise the boiling point or lower the freeze point.

 

There may also be anti-foaming additives in the mix, as evidenced by the Zero Suds' products ability to eliminate a suds cake from a top loader as demonstrated in the web site's video.

 

Personally I find that Sears HE powder boosted 33% with STPP has few if any suds and works quite well. Even without the STPP (although the STPP seems to boost cleaning power considerably).

 

Still, more power to the Zero Suds people for bringing out a truly non-sudsing laundry detergent. About time!

 

About powder detergents and septic systems... I very much doubt there's much of a problem there. Powders containing zeolites might add some extra sludge to the tank but I doubt that is significant compared to the sludge already added from toilets, and most American laundry detergents don't seem to have zeolites (although that may be changing). Theoretically sodium carbonate in most powders could combine with hard water minerals to form calcium and magnesium carbonate precipitates, but again I'd guess the amounts are trivial. And, of course, phosphates like STPP would reduce or eliminate that problem.

 

Chlorine or oxygen bleaches would also be neutralized by the crap in the septic tank... unless one is in the habit of pouring gallons of chlorine bleach down the drain... and the oxygen bleaches found in some powders (very few if any contain chlorine bleach) would be even less of a concern, due to the lower strength and shorter activity/life of oxygen bleaches as compared to chlorine bleaches.
 
Zeolites or Water Glass?

Normally what I see on detergent labels and formulations is sodium silicate, or water glass, to "protect washer parts". Presumably the sodium silicate prevents the deposition of calcium carbonate, which can harden to a cement like substance inside the washer otherwise.

 

Zeolites are aluminum silicate, a different compound entirely. They are a type of very fine clay that has lots of nanoscopic pores that trap hard water minerals. In this way they soften water, although they don't do squat to break soil from fabrics.
 
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