Anecdote, detergent pod residue

[arbilab]

Just walking by our coinop TL maytags, saw something colorful affixed to the tub. Yep, the gooey carcass of a detergent pod. Unknown what the load, temp, or deployment were, just that the goop ended up plastered to the tub wall.

 

[frigilux]

The only time a pod failed to deploy properly for me was when, as an experiment, it was double-wrapped in a towel and placed in the center of a large load in the front-loader. No problems in the top-loader (Speed Queen) with its generous amount of water. Brands used: Tide, Wisk, Kirkland Signature (Costco); Purex; All; OxiClean; Nice (Walgreens); Arm & Hammer; Gain; Dynamo.

But let me tell you, when a pod casing doesn't dissolve....you've got a weirdly adhesive, slimy, sticky mess to deal with. According to user reviews: If a partially dissolved casing adheres to a piece of clothing and makes it to the dryer, the casing hardens and tears fabrics when you try to pull it off (Fix: Soak item in warm water, then carefully pull casing from clothing). Very difficult to remove if it adheres to the dryer drum (Fix: Scraping and swearing.)

Remember, kids: Always toss the pod into an empty tub; then add clothing.

Photos 1 & 2: Classic examples showing why people have problems with pods. Both gleaned from online users demonstrating how easy it is to use them.

Photo 3: This bright spark has a sure-fire way to prevent problems with pods: Don't take them out of the bag.

Photo 4: Nearly irrefutable proof that Ben (washman) leads a double life, possibly in Canada, LOL.[this post was last edited: 7/20/2014-07:44]

 

[frigilux]

[No message]

 

[washman]

Frig, after watching IOTBS

I swore off pods for my laundry needs!

However, there are exceptions in life and I have to use the Cascade pods for my eco-sanctioned GE dishwasher. Ye olde powder just does not work in it.

FWIW, I am getting down to the nitty gritty with the Sears detergent. I have noticed that in recent weeks, it is not dissolving like it used to. Even when I use it in my wash tub to clean my dust cloths (I use Liquid Gold) there are numerous bits sitting on top of the water. In time, it does dissolve into a milky concoction but it never did this when it was "fresh".

And after it did a rather deplorable job on my cleaning rags when washed in tap hot water with no bleach whatsoever, I swore off the stuff. I'm almost out of it. I have a bottle of A&H which is my normal daily driver. It is a good detergent for the money and now is low suds formulated for HE washers. Tide liquid has always performed best for me but I balk at the cost.

Yogitunes showed up with some Oxydol liquid and powder at the wash in. I cannot find it anywhere up here. It was going to be my next trial because I remember it fondly from the 70's and 80's and it did a superlative job cleaning.

But I cannot bring myself to go over to the PODS. Just can't. I like to control the dosage of detergent.

 

[frigilux]

Ben-- On Sears detergent: Same thing happened for me in the Speed Queen. Razor thin sheets of the stuff floating atop the water. I used the remainder and won't buy it again.  Aside: I saw that photo with the pods and the Huebsch machines and couldn't resist, LOL.

Further aside: Has anyone noticed that AW owns Google image searches for all things laundry?  Many AW-sourced photos reside in the first 75 images that appear.  We rock.

 

[washman]

Yup same thing

not sure why though. Moisture perhaps? Or just a deterioration in the formula?

 

[kenmoreguy64]

"I like to control the dosage of detergent."

I'm with you on that one Ben...I've been using pods the last few weeks, mostly because I wanted to get rid of them. I don't use any new machines, just my 60s-80s vintage belt-drives. Plenty of water there, but the larger capacity machines just seem too big for me for one pod when full, so I use two. But most likely all I would really need in that case is 1.25 or 1.5 pods per load. Its much simpler to just measure either powder or liquid so I can control the dosage and use just exactly what I think I need.

I do something weird though - I do not put the pod on the tub bottom, instead I keep it in my hand submerge it, and let it dissolve that way. I know I know, that mostly defeats the purpose of the pod... I do this for a weird reason --- because many BDs have a direct pump to drain hose connection. If the pod gets wet and dissolves while the tub fills, I worry that the detergent will drift toward the tub drain and get ejected with that brief drainage of water that BDs do when they engage the agitate solenoid. Silly worry, I know...

Gordon

 

[yogitunes]

Sears Detergent....as mentioned about pods, has to be kept in a sealed container to stay fresh.....any powder for that reason, with enough moisture in the air, powder will clump.....

PODS as well as dosage per bottle, are all based on a MEDIUM size load, so for anything larger, two or more should be used.....there may be an exception when it comes to a FLer, your only washing in about 3 gallons of water...thats a lot of concentrated detergent mixture.....there are benefits

this, as well as anything, one size does not fit all.....there are pros and cons.....for some people, these are a great advantage, others, not so much....what may not work for you, may be a dream come true for others.....

 

[washman]

Martin I have a new thread

Found it. Finally. Liquid only though!