bargain offer for those of you who are powdered HE detergent fans

[passatdoc]

Found a bargain on Gain HE powder on Amazon.com. See link below. THREE cartons of 134 oz each (8.4 lbs) for $28.96, including free shipping. That's a 25 pound shipment with no shipping/handling charges. Roughly half the price of a discounter like Target.

Gain HE powder was top rated by CR about two years ago as a "Best Buy" (2nd or 3rd in performance but lower priced than TOL Tide), but I never saw it in a store until about a year ago. It never subsequently dropped in the CR ratings, rather CR has simply not reviewed it since. Since CR seems to review only about a dozen competitors at a time, it appears that CR simply never returned to evaluate Gain HE (as opposed to the formula being changed to where it no longer performs well).

I found a box for sale at Target about a year ago and it worked well, as well as Tide HE powder, and was somewhat lower priced. Fragrance is stronger but tolerable. I can't see any difference between it and Tide HE in terms of performance.

Each box is marked for "80 loads" if you use their recommended amounts. In my FL, I use 2-4 tbsp (30-60 ml) depending on load size and soil, and everything comes out clean. Using it at these amounts, an 8 lb box will clearly last MUCH longer than 80 loads.

I prefer not to use liquid detergents because they tend to gum up the dispenser (which makes me wonder if they are gumming up the outer tub that I can't see) and because I don't like a gummed-up measuring cup or lid. I have no laundry sink and thus no way to rinse off a measuring device, unless I walk out of the garage into the kitchen.

I'm aware in Europe that some liquids come with a dispenser ball, with no sharp edges to snag on clothes. You load the ball with liquid detergent and then drop it into the wash basket, thus washing the ball clean for next use, but no one I know of provides a similar device here (maybe that's coming). Also, the manufacturer providing a dispenser ball is sort of an admission that the product is too gooey to use in the built-in dispenser. When I had a TL, I used Kirkland liquid detergent, the huge bottle with the spigot dispenser at the bottom, and I used to throw the plastic measuring cup into the load so it would come clean. Probably ok in a TL, but not in a FL with the clothes tumbling vertically and snagging on the open circular edge of the cup (not a problem with a ball). That's when I switched to powders.

With powder, there is no accumulation of residue in the dispenser, and I just use a 30 ml coffee scoop as a measure.

Get 'em while they're hot.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CP13HE/ref=oss_product

 

[jons1077]

and quite honestly...

The original scent gain powder is one of the best scents of any of the detergents on the rack in my opinion. I don't use HE since I have top loaders but I'm sure it smells the same. It is kind of an old-fashioned scent and I love it. That really is a bargain!

Thanks for posting it!

 

[zipdang]

Temptation got the best of me

Ugh, thanks PassatDoc! I need more detergent like I need another, well... let's just say I don't need more detergent. But I just ordered the 3-pack of Gain anyway. At that price I couldn't refuse!

Haven't ever used any variety of Gain before, liquid or powder, although I've sniffed the boxes at the store enough times to know that the Original scent is agreeable enough. I recall seeing the HE powder in area stores some time back but then after Consumer Reports rated it rather highly it seemed to vanish from store shelves. It wasn't sold out; it just wasn't even offered. The HE liquids now abound in multiple flavors but there's still no sign of the HE powder. Now that I have three large boxes on the way I guess I'm set.

As an aside, I am working on a 80-load box of Tide HE powder (Original scent) that I picked up at Safeway on sale for $9.99. Thus far have been pretty surprised that I haven't had any excessive suds issues with it, which seemed to happen regularly when I used it years ago. Perhaps they've modified the formula? Also have on hand a couple of varieties of liquid Tide HE, and the new one with ActiLift seems to work really well. It's effectively removed every stain I've thrown at it, and suds are almost non-existent. Portland has extremely soft water and my past experience with Tide HE liquids is that there wasn't anything low-sudsing or suds-controlled about them. I do wish the HE powders had the ActiLift ingredients in them, but I'll just keep some of the liquid on hand to use as a pretreater when necessary.

Hey Jon, add a front loader to your collection and I'll hook you up with a box of Gain HE. I think I'll have more than enough to share.

 

[appnut]

I used this about a year or 1.5 years ago. Found a box at Wally World. I liked it. Will have to see how this compares to Sears powdered detergent in unit/price.

 

[passatdoc]

I began using Tide HE about two or three years ago, and never had any sudsing issues. Before that, I was using liquid HE detergent (typically, Costco or Tide HE liquid) but I really prefer powder now. So I never used Tide HE a long long time ago, hence cannot comment if the sudsing has "improved"---can only say it is not problematic now.

I never saw Gain HE powder on the shelves when it won the high CR rating. About six months ago, I found a box at a market (I think it was Ralphs, this is SoCal) and bought it. Seemed to work as well as Tide HE powder, which is generally more expensive unless on sale. Since then, I bought a six pack of the smaller boxes and now the three pack of the 8.4 lb boxes, so I am set for a long, long time. I use it for linens and towels. For my work (office casual) clothes, I generally use stuff I've brought over from Europe: UK Persil, Swedish Via (same formula as UK Persil, sold by Unilever), or real German Persil.