Best Detergents for Rinsing

[carlstock]

Hi, all!

Just one question, really:

In your experience, what are the best detergents, of any format, for rinsing? By that, I mean which has the least (or no!) foam/suds and clearest water left at the end of the rinse cycle (excluding the fabric conditioner’s slight foaminess)? Also, I know some of you use slightly less detergent than recommended because you find that a little less still does a good job without causing any problems, as well as believing detergent manufacturers get us to use too much anyway. Any thoughts on this from anyone?

I know this can all depend on local water conditions, the amount of detergent used, programme used (agitation in particular)… We have *very* hard water, but it’s been turned soft by a water softener that is regularly checked.

To give you an example of how much foam we get, just one UK Ariel tablet will foam up in the machine terribly, even though Ariel foams up less than it used to. Ariel powder, however, is not too bad actually on with normal dose… but I want it to be better! hehe

Answers from all over the world of course!

I know this may be due to water-saving and energy-saving measures, which I support, but I do remember my 1980s Hotpoint Microtronic L.E. and my grandmother’s Zanussis from the 1980s and 1990s rinsing to clear water. However, this may have also been due to the detergents used then, which was Persil non-bio powder in all cases and with the same local water supply, as well as the fact that there machines did about five rinses each as a matter of routine! LOL

I know foam is fun, but it’s a pet hate of mine when it comes to rinsing my daily loads. I use the correct amount of detergent, and we get pretty good results with Persil non-bio tablets, Ariel Sensitive liquitabs or Tesco Naturally non-bio tablets. All of those produce little foam during the wash, as well as quickly rinsing out to produce clear(ish) rinse water with only a slight head of foam. However, I want to see if there is something better! ;-) I’ve tried one Persil tablet, which I know some here do, too, and that works well.

I have eczema and want to try to get as little foam in the later rinses as possible, although I know that skin sensitivity is not all about how much foam is left.

And this may be a daft question, but what exactly leaves all that foam behind? Is it water softeners? Polymers? Foaming agents? I haven’t a clue!

I know this may have been covered before, but I do miss high water levels – I have Water plus turned on on my Miele with the extra Water plus options programmes as followed (all turned on):

1. Wash water level increased.
2. Rinse water levels increased.
3. Extra rinse added automatically. (My Miele does two rinses as standard on most programmes, but mine will do three because Water plus is turned on.)

Any ideas? My machine rinses properly, so there are no faults or issues, and the modern Bosch and Hotpoint we had before produced much the same amount of foam anyway. I just want less foam, even though it’s not too bad anyway, but I just don’t like foam in my penultimate rinse! Grrr! ;-)

Thanks very much.

Regards,

Carl

 

[lederstiefel1]

Foam residues

Hi Carl!
Thing is actually that nowadays we have powders without STPP which means more tensides in the detergents as STPP is not only a water softening agent but also a kind of "cleaner" like soap and other tensides, too. Also the "modern" water softeners are precepitating ones which means they built calcium up, not block it as STPP does, which means it's necessary to use a part of the tensides for diluting this calcium in the water, too. The worst are liquide detergents in this fact as they have no bleaching agent and therefor need even more tensides to get the washing clean. The easiest detergent to rins away was soap-powder with STPP in it - but that's nearly nowhere available, as far as I know!
Ralf

 

[mrboilwash]

It`s the surfactants (man made artificial soap) that can foam up pretty much but does not necessarily have to.
To me proper rinsing is the most important thing about a washing machine, too. I have set my Miele to "Softwater conditions" by a sevice technician though I live in a hard water area. So I get the high level rinses without higher levels and the waste of energy in the wash. IMHO this is just sufficient for small loads. For normal or large loads I also add a 3rd rinse with "Water Plus".

I don`t think the presence or absence of foam, or if the last water looks clear or not has that much to say about a good rinse. I mean detergents could be designed to be suds free and almost "clear" in the wash, but I still don`t want to wear clothes washed with such a detergent without good rinsing.
To me it is important to have as little detergent residue as possible in my clothes, but I don`t mind suds in the last rinse at all.

 

[kirk280980]

Hi Carl,

The detergent itself being the culprit, as Ralf suggests, is often something I've wondered about too. Setting my Zanussi for a synthetics cycle with extra rinse gives a vintage-style programme with 4 x deep rinses, similar to machines of years gone by. Even so, I still find some modern detergents don't rinse totally clear. While they are of course low sudsing, it seems that the few suds they do make are now more tenacious, and the water remains somewhat cloudy from one rinse to the next.

Bearing in mind that I have unsoftened hard water, and that my results may therefore differ to yours, I find Persil Small & Mighty rinses out exceptionally well. It's literally the only detergent I can find in the shops that doesn't require me to select the extra rinse option. The vast majority of my laundry is lightly to moderately soiled, which means it suits my needs perfectly. However, others here have reported that it doesn't always perform well on more challenging loads, so that would be something you might want to think about and weigh up before deciding whether or not to give it a try.

Same goes for Ecover; while I've had excellent results from their products, others have been disappointed. Either way, might be worth trying if only because their ingredients are naturally sourced, and therefore claimed to be safe for the skin should any traces remain behind after rinsing. Their words, not mine ).

Persil tablets also rinse more easily than most, with a single tab being sufficient for most washes in my experience. Only for large or very dirty loads would I use two. These still contain phosphates by the way, which probably explains why they work wonders on white socks that have become grimy after being worn outdoors!

Good luck in finding something that ticks all your boxes - and should you discover the elusive "holy grail" of detergents, do let us know!

Kirk

 

[carlstock]

Thanks very much, guys – much appreciated.

Lots to go on here.

Regards,

Carl