Best USA Detergent for HI-TEMP Washing

[mrb627]

I am looking for options for a powdered detergent that performs well at high temperatures. Seems most will foam a bit when wash temp rises above 140°. The best I have encountered has been the Sears detergent.

Any thoughts?

Malcolm

 

[tomturbomatic]

Powder Tide HE, with STPP, 2 TBS each for regular loads, a little less detergent for towels.

 

[bosch2460]

Tide with Bleach and Cheer are my daily drivers. Tide HE is a good performer at high temps, as well. I have a 220v Miele, and mechanically softened water. All of these I have used in boil washes with no issues. However, I have to dose carefully. I have over sudsed before, but I have my dosing pretty accurate these days. Even though you are asking about US detergents, I have to add that Persil is always a good choice. After all, they were designed for Euro FL.

Joel

 

[launderess]

What Your Machine Was Made For

Persil, or any other "HE" detergent from across the pond.

Almost to a one with any American product "HE" or no as temps rise >120F one can hear froth starting to build in my Miele. At or over 140F it can be time to run for the defoamer.

Liquid or gels can be tricky as well. Cannot remember what temps are recommended for various products in my stash from the EU, but Tide "HE" free and gentle can be very tricky.

 

[mrb627]

Tide HE

Almost always over foams at high temps. There is a very fine line between enough and too much. You can never use the recommended amount without suffering suds lock.

Malcolm

 

[launderess]

Tide Liquid "HE" Detergents

Never use more than one or perhaps two tablespoons, period. Will add pure sodium percarbonate (Ecover laundry bleach) for whites and colourfast loads but find any more Tide causes poor rinses and lots of frothing.

 

[sudsmaster]

Sears Ultra Plus HE with Oxyclean handles higher temperatures than the other Sears Ultra formulations. I use it regularly in my Miele at 160F without reservation.

Persil foams a bit less but doesn't clean any better.

 

[retromania]

Tide he

Foams too much. I have even cut back on the amount. I also live in an area with soft water. I am still sold on Sears he powder detergent.

 

[thomasortega]

I thought I was the only one here in south america.

Our water is too soft Tide Regular is almost a firefighting chemical foam generator.
Tide HE is even worse. It´s almost like saying hey mom, i found a new way to clean the ceiling, but out house will look like a souflé.

Electrolux Ecoturbo (your Frigidaire Affinity), full load (almost overloaded) I can use the first line (and repeat the cycle to get a decent rinse)

I love the Tide Regular Original Scent and Tide Ultra's scents, but I had to stop using them because of oversudsing.
Tide pods, used once... 1 pod/ full load, suds overflowing through the drawer

 

[roscoe62]

Never had access to Tide He Powder with Bleach, but saw how low sudsing it was in a video on this website when it was introduced to the market.
I have found since P&G have concentrated Tide HE Powder I have had the same sudsing problem as I did with the Tide HE liquid ending the use of Tide products.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Andy, Are you using the powder formula? My supply of Tide is edging toward vintage. The last powder I bought at Target was before they were boycotted, but at two TBS a load, it lasts forever.

If any of you find that a modern HE powder makes too much suds, mix it half and half with Persil. It extends the Persil and eliminates sudsing at high temps, although I have not experienced that with my stash of powder Tide HE.

 

[sudsmaster]

Seems to me that every liquid HE detergent I've tried foams too much for use in a front loader for heavily soiled loads. They are OK for light soil, though, because one can add a lot less detergent. They do leave fabrics a bit softer than most powdered detergents.

 

[retromania]

The Tide he formula I used for a while was liquid detergent. The Sears detergent I am currently using is a powder.

 

[aamassther]

I concur with the opinions that the Persil Universal powder formulas are the best at high temps. My Bosch tops out at 155 on sanitary or 152 on Temp boost cottons and I can still have oversudsing issues with detergents, even with temps this low. I've found that Shaklee, Tide with bleach HE and Tide HE suds up the least of the US made ones. I have to be the most careful with Tide, as seems to be the consensus.
Another issue, and to me more importantly, is that with the Tide formulas I tend to get redeposition of soil more with whites washed on Sanitary. This doesn't happen when I use Persil. My theory is that detergents for the European market are formulated for longer, hotter washes. The US ones are based on the old top loader technology, which makes them break down before the cycle is complete.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Gentle people, it has been pointed out that liquids are not well behaved at high temps and he was looking for a powder so we should confine our suggestions to powders and, to eliminate cause for confusion, specify that we are discussing a powder when posting replies. Tide HE powder and Persil Universal powder are great for boil washes, or at least the Tide HE powder that was sold a couple of years ago. I have never tried the Persil Mega Perls for colors at high temps because that is not what it is made for. There are, no doubt, others from the continent, but he asked for USA powders. Some Sears powders seem to perform well at high temps even though Sears never made a washer that heated water to the high temperatures that the 220 volt machines can.

I have never tried the Wisk HE tablet(powder)formula at high temperatures in one of the 220 volt machines. It seemed a little exhuberant at regular temps.

 

[launderess]

You are onto something there

By and large American domestic washing machines never bothered with water hotter than what came from the taps. That temperature has been historically ranged from 120F to 140F. There was a time during early days of automatic washing machines when soap was the main "detergent" where some hot water tanks cranked out water at 180F IIRC,but that died off for various reasons.

Thus if one is seeking a modern detergent truly able to work at temps >140F you've got to cast an eye across the pond.

 

[ronhic]

Australian OMO

....and Drive, both available for Front Loaders, are also very low foaming in hot water.

I regularly do 60c/140f washes and get about 1/2 inch of foam at the most.

However, it will be both difficult to get and EXPENSIVE - even compared to getting hold of Persil which it basically is.

 

[mrb627]

Whisk HE Tabs?

I didn't know there was such a thing.

Malcolm

 

[washer111]

Omo and Drive

Found that Drive is actually the highest rated detergent in Aus, per our CR testing, so I use that personally on my own clothing. 

 

I seem to have trouble dosing the Omo stuff... It always like frothing, even when you split 1/4 scoop (or less) between Pre-Wash and Main-Wash compartments. The frothing is usually a problem on Towels and Bedding... Nothing else really. But the Omo DOESN'T froth when used with nothing in the machine at boil wash temps (I do that monthly to keep the Miele clean). Of course, everyone has heard my "Caked Omo" story, so I won't go there today. 

 

My favourites are Bio-Zet and Drive. Both work well, and smell very nice, though when they are not on sale, can be very pricey (as is Omo)...

 

[tomturbomatic]

Wisk Tablets & others, too

There was a brief revival of tablets in the 90s, I think. Wisk, Surf & Purex are all I have left. One box of Purex has HE on the front and one does not. Both are one tablet formulas. Surf Power Fresh Formula takes two tablets and states on the side, "compatible with HE washers." The Wisk box makes no HE statement, but the tablets are low sudsing at regular washing temps.

The tablets present a paradox with HE washers. They do not dissolve fast enough to go in the dispensers and the ratio of laundry to water in the drum does not promote fast dissolving of the whole tablet in the wash. I used to crumble them before adding to the dispenser and rarely needed the full dose in a FL.

 

[aamassther]

Wisk HE powdered tabs are unfortunately NLA, for about eight or ten years. IIRC. Replaced recently with liqutabs.
I must agree with Launderess, the best powders available to the US market are the 2 imported Henkel Persil Universal ones. Which while expensive, are readily available.
I have had good luck with Shaklee powder, 1/8 cup and the same amount of their Nature Bright. I don't get the redeposition in the long cycles and stain removal is quite good. It's low sudsing, I can use the 1/4 cup top loader dose for my massage linens and still not throw an error code.
Though my gold standard is still the Persils.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I hate to mention this brand

One low sudsing product that is almost too concentrated to accurately dose in a FL and never for high temp washing is SA8 powder. Maybe it is formulated only to behave with "Right" laundry and not with "Left" laundry, but like many products, it will barely suds in a Maytag or KA TL, yet it will produce an explosion of suds in a FL. I had heard about it and a co-worker sold the stuff so I helped her by buying a box many years ago. I have a clipboard near it with dosages for the 29 times I have used it and it even lists the times I tried it in the Duet and that is ancient history. The only way I can use the full amount is in a TL. Many of the measurements for the FLs have the notation "too much." 5 to 15 ml is about the dosage for regular temp loads, depending on the size, in a FL. Maybe it would not suds so much if the fabrics were coated with fabric softener.

 

[Soap-n-Suds]

Fresh Start

I've always had great results with Fresh Start. Even at 205 degrees in an Asko. But it's getting harder and harder to find these days. I'm surprised they don't throw the 'he' logo on the bottle and sell it that way.

Laurent

 

[mikeklondon]

From this side of the pond

I can only comment on non bio's as that all I use but in our very hard water Persil never seems to over foams and rinses well but Fairy Snow (Not sure you have that in the US) gives problems in a wash any hotter than 40C (104F) I would be interested to know just how much you have to pay for Persil in the US?

 

[ozzie908]

Aldi

How come none of you have mentioned Aldi's Almat detergent would have thought it would be HE as its European? Or would it be a different formulation for you in the US??
Here we have a choice of powder which is very economical to buy and use and gel or liquid all of which I have used to great result though the powder does have a tendency to clog and foam at temps over 40' but it works well in my Servis twin tub )

Austin