Buyer's Remorse????? (New Detergent)

[westtexman]

I went to Sam's Club today (a.k.a. my "Happy Place") to pick up some supplies for the office, and I came across a HUGE bottle of ECOS brand detergent. I saw the same thing last time I was there, and decided to give it a go since it was only $12.83 for a bottle that claims to wash 210 loads. I liked the natural lavendar scent and thought that using this detergent on my towels might eliminate the need for fabric softener in my hard water.

Well I brought it home and decided to use it on a load of sheets. I had a bit of a bloody nose in my sleep last night, but the staining wasn't bad, and so without pre-treating, I tossed them into the LG on the stain cycle (120*F) with an extended wash and extra rinse. I did not use FS on the sheets, as I never do on any of my sheets, regardless of the detergent used.

I checked to make sure the stains came out before I tossed them in the dryer and didn't see any. While putting them on the bed, however, I noticed that two very tiny stains didn't completely come out. All of the other stains were gone, mind you, and the 2 very tiny stains left really were not noticable. As I tend to be a bit anal, however, I noticed them anyway. These would have come out very easily with any of my other detergents (Mexican, European, Tide, Cheer, etc.). They would even have come out beautifully without pre-treating while using a non-enzyme based product such as Ariel Non-Bio or Persil Megaperls Sensitive.

I also noticed that they had a different "hand" than they normally do. They almost felt slightly "coated" - not really greasy but almost similar. This is perhaps due to the natural oil used in this detergent. The stuff was pretty thick (imagine the consistency of Karo Light corn syrup) when putting it into the dispenser. In fact, it didn't completely rinse out of the dispenser, so I had to manually clean that out after the wash began. The pillow cases ironed very nicely, but were not much easier to iron than with my regular detergent(s). Plus I think I prefer a bit more body, which I seem to get with my other powder detergent(s).

I don't want to completely give up on this detergent, but I'm not terribly impressed with the results so far. I will know for sure after sleeping on the sheets tonight.

Has anyone else used this detergent, and if so, do you like it? Any way to make it work better without adding STTP (as I do with my other detergents), or Oxygen Bleach, which I did in tonight's load of sheets.

Any suggestions/comments?

Bryan

 

[jeffg]

Except when I want a very gentle cleaning action (e.g. Woolite or Perwoll for fine fabrics), I steer clear of all liquid detergents. I've tried many brands over the years, and they've never performed as well as powders.

If you have to use liquid for whatever reason, pretreat stains with undiluted detergent or a stain stick and let it sit for at least a few hours.

 

[launderess]

Well compared with the chemcial and enzyme cocktail that are TOL detergents such as Tide or Persil, or even MOL like Spanish Ariel, Ecos is nothing but water, "coconut surfactants", soap bark, and a bunch of essential oils. Not much "deep" cleaning power in there, and without enzymes and or bleaches, some stains are going to be hard to shift totally.

As for the coated feeling, between the soap bark (or was it soap nuts?), essential oils, and natural soy fabric softener, I'd say "yes" your laundry very well should feel a bit coated. *LOL*

Clorox makes a liquid peroxide bleach that is scent and dye free. It contains enzymes which should kick things up a bit. There is also Vivid, or Snowy liquid as well. To totally shift some stains, and even oils on textiles, you are either going to have to crank up the wash temperature, or add some enzymes.

I'd worry about the built in fabric softener building up on one's laundry. Of course this can be avoided by rotating detergents from your stash!

Best of luck,

L.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I tried this same detergent and I like you bought it to be environmentally friendly and the lillac sent, and it was half the price of the major brands.

What I found it that it works ok, it took out the greasy gravy stains from a table cloth and it was ok on the permanent press clothes. I noticed the clothes that I hang out felt softer, but I also noticed that the wash cloths took on a rancid, or oily smell after a few days. It was really apparent when I was in the shower and the wash cloth absolutely stank when I washed my face. (I wash my face first all you naughties out there).

Back to Tide for me.