Comparing detergent - testing

[nickuk]

I conducted a test today to compare UK Ariel bio powder with UK Persil non bio liquid + Vanish stain remover powder.

2 white towels were identically soiled with 11 stains - grass / chocolate ice cream / orange juice / red wine / bolognaise sauce / vegetable oil / used motor oil / chicken curry / sun block lotion / strawberry jam / butter.

Here are the towels having been stained, baking in the sun.

 

[nickuk]

I added a plain white towel to each of the two loads to help with balancing.

Here is the first test ready to go. 100ml Ariel powder.

 

[nickuk]

A typical 40c (warm) cycle selected. I know a longer hotter cycle would have given better results but really wanted to give the detergents a challenge.

 

[nickuk]

First wash begins

 

[nickuk]

Rinse

 

[nickuk]

All done

 

[nickuk]

With Ariel, 7 stains removed really well.

Problems - bologanise sauce only partly removed (middle row on left)

Disasters - red wine removal (top right), chicken curry (bottom left) used motor oil (middle right) and sun cream (doesn't show up in pic, but middle bottom).

 

[nickuk]

OK, on to the next test. Same conditions exactly to ensure a fair test.

This time with 35ml non bio liquid and a full scoop of Vanish.

 

[nickuk]

Off we go

 

[nickuk]

And the end result....the `Hyacinth' in me was reluctant to hang these on the line for long!!! What WILL the neighbours think?

The one on the left is the Persil and Vanish and the one on the right is Ariel. The towels are pegged out the same way so the stains are all in the same order.

Although there's not a lot in it, to my eye, the Ariel has done an overall better job at removing more of each stain. It's hard to see on the photos, but more specifically the Ariel removed more of the bolognaise sauce, and the Persil didn't actually remove the strawberry jam whereas Ariel did fully, meaning that overall Persil + Vanish removed less stains.

I found this surprising as Vanish is a premium priced product with 4 enzymes in it. I also expected the liquid detergent to help to do a better job on the motor oil whereas it just seems to have spread it about more.

Well done Ariel!!

Now then you clever people, how should I go about rescuing my poor towels? Does anyone have a non LCB method of removing curry, bolognaise, wine or motor oil?

Peace out x

 

[paulc]

Interesting test

Nick,

I'm a big fan of Persil Non Bio Small and mighty but never use it on whites. I'm surprised the Vanish didn't remove more than it did. I've used the Crystal White version before and found that to be quite good. Would be interesting to see how Persil Non Bio powder performed against Ariel.

I think the best way to get your towels pristine again is to boil wash them, with powder of course, that should shift all those stains.

 

[mich]

My advice...

For wine stains, a good soak in a sodium percarbonate (oxyclean, oxygen bleach, hydrogen peroxide with washing soda or sodium carbonate) will help to remove it.

For a motor oil stain, my suggestion is a ammonia based hand- manual dish washing detergent (such as Fairy or Dawn, or even Joy) Just rub in a liberal amount and let soak, or rewash with a extra rinse cycle and hot water.

And for curry stain, a enzyme detergent pretreater boost pack should assist with the stain removal...

And if all else fails, there's always a trusty Clorox bottle to restore the hue of white

 

[aquacycle]

Interesting test, Nick, thank you for sharing the results.

I would certainly be interesting to see Ariel Bio powder vs Persil Bio powder too, rather than Non Bio liquid.

 

[spoodles]

I've honestly never found Vanish to be that good. If a stain won't come out with detergent alone, it won't come out with Vanish added to it, in my experience.

I think for Vanish to actually work on tough stains you have to leave it to soak in the stuff for a few hours, or overnight. I'm not convinced you wouldn't get the same results if you left items to soak in a normal detergent for the same amount of time.

 

[nrones]

Great Test!

Thank you for that test! It's really interesting how Ariel remooved more stains than Persil+Vanish.

I always love to see this kind of tests.

I did a test with detergent, and same detergent+Vanish sometime ago (attached it in the link), however after Testing, I've just thrown the towels into trash can, as they were old anyway, but I think a good boilwash will remoove most stains that remained on your towels

Dex

 

[hotpointfan]

Not suprised at all that the Vanish made no difference. In my opinion it doesn't shift the stains and the detergent on its own is a better test, but good that you used it as it is very popular.

How about trying Ariel vs Almat, as they have both been awarded Which? Best Buy's in the past and both score very highly on their cleaning and stain removing ability's, even at 30*, as lots of people now use 30*. Personally, I don't, as do many here, I like to boil my white towels and tea towels, if there is a sufficient load, if there isn't, they will normally go in a 60deg whites wash, always with a biological detergent, usually Ariel or Persil as I have yet to try the highly acclaimed Almat Bio. Sainsbury's Bio is great for lightly soiled loads, but is not as best suited with soiled loads.

 

[revvinkevin]

EXCELLENT!!!

 

 

Great Job Nick!   Thank you for posting this!

 

I really enjoyed each step along with the matching photo!   Interesting results too, even though we don't have those products on this side of the pond.

 

Question: after applying the "stains" how long did you let the towels "bake in the sun" or dry before washing?

 

Thanks much and Cheers!

Kevin

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Personally I have never found non bio of any make good for removing stains.

I no longer use Persil anymore since I got a reply from them stating they contain animal fats.

Quite happy with Almat and does as good good as the top brand in my personal experience. Like the smell of the colour powder and the fact it is highly concentrated.

 

[aquacycle]

Personally I have never found non bio of any make good for r

Non-bio powder is FULL of oxygen based bleaching agents. That's why it always makes me laugh that people think it's better for sensitive skin, because it chocked full of chemicals - far more so than bio.

I've found non-bio powder to be great for boiling whites with. Because the enzymes in bio powder are easilly desensitised above 60 degrees, non bio works great for boil washing whites and keeping them bright.

Non bio liquid, on the other hand, is pointless. Because oxygen based bleaching agents are unstable in liquid form and not used in any liquids, it's pretty much just liquid soap. Whilst that's fine for lightly soiled clothes, I wouldn't want to use it on anything heavilly stained or anything where hygiene is key, such as dishclothes, bedding and towels.

 

[aegokocarat]

I find persil non bio powder to be brilliant stuff, always rinses out of the washing exceptionally well, and the best thing of all (well, for me lol) Persil isn't tested on animals where as P&G stuff is, ecover is another favourite too.
Anyway, my brother does rein acting for a Napoleonic war group and he had gunpowder on his whites so I put it in the servis on cottons 60*c with a prewash and extra rinse with a scoop of persil non bio and the whites were as white if not whiter as they would be if they had been washed in the miele on a long intensive wash. My sister noticed a huge difference when switching from bold to persil non bio, she initially changed because she noticed that bold was getting quite perfumed and it was irritating my nieces and my brother-in-laws skin, she asked me about fairy but after using persil since May my views have been changed drastically so I told her to switch to persil non bio and she said her whites have never been whiter and stains on my Nieces school shirts and tops were gone where as if she used bold whites would look a dingy colour and the stains wouldent have come out. sorry to ramble on
Tom

 

[spoodles]

Where does it say Persil isn't tested on animals? Lots of Unilever stuff is, despite what their website may say about funding alternative methods.

Not all P&G stuff is tested on animals either. The new Ariel Pods aren't - see point 3 in the picture below:

 

[MrX]

There's no oxygen bleach in Persil non-bio *liquid* or any UK/Ireland liquids that I am aware of.

The powder version would have quite likely completely shifted that stain.

It's a balance though, I find it's a lot better to use liquids or liquid pods on colour items (especially jeans) that you don't want to fade.

Powder detergents will totally fade your jeans.

 

[aegokocarat]

This is where it says unilever will not test on animals, since laws in different countries require animal testing they will carry it out. Simply non bio powder pods are approved by the Vegan association and Ecover have been awarded the BUAV approval, and also, P&G test various chemicals on animals which in my opinion is not needed since most detergents on the market have been around for years and were probably tested on animals when they originally introduced them to the market.

http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/Respondingtostakeholderconcerns/testing/index.aspx

 

[paulc]

Ariel 3in1 pods "The product is not tested on animals" means very little. The pods themselves have not been tested on animals but the ingredients could well have been. Anyway, am not getting into a big debate. Back to actual cleaning power!

Tom, I agree with your sister, Bold is not the detergent it once was. The cleaning ability seems to have diminished whilst the fragrance AND price have increased. My was using Asda non bio powder and recently swapped to Persil Non Bio, she phoned me to tell me how impressed she was! Mind you I've been on at her for years to stop using Asda's own, it was pretty awful

 

[aegokocarat]

Paul, I can honestly say I find persil to wash better and some cases I find it works out cheaper too, my sister started buying small boxes of non bio powder when she was pregnant for baby grows and so on, and she would buy bio powder for her and the bro-in-laws stuff. My other sister uses almat and she finds it washes well (as do myself and the mother).
Tom

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Do you not think own brand detergent cleans as well @ PaulC? I am currently using CO-OP BUAV approved liquid-tabs and the cleaning is good on there to be quite honest but then again most of clothes are not white.

I wrote to Persil and the care line advisor wrote back to me and told me that Persil contains tallow (rendered animal fat) also Sodium Stearate which is also derived from animal fat.

However Ariel, Bold, Daz or Fairy does not contain animal ingredients in their present formulations but I was told that when resources are short they may have to use animal derivatives! P&G aim to use plant based ingredients and artificial as opposed to animal so that is what I was told.

Perhaps that is the reason why washing machine manufacturers say liquids are bad for machines because they contain fats!

 

[paulc]

Never been a fan of stores own brand detergent, I know people who do use these detergents and get good results, I just can't bring myself to use them....I admit, I'm a detergent snob! I can always find brand name detergents on special at one supermarket or another making them not much more expensive than the store's own brands.

As for animal fats in detergent it doesn't bother me as I'm not vegetarian. Animal fat has been used in soaps for centuries. I'd rather it was put to a useful purpose than just discarded. I can understand that vegetarians would not want to use such products so thank you for finding that information out.

I know The Vegan society will only endorse non bio environmentally friendly detergents as they consider enzymes living organisms.

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Well I have been weighing about the pros and cons of Unilevers and P&G detergents and I still prefer Unilever because they do more for the environment and animal welfare. I still think Persil and Surf clean better than Ariel and not so over powering. I have had to stop using Ariel as it gives me headaches. If you want to know what's in the products you have to get the code off P&G whereas Unilever openly display their product ingredients.

How does one find persil non bio formulations for cleaning? Its been years since I used the powder.

Was persil originally non biological anyway? It has a nicer soapy smell than Fairy as well.

 

[paulc]

liberatordeluxe

The link below gives a history of Persil in the UK.

Persil Non Bio powder works very well, the non bio tablets have a higher "bleach" content than the powder. I find it very good on whites washed at 60 deg or above. Not suitable for colours though due to the "bleach" content. I use it as I prefer the smell to Persil Bio, that's the only reason really.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?42599

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Same here Paul I don't like the smell of bio persil powder got a strange smell.