CR No Longer Recommends Laundry Detergent Pods

[sudsmaster]

I don't know if this has been pointed out yet in this thread, but CR's main objection to the laundry pods was their safety hazard to kids.

 

The magazine included ratings for various pods anyway, and they tended to score lower than the leading liquids and powders. I don't know exactly why this would be, unless the fixed dosage is the main cause of less than top performance.

 

As I may have said several times already, I've found that different laundry loads and wash temps can require markedly different dosages of detergent. Mainly I use Sears HE Ultra powder, boosted 33% with STPP. For the full loads of shirts, slacks, and non-white socks in the Neptune, on the warm (105F) temp/perm press cycle, I find I can usually add 6 oz of this mixture without oversudsing. Sometimes even at that level little to no suds are visible.

 

The same detergent mix in the Miele, with a load of whites, at 155F, 3 oz is the max I can usually add without suds becoming too thick.

 

[liamy1]

I think...

Iej is right, I too can see them being pulled from the EU/UK market too.. Due to safety but also due to cost... We pay much more for things here in UK than in USA, so depending on offers/comparison to other formats, cant see them being round for ever.

(Although we have had the liquid capsules since 1998 here, so could be wrong).

What I find interesting is that on all the P&G pods they have started printing on the back of the pods themselves - all brands - Ariel, Bold, Daz and Fairy.

All of them have the name of the detergent on the pod, however the Daz one has 3 names showing - Tide/Vizir/Daz

I knew Tide and Vizir are the same detergent (Vizir is France's version) Ace detergent is in this category too.

But I didn't think Daz was the same as Tide, as Daz is our second in line P&G detergent (all the latest tech goes into Ariel and Daz gets the previous Ariel formulas).

So if Tide and Daz are the same thing, then the USA is getting done out as Tide being TOL.

Unless, P&G have zupped-up Daz for us
.

 

[liamy1]

Yes I'm sad

 

[liamy1]

In respective order of boxes above

 

[liamy1]

Daz one

 

[iej]

The Tide Brand in Europe

P&G and Unilever tend to "reuse" branding.

Tide is a brand in a couple of European countries, but it may not be top of the line.

Ariel is generally the European top-of-the-line product, even in markets where it wasn't, they've introduced it and are slowly moving the national TOL to second tier.

All these companies like the idea of saving in costs, so there's one single EU version of any given product in reality. It's just put into different boxes.

I suspect there's some obscure legal labelling requirement for the pods which may be requiring this printing. I noticed the P&G Fairy dishwasher tablets are printed with multiple brands too.

If Persil capsules start showing up with Persil & Skip branding on the outside, it's probably a legal thing or that they've reinterpreted the tablet exterior as "packaging".

I notice the powder tablets in Ireland anyway are getting an ever decreasing amount of shelf space. Persil powder tablets, other than non bio seem to be harder and harder to find. Clearly not selling well.

Space dedicated to powders is also shrinking ... They're all still there but they've far less prominent space. It's all pushing concentrated liquid formats.

The gel formats seem to be fading away too. Always thought they were a solution In search of a problem. Couldn't see the point of them.

At the end of the day, the concentrated liquids are proving to be the most practical format in Europe. One tiny capful either dumped into the drawer or just thrown into the drum along with the laundry and you're done!

They're very compatible with quick washes too. No dissolving time.

 

[dixan]

Tide is available in many European countries, mainly Central and Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, former Yugoslavia republics, Russia; in Poland the brand name is Vizir, in Turkey - Alo, but the orange package and the bull eye logo are the same.
In all of these countries Tide/Vizir/Alo is in the middle between the TOL Ariel and the BOL Bonux. It's cheaper than Ariel, but has many of it's features. For example Tide contains the catalyst that P&G use for Ariel (Bonux doesn't), but anyway Tide is formulated cheaper than Ariel - less persalt and activator (TAED), less surfactants, other ingredients like polymers are missing. Still, Tide is very good detergent.
There is also Tide in Portural (the third photo), but I think it's BOL brand. It's not as good as our Tide.

 

[liamy1]

Powder tabs

You're right iej - P&G have just pulled the Ariel colour powder tabs from the market, along with their ENTIRE Ariel stain remover range...anything you can get now is remaining stock.

 

[liamy1]

Thanks dixan

That 3rd bo's styling is identical to our Daz powder , except name is Daz and the box red, but the fabric icon is the same, so makes sense now.

 

[mrb627]

Hazard To Children...

Funny, the first time I purchased a box of Persil Mega-Pearls, they reminded me a of frozen confection. Wonder how many children have tasted the Pearls...

Malcolm

 

[iej]

The issue with the liquid tablets isn't just how they look, it's the fact they explode when chewed.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

tide pods

If people are too stupid to be eating pods, that's their problem. It's bad enough that children get into them, and now we have teens doing the so-called "Tide Pods Challenge". They should know better. The real Tide Pods Challenge would to take the most filthy, smelliest, dirtiest, sweatiest loads and run a battery of tests. on normal or heavy duty.

 

[joeekaitis]

The biggest problem with VIM and Salvo tablets . . .

 

. . . was kids trying to use them as hockey pucks.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

laundry tablets

I miss the laundry tablets and I've used them in 2002 until the time they were discontinued. The pods somewhat remind me of them.

 

[qsd-dan]

I think at least one member is this thread may have consumed one or 2 pods in their lifetime.

 

[foraloysius]

Another question here is if our dear member Jetcone has started using laundry pod’s considering reply #6.

Hiding somewhere in Europe.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

If people are willing to pay for convenience, above all else

It makes me wonder why they don’t have a giant laundry powder dispenser thing that’s coin-operated, and then when it gets low, it gets refilled with detergent and the money is collected to both run the delivery of detergent and purchase or make more of it

 

[jamiel]

I recall reading several years ago about P&G trying to figure out a way to give away dishwashers to apartment builders which had a customized Cascade dispenser (which would be replenished on demand...essentially converting a built-in amenity to a subscription-based service. I think they're also trying that sort of thing with the ultra-big Charmin roll dispensers---

 

[panasonicvac]

Reply #53

Yup, tried both a Kirkland and a Gain pod before. Never really cared for them.

 

[maytag85]

Been using Tide powdered detergent for years, never a problem.