CR's Latest Detergent Ratings

[oxydolfan1]

Lol, I'm from Flatbush!

Anyhoo, if I use HE liquids in my Whirlpool TL, I use the recommended amount for a FL, maybe a bissaleh less (sorry) depending on my experience on how the product works. Arm and Hammer HE (in fact, all Arm and Hammers, except the "Essentials" product do not suds excessively in my soft water.

I tend to use the Tide HE powdered product on whites (with a shot of chlorine bleach) or on lighter colors, at close to full dosage. However, I use far less of it in my friend's FL (and it works well).

With Tide HE liquid, they've decreased the oversudsing, but I still use it conservatively, in both types of machine.

I'm still "experimenting" with Purex HE liquid, but, so far, it does not suds excessively in either machine....in fact, I rather prefer it to Arm and Hammer HE, because it seems to be gentler on colors, and seems to perform better (even at lower dosages) than the Arm & Hammer HE liquid.

My washday winners are Tide Coldwater powder and (surprise!) Ajax liquid (blue bottle). I am amazed at how well these two products perform, even in cold water, and how well they both whiten (there must be a huge OBA count in each). In an FL, I use a quarter dose of CW Tide, or a third of a cap of Ajax liquid (in my trusty TL I'm more likely to give it a full scoop or cap to work with).

 

[frigilux]

Addendum: I'm beginning to understand why I get such good results with powdered Tide CW in my front-loader; I use the dose recommended for a medium load when I use it to wash kitchen whites. That's a very concentrated dose when used in a FL'er with only 5-6 gallons of water in the tub! In fact, that would probably be like using 2-1/2 full scoops in a top-loader.

Oh, and I still use the much-maligned Oxi-Clean ball for bath towels. It produces no suds, so I don't need to use a liquid softener, which degrades the towels' absorbency.

And Tom, I realize I have a bit of an ethical dilemma to deal with, but I'm excited to try SA8. My 150-load box should be here in a few days. I want to see how it performs in comparison to what I consider the gold standard for US detergents: the Tide line--especially Tide w/ Bleach Alt. and Tide CW.

 

[oxydolfan1]

I think you will like it. It's not so hyper-sudsy, and really has a refreshing fragrance.

 

[aamassther]

As an ex-Amway product user, D/T to politcal views of the company( Dick DeVos just lost his bid to become Republican governor of MI, thankfully! Can you imagine the state govenment being run like a pyramid plan? And before that giving 125K to constitutional amendment defining marriage, which sadly passed). I can say that the laundry products are very high quality, I have used them in my Kenmore Tl, Frigidaire FL and Bosch FL. SA8 actually produced more suds in TL than in the FL's. I've never used more than 1 scoop. From the cost per load CU came up with, they must have used 2, which is overkill even in hard water. Use the same dosage in both machines. I've had more oversudsing issues with Tide HE, etc. than with the SA8. In my experience, on whites, SA8 with added AFB performed at least as well as Persil, under my laundry conditions.I still haven't found any that I like better, other than the UK powders, which to me are gold standard.Hope this helps, Todd

 

[maytagbear]

I love all Small and Mighty!

It is currently my favourite liquid detergent.

Cleans very well, at least on my low-soil life.

I use liquids in winter, and powders in summer.

Right now, the "cold" water is mains temperature, which is about 40F. My machine is 9 years old, and does not have an automatic temperature feature.

I wash most of my sweaters in cold, everything else in warm or hot.

I'm not a fan of Amway for the same political reasons discussed above, but I can agree the the products do work quite well. I haven't used the dishwasher powder in years, but the last time I did, it was as good (in my water) as Cascade, and that says something.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[oxydolfan1]

Why can't Dennis Kucinich sell laundry detergent?

Sigh....

 

[neptunebob]

Oxydol are you a Kucitizen too? I am, and his announcement yesterday made my day. Perhaps he should sell a detergent the box could be like a bumper sticker. Now, if he could just make up a pyramid scheme like Scamway, he would have plenty of money for his campaign. But I have the feeling he is too honest.

 

[oxydolfan1]

I like Kucinich a lot...he has SOLUTIONS....not so nuts about Hillary, and I do fear Barack Obama will be assasinated before he gets out of the starting gate....sad.

Yeah, I've liked him for years, no "skull and bones", understands lack, what it's like for rustbelt states, gets that we need 21st century thinking...

In a better world, him and/or Feingold would be my choices (so far....)

At the very least, his presence will push the DLC and the debates into a more aggressive, less conciliatory set of positions...

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I have not yet found Purex HE, but I like the regular Purex liquids in my TLs, even though CR does not. I am almost convinced that some liquid detergents are better on oil and grease than powder formulas. Once, I even used regular Purex in one of the FLs and it did not suds too much in warm water.

I could not stand the smell of liquid Tide HE. I could not even seem to rinse the smell out. The only thing that seemed to neutralize it was one of those no longer made yellow fabric softeners. Only recently have I seen the liquid Tide HE Free, but I have not bought it because I am not that thrilled about using liquids and I have enough stuff on hand for both colors and whites.

 

[exploder321]

I love Wisk HR and All small and mighty... Still haven;t gotten any fresh start (maybe a christmas present to my self?). Tried regular Arm and Hammer and it worked ok, but only used a little bit.. I like the smell of Tide He..I can't stand Tide w/ bleach or any other Scented or Un scented Tide...I just can't use it on my cloths because i am allerguc to it..

 

[oxydolfan1]

Tom, the Tide HE and the Kirkland HE powders are really not bad, not bad at all....

I'm not sure the manufacturers of liquids have the whole low-sudsing thing hammered out yet...even the Wisk HE Triple Concentrate can oversuds my friend's FL if I'm not diligent about measuring on the low side!

It's hard to break down, because everyone's water is different.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Exploder, a LOT of people are reactive to Tide products.

 

[exploder321]

A little Tide story:

When i broke up with my ex, he took all my undercloths and t-shirts and washed them several times in Tide with Bleach..... I itched like a manaic for a few days until i relized what had happend (he stupidly left the bottle in my laundry room)... So i returned the Favor and whent to his house and switched all the liquid soap and dishsoap to Gain and also dumped out both bottles of liquid sun detergent and put Gain in them... Also left him a labless bottle of Gain softner...

He apologized the next week...