Detergent`s Rinse-Ability. Myth Or Fact ?

[mrboilwash]

I frequently read about how good or bad some detergents seem to rinse out.
Personally I always use the extra rinse and high water level option because I think most washers are way too stingy with water and also to be on the safe side in case of overdosing.

However I just don`t believe that seeing no suds or cloudiness in the last rinse water equals less detergent residue. (Assuming the same type of fabric, same cycle comparing the same amounts of different detergents)
If sudslocks are a problem, I can see the point for very low sudsing easy rinsing detergents, otherwise I don`t mind some bubbles in the last rinse. Am I wrong ?

 

[arbilab]

Agitated tap water will bubble. How fast the bubbles subside is how much active detergent is left in a load. I don't want much, I'm a rinsaholic. I also don't want zero, IMO that means residual soil has overpowered the surfactant and redeposition is occuring. OTOH, if after my FL's spray and 4 fill rinses I still have a blanket of suds, I put WAY too much in. It's happened.

Is "rinsability" a myth? I believe it is a marketing myth. One thing I have observed so many times as to make it irrefutable, the amount of detergent must be adjusted to the amount of soil. For optimum results it cannot be simply measured and not monitored. I eyeball the initial amount. It's often on the low side and I need to add after a few minutes agitation. It's sometimes high and I need to program another rinse or two.

But then I'm kinda OCD about laundry whereas many users just want to toss stuff in and wait for the buzzer.

 

[launderess]

Rinse-Ability Has Many Factors

Many of which will depend upon what was used for laundering in the first place.

If you use soap in the wash and rinse in cold and or hard water you'll get "clear" rinses after one or two but that does not mean the laundry is free of soap and or dirt.

With powdered detergents depending upon the builders and other substances (Zeolites, washing soda, sodium sulfate, etc), again you'll get clean rinses but still a good amount of product can reamin in textiles.

If you truly wish to test how "clean" freshly laundered and rinsed textiles are, do what our grandmothers did, boil them. Truly clean textiles would leave the water clear, but more often than not you'll see gunk rising in the boiling pot or draining when the machine, assuming one has a unit that can reach super hot to boiling temperatures.

Many old school commercial laundries and perhaps some today give several rinses in hot finally ending with a warm rinse. Am sure if this is done well and all things being equal is why the best of them can turn out whiter than white wash all the time.

 

[mrboilwash]

Thanks guys for your input !
I`m aware of the risk of pure soap binding to minerals in the rinse water to form an insoluble precipitate leading too poorly rinsed clothes despite of crystal clear water.
In the case of liquid Ariel compared with liquid Lenor detergent, both are based on manmade surfactants with only a marginal amount of soap, both are P&G products and most importantly dosing instructions are equal. I also don`t want zero suds in the last rinse because this could indicate residual soil and maybe lead to similar problems like washing with pure soap.
Ariel is very low sudsing whereas Lenor is pretty frothy as a detergent designed for European frontloaders.
My point is if I start two equal loads in two equal washers with let`s say 90 ml of each product shouln`t I end up with 0,09 ml residue on each load (number is just a vague guess) after the exact same rinsing procedure no matter if the detergent was high or low sudsing ?

On the other hand I noticed when using a fabric softener that low sudsing detergents tend to leave a "bathtub ring" at the door glass` waterline, whereas high sudsing detergents don`t. Not sure what to think of that...

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I don't think I have ever had detergent residue left on anything (unless there were ever any rare occasion that I'd over-soaped my wash load) but still am consciously in the habit of using the Extra Rise w/ my daughter's clothes (which we still was separately) and I don't like the detergent odor left on my handkerchiefs...

Which is unavoidable enough that I use the 2nd Rinse in the load I wash them in, even w/ the use of a good smelling detergent... It could also be the scent of the drawer I keep 'em in, but if it isn't combined w/ the smell of detergent, then my hankies smell good!

-- Dave

 

[whirlcool]

We're fanatical about rinsing here too. I have found that in our TL machine the water can be perfectly clean during the rinse cycle but if I put items from that wash into our spinner we get lots of suds from that load.

So we use warm water double rinsing with a ride in the spinner to make sure we get a reasonable amount of detergent out of our clothing.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Lenor

Since when has Lenor been a detergent? As far as I am aware it is, and always has been, a fabric conditioner.

 

[launderess]

Lenor Vollwaschmittel

Has been out for awhile now, though not sure how widely available it is outside of Germany.

http://www.lenor.com/de/Produkte/LenorVollwaschmittel

 

[launderess]

How Good Is Your German?

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[mrboilwash]

Lenor detergent was brought out to replace the old Dash range which was the former 2in1 range. Dash is now P&Gs BOL range in Germany.
Looks like Lenor detergent is equivalent to UK Bold and the new Dash seems to be what Daz is in the UK.

Lenor detergent marketing however is totally different here.
Emphasis is on creating new exciting scent experiences when used in comination with any of the Lenor fabric softerners.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Ahh, I stand corrected!

Thank you both, "Launderess" and "Mr Boilwash".