Detergent Stash: Ushering In The New Era

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Advertising for detergent pods/pacs in the USA is focused on their convenience, not their eco friendliness. I guess that makes our priorities very clear.

Tim-- Went to a brand new Super Target with coupon in hand...but no Biz Blasts. In fact, no Biz product whatsoever. Several variations of Tide Boost pods were available, as well as Clorox Color-Safe pacs. I'll have to try a WalMart on my way home tomorrow night.
 
Detergent in bags

In the early 90's I know Tide came out with the plastic bags dry detergent and you could order for free the plastic holder for it.  They also had the plastic bags for the liquid.

 

I still have the dry detergent holder and use it to hold my STTP.

 
 
What a bummer.  Either Wal-Mart or Hy-vee should yield some results.  Will you be traveling near Mankato, Fairbault, Waseca, or New Ulm on your way home?  I would think stores in those larger towns should have them.  My cousins live in and around Arlington and shop in Mankato all the time.
 
Ben-- It's actually more fun to use the pods in the SQ than the front-loader: First, let the empty tub fill with a couple of inches of water, then toss in the pod to watch it dissolve. You don't get to see that process in the front-loader.
 
I bypassed the lid switch

so I can watch the wash action and keep an eye on things.

I might try a pod later when I need to get more detergent.
 
WalMart usually carries little sample-sized bags of Tide and Gain---5 pods per bag, if you want to dip your toe in the water. I use one pod if the water level is set halfway between Small and Medium or lower (taking into consideration both our SQ's have had their water levels raised) and two if set higher than that.

Tide pods clean the best. Be prepared to commit to the Gain scent in your clothes for a week. I use Gain only on bath towels and bed linens---don't like it to follow me around all day on shirts and pants.

Both Tide and Gain have the candy-like multi-colored chambers. Arm & Hammer pods are filled with blue powdered detergent. Most other brands are a single color of liquid; usually blue or purple.

You might find you like them for certain loads. Or you may really hate them! Quite honestly, if the SQ was my daily driver, I'd probably stick to liquids/powders. Using 2 pods for a full load would get expensive pretty quickly. But a single pod works very well in the super-concentrated washing solution of a modern front-loader, even for large loads.
 
Eugene -

It is good to know that I am not the only one who puts two pods in if using a full fill on a large top loader. I don't use them often, but I got a deal on a 60-some load tub of Tide pods on clearance for $10.

I thought of you the other day at the grocery store, as we have some other pod options available here, if you have any interest. We have:

** Ajax and Fab Toss-Ins --- these are podded powder like the A&H pods.

** Several varieties from Sun Products which carry the Sun name. While All and Wisk are Sun products, these from Sun are powdered also.

If any of these would be of interest to you, I would be happy to send you a package to see if you like them. Just let me know!

Gordon
 
Gordon-- Funny you should mention those brands, because I ordered one of them from Amazon a few days ago. Fab, Dynamo, and Ajax pods appear to be identical in both formula and packaging. Most need to be ordered in cases, which contain 4 to 6 bags of twenty pods each. I found a vendor selling single bags of Dynamo and Ajax, so I ordered one of those. Can't remember which one. They should arrive in a couple of days.

There is a Dollar General store near me which carries Sun products, so I'll have to stop in to see if they carry pods.

Thanks so much for your generous offer to send products, but I think I have those brands covered.

[this post was last edited: 4/13/2014-11:22]

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Frigilux, Have you tried the OxiClean detergent pods? They're a powder that is scented like many of their other products, which is relatively light and innocuous. They seem to work quite well, better than their A&H cousins anyway.
I've tried many of the pods, but in our soft, mountain water they are just too much soap. It's too bad, as I have limited storage in the laundry area.
 
Wow! Look what I just found on Amazon: Costco's Kirkland Signature laundry pods. Going to order a container of them immediately. I had no idea they could be purchased anywhere besides Costco. Have been wanting to give these a try. Gansky1 gives them his seal of approval (see his post up-thread).

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Did you find any Biz pods on your way home?  I picked up 2 pkgs on our way to Milwaukee this past Saturday.  We stopped in Fond du Lac, WI @ a Pick N' Save and they were on sale for $4.83 w/ store card.  I think the regular price is $6.99.  Then I had the 2 $1.00 coupons and my total savings came to something like $4.92.  A great deal IMO.
 
Ben-- My stash of pods has grown so quickly I'm beginning to think they're multiplying on their own, LOL.

**Update only minutes later: A package just arrived for me at work. I'm sure it's either Dynamo or Ajax pods. A container of Kirkland Signature pods will arrive later this week. I'm definitely putting on the brakes for awhile.

Tim-- Didn't stop anywhere on my way home; too tired. Will pick some up when I'm in Sioux Falls or Mankato.
 
David--LOL! There is quite a bit of (not necessarily undeserved) skepticism about pods here at AW, but I love 'em.

The biggest hurdle is accepting that every load receives the same dose of detergent. It will come as a surprise to no one that we are a details-oriented crew here at AW. Case in point: There was an extended debate over the relative efficacy of a spray rinse in the first spin over at one of the Speed Queen threads. A group with such highly-charged beliefs is, understandably, going to be reluctant to relinquish control of dosing their thoughtfully-chosen detergents.

I have a couple of days off this weekend, and plan to try to induce pods to stain items and/or not dissolve fully (which leaves the plastic coating stuck to fabrics like glue if it goes through the dryer). I've washed many, many loads with them and have had no problems, so far; but there are plenty of complaints in user reviews.

Maybe I'll wrap one up in a dish towel or an old bath towel and stick it in the center of a huge load in the Frigidaire front-loader. And, of course, there will be photos.[this post was last edited: 4/14/2014-21:12]
 
I will never relinquish control of the dose.

Never! I will control the wash speed, the spin speed, the number of rinses. I will control the water level and temp.

I will control the amount of powder/liquid dispensed.

In time, I will control the means of production!
 
At WalMart I found Foca a year or so ago. Then about a month ago I found Roma and Ariel. All non phosphate versions of course. I'm wondering if they're trying to cater to the Mexican market?
 
You are very correct. The Hispanic population in southern Minnesota, for example, has grown tremendously over the past 8 years. Even mainstream grocery stores have expanded their Mexican food sections quite a bit.

I used various Mexican detergents a few years ago, but it became less fun when those were stripped of phosphates and generally Americanized. I loved the scent of Ariel powder back in the day. Smelled like crushed SweetTarts. I picked up a small bag of Ariel a few months ago and it had been radically altered.
 
And then there were ten.

Add these three recent arrivals to the seven brands shown at the top of this thread.

OxiClean detergent pods appeared in the grocery store this week. Distracted by the ever-increasing number of flavors of Clorox liquid chlorine bleach on offer, a bag of Oxi jumped into my cart and has found a home in my detergent cupboard.

You'll notice the Kirkland Signature pacs have a new container, and that this one has 120 pacs rather than 90, as in the Amazon ad pictured up-thread. How rare to get more product without a price hike.

As shown above, Dynamo, Fab, and Ajax appear to be identical pods with different names. A vendor was selling individual bags of Dynamo, so I chose that one. (The others were sold in cases of 4 bags).

Both OxiClean and Dynamo are powdered pacs; Kirkland Signature pacs contain the more common dark blue liquid.

POD STAINING TEST: Creating a perfect storm of undesireable washing conditions (pod wrapped in a towel placed in center of large load in front-loader; cold water; Quick cycle), I will attempt to get a pod to stain items and/or not dissolve properly. Look for photos later this weekend. Should be a fun experiment![this post was last edited: 4/18/2014-01:06]

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