Detergents from the late 70s / early 80s

[jamiel]

In no particular order...

1. American Family was a P&G brand distributed in and around Chicago---it had premium coupons attached which you then redeemeed at the American Family store near the loop. My grandmother had a box of this hanging around for a loong time. First it was shaved soap chips (larger than Ivory Flakes) then later a detergent.

2. Fond memories of my mom using All...my dad worked for Monsanto, and they formerly (in the 50s) made All before they sold brand and formula to Lever Brothers. I was in charge during my early teens of getting the 20 pound box at Kroger (or figuring out if the 9 lb 13 oz smaller box was cheaper and getting two). She would sometimes use Oxydol (which only seemed to come in the "King Size" or "Giant Size" box, not the "Family Size" with the pull-tape top)

3. First laundry detergent I ever bought myself was Wisk at college---at Meijer Thrifty Acres (what a revelation that store was in 1981...never had seen anything like it).

4. Clorox Detergent was a good performer...seemed to be distributed in the South. I recall buying a box at Red Food in Chattanooga and taking it home in 1988 or so.

5. Other grandmother (in Chicago) always shopped at Jewel, and bought the cheap washing-soda based detergent in the buckets which she used in her Maytag...can you say limescale buildup...when I moved in with her in 1992 for a little while I was forever soaking the lint filter in vinegar to clean it up

6. I realllly realllly like original Fresh Start (with 18% phosphates LOL)...the scent and sudsing is great. Would love to find a stash at an old grocery store. Has anyone tried a new Fresh Start/STPP combo?

7. Recently found an old (1995 or so) box of Wisk Power Scoop unscented at a local party store...seemed to work pretty well. They had a few more on the shelf...I may pick them up (along wiht some boxes of Wisk Power Tablets).

8. Right now my stash includes: 40 load box of Tide powder (unopened...was on sale at CVS recently). Big bag of Foca ($2.99 at Save-A-Lot nearby....may have to pickup some more). 1/4 jug of Fresh Start which I use sparingly. 1/4 jug of Ivory Snow liquid (from previous owner). Full box of phosphated White King water softener (I'm too lazy to get STPP so this has to suffice). We use a water softener built in so the water is very soft. My partner is pretty careless and never uses enough detergent...especially noticeable on linens/towels.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Fab

Sing along:

"Oh, Fab, we're glad. There's lemon freshened Borax in you!"

Chuck

 

[karmann]

My mom always used Gain....60's until she passed away in 1986. I buy Gain sometimes, but it doesn't smell like it did when I was a teenager (late 70's-early 80's). I loved the smell of Gain. Can't bring myself to buy Tide. I bought a box of Tide with bleach in 1987 or so, when it first came out. The first time I wore clothes washed in Tide w/bleach, I couldn't figure out why I felt so bad-I wanted to throw up. The smell!! Every time I wore the clothes, I was nauseous. My husband, too. I threw away a huge box of that detergent. I've NEVER bought another box of Tide since then. My hubby laughs at me when I buy detergent-I have to smell it first. He doesn't laugh when I remind him of the clean clothes whose smell made us want to throw up. They change the scents in detergents so often I don't dare buy without sniffing first......

 

[whirlcool]

I remember American Family Detergent at home in the burbs' of Chicago, maybe late 1950's-early 60's.

My favorite scents were the original Drive and Gain which both came out about the same time (67-69 or so).

At home we used this Miracle White detergent that I was horribly allergic to. My mother continued to use it saying that it's impossible to be allergic to a detergent. So as a teen I started doing my own laundry in Dash to keep my skin calmed down. Then she bitched about how I was running up the water bill by doing my own laundry. Oh well.

My Mom also used Dynamo in the little blue jug too.

Does anyone remember seeing Dolly Parton and Porter Waggoner doing a Breeze commercial? The commercial showed both Dolly and Porter walking towards the camera with Dolly carrying a huge box of Breeze. And she exclaims "Look Porter! Here is a box of Breeze JUST LIKE WE USE!" (Never mind that the two were never married, just a stage act). And then Dolly proclaims the benefits of having a free towel in each box ! This was about 1971 or so.

 

[toploader55]

Sing along...

I forgot about that jingle."Oh Fab we're glad ,they put Lemon Freshened Borax in you ". When Salvo came out, my Mom used to put them in our V-12 Filter flo pan. We were all scratching for weeks as they never disolved in the Filter pan. LOL After the final rinse and spin, there would still be chunks of Salvo everywhere.

 

[ptcruiser51]

And later on...

"Oh, Fab
We're glad
They added
All-fabric brighteners
To the lemon-freshened borax
In you!"

Oh yes, those Mad Men worked their advertising magic on us!

 

[launderess]

The Little Blue Jug Is "Dynamo"!

Recommended by women who used to use powders!

L.

 

[washerboy]

so many users

I did'nt realize so many folks used Dash...mom always bought it in the red box...I've always thought she was the only person that used it..seemed like everyone back in the day used Tide or Cheer...mom did'nt like them because of the suds; she never used anything elese (she passed in the 80's). Dolly and Porter advertised Breeze..."Candy Striped" towles. My grandmother used Breeze..just because of Dolly and the towel was an added bonus....once...I was probably 5..she bought a new box of Breeze..is was on the back porch...I wanted to get the towel out..but it was in the bottom of the box..what to do with the detergent?????..being the resourceful child I was..I dumped the whole box of Breeze down the well..I presented my grandmother with the towel..when she ask what I did with the detergent...oops...she called it "soap powder"..I told her what I did...she did'nt belive me...but she did when it came time to cook dinner...I still remember the soap suds running over the side of the pot that was being used to boil potatoes. After my grandmother used a wooden spoon on my butt..she call a man from town to come out and pump the well out....he had to come three times...we had to haul water from a near by neighbor for about a week!!!

 

[re563]

God what I wouldn't do to smell Dash again.

My mom only used Tide or Cheer. She was one the believed you needed to have a nice layer of suds on top of the water in order to get a good clean wash. When I started working after school at a dept store, I started doing my own wash, and brought home a box of Dash. She was so mad at me. Said "that stuff doesn't work and stop throwing away money--I have soap". Once I moved out on my own and got my first frontloader ( a westy) all they had in the stores was Dash in the yellow box--GOD I MISS DASH!!

 

[rayjay]

Action Bleach

Does anyone remember the Action Bleach packets? The packet was dry chlorine bleach powder and it was blue and packed in a dissolable packet.

Also...another dry chlorine bleach called Beads O Bleach?

 

[karmann]

washerboy:

I haven't had a laugh that good in a looong time!!!

 

[gansky1]

Fab!

With and without fabric softeners. I have a few other boxes of Fab, both varieties. This was some I brought home from the same house as the original Oxydol picture above.

I just love the scent of the Lemon Freshened Borax version - loaded with phosphates too. Normally I don't care for citrus, but this lemon is more "clean" than fruity.

 

[gansky1]

"packets that dissolved in the washer"

Was it "ACT" detergent? They were plastic packets, like dishwasher detergent now, and had a very thick, blue liquid inside. The sample is on the bottom shelf:

 

[whitekingd]

I too LOVED the smell of Dash detergent. My Grandmother was a faithful dash user in her 60's Frigidaire on the recomendation of a plumber. Low sudsing was what he recommended.