Detergents with fabric softener built in

[pulsatron]

There seems to be a little bit of a trend here in Australia to introduce often for just short periods of time anyway to bring out a new detergent that has a built-it fabric softener in it.
Would many of you good folk here use these or prefer to buy seperate products? You see Colgate-Palmolive have recently introduced Cold Power with a touch of Cuddly in it and these are a couple of others i.e. Fab with softener and a local brand called So Gentle liquid.
I guess these would save a bit of time in the wash and carrying home seperate products however I could see a potential problem say if detergent X was your favourite detergent but you hated the softener that was in it.
I personally don't buy these as I dislike fabric softener anyway and this actually turns me off buying what could be a good detergent.
I would be very interested in what others think.
Cheers folks.
Steve.

 

[hoovermatic]

I have tried all of them and none of them are any good. Usually the detergent is average or below (Bold)and the softener is non existant in all but fragrance

 

[maytagbear]

It's a good idea, in theory,

but, the surfactants in detergent and the surfactants in softener (conditioner) are antithetical, for one thing.

I do use separately added softener a great deal of the time, but there are loads in which I do not want softener at all, like kitchen towels and pot holders.

Furthermore, what's so hard about adding softener and a dash of water to the dispenser when you're loading in the clothes?

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[nickuk]

Ditto Ditto

Hoovermatic - exactly my experience, although try this for a test -wash a load in Bold (jeans was my load), pull out of machine (result=stinky but no softer than with no conditioner), let jeans air dry but then...hey presto! The jeans are way softer than if they had just dried rock hard with regular detergent. To summarise - was this just a freak thing which happened to me one day, or does Bold leave things softer but only when they are dry??

 

[lavamat_jon]

I've found that Bold actually softens quite well, and I do like to use it every now and again. Plus it doesn't seem to affect with the absorbency of towels as regular fabric softener does. Combined with a nice smell, and good rinsability in the powder form, and good results I think it performs just as well as any other detergent on light to normally soiled laundry. However it has a tendency to turn whites a tinge of green, so white laundry is a big no no with Bold.

Jon

 

[nickuk]

antithetical

is now my `mot du jour', thanks Lawrence! Cheryl Mendelson says this too, in her books on laundry.

Jon's point is also valid, that it cleans well in light to medium soil laundry. And yes, that strange `hint of green' thing which Bold and Fairy do so well.......

A major factor for me with so called two in ones is that I find they don't offer any anti static properties in the dryer.

I don't know if UK members will agree that Bold powder (powder only IME) is the only one which at least seems to do SOMETHING, the store brand McBride 2in1s seem to be like an ABSOLUTE con.......

Nick

 

[toggleswitch]

Say *NO* to greasy build-up!

I agree with you Lawrence. Not a good combination.

To me it is like our floor cleaner called Mop-N-Glo, which combines a floor "cleaner" with a wax. IMHO this ends up leaving the dirt behind and gluing it down with wax. Sounds like a combo detergent and softener has the same weakness.

[Softener is nothing but wax and scent BTW).

 

[carlstock]

Apparently, UK Bold uses clay-based conditioner, which is quite different from separate conditioners. Separate liquid fabric conditioner is oil-based, which basically leaves an oily film on the load. This is partly to provide softness, but it also helps to reduce static.

Flashback to the 1980s, where I routinely encountered a top/sweatshirt/jumper that would violently ‘electrocute’ me when I tried to take it off – I was terrified! “Mum, it’s that top again! I can’t take it off – it hurts!” I then started crying because I was being ‘electrocuted’! Even Comfort couldn’t reduce the static on those tops! LOL

In all honesty, fabric conditioner can only work properly if applied as a liquid form in the final rinse by using the correct dispenser. However, in time, this can cause mould to form, which can be problematic – and somewhat dangerous! – and difficult to remove. This can stick to the ceiling in the drawer compartment, as well as the dispenser itself. Yuk!

In the UK, there are Comfort Pearls, which are small, liquid capsules that go in with the wash, thus bypassing the drawer altogether, but there is no way to tell if they are as effective as the usual conditioner, except to test for noticeable softness and antistatic properties!

Carl

 

[oxydolfan]

It seems to vary, brand by brand.

Years ago, here in the US, we had Fab and Bold powders, with fabric softener. They didn't soften particularly well-and Fab in particular seemed to make a lot of people break out-but I'd add seperate liquid even when using them, and there certainly wasn't any buildup over time.

Then they introduced Solo, a liquid with fabric softener, and I liked that product, and frequently bought and used it until they discontinued it about ten years ago. The brand name has recently been resurrected under a different manufacturer, but the product is ineffective and really awful-smelling.

You may have seen references to Amway, a company that sells its wares through individual reps. They had a liquid with softener that also worked well, but it was rather expensive, and Amway's big on hyping their other products, which I fell for once-never again.

Tide and Gain have liquid/softener products out now, but I'm not a big fan of either one of those brands. I tried the Gain liquid and was unimpressed at any rate.

Cheer recently brought out a liquid with fabric softener, which I recently bought and like a lot.

I've heard good things about Method's liquid, and might be persuaded to try a bottle if it's marked down, but only if that's the case.

 

[DADoES]

There's Ariel with Downy, but I don't know if it's actual Downy for softening, or just the Downy scent. Haven't tried it.

 

[aquarius1984]

i believe

to add something you need to take something away, i dont use persil with comfort either. I can only comment on products my mum uses by proctor and gamble and by past experiences ive had where workplaces have used them. In the kitchen i last worked in we used bold to wash t towels for a bit. And it is mainly scent. The towels were a disgusting shade and i ended up bleaching towels every now and again to improve whiteness. I guess it depends what you like. I would sacrifice softener for better cleaning anyday, there is always the dryer to fluff things up lol. I believe the same for dishwasher tablets and that 5in1 tabs clean great but are a swizz. A bag of salt lasts 3 months generally in hard water areas rinse aid perhaps 2 to 3 months maybe more. Costing £3 in total. 3 months finish classic tablets cost £12 total £15. Now buy 90 "all in tabs" and pay £18 and the rest. Thats based in hard water areas. In soft areas like wales my friend gets about 6 months to bag of salt and uses the least rinseaid lasting 5 months. I believe x in 1 products are ok but you pay the cost in the long run on new clothes and more powder to aid cleaning.

 

[seamusuk]

Combined Dishwasher Tabs .........

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

They work out CONSIDERABLY more expensive than detergent/salt/rinse aid separately, dont give as good performance AND can damage the machine, particually as they dont soften sufficiently in very hard water. Dishwashers are designed to have salt in the salt dispenser - as well as softening the water it also acts as a filter to stop any particals in the water from getting into the machine.
Bosch and Miele have done a spectacular U turn on their opinion of 3 in 1 tabs. When I brought my Bosch they both had a warning in the instructions to the effect that any damage to the machine that in their engineers opinion was caused by the use of 3 in 1s would render the guarantee void- now they both have modelds with 3 in 1 programmes.
Wonder how much they were bribed to change their tune!

Seamus

 

[nickuk]

Dishwasher tabs

I find that the tabs with built in rinse aid don't dry dishes as efficiently as when using a separate rinse aid.

Personally, I find all Finish tabs very high sudsing and don't use them anymore.

I always use Tesco 5 in one tablets, and then I add rinse aid and salt too. Tesco / store brand tablets don't suds up and they clean as well IMO. The Tesco original 5in1 tabs are great because they have absolutely no scent. My son rejects his plastic beaker (which absorbs scent) from the dishwasher if I've used anything like `lemon' in the past. And from my perspective, I don't want any scent left on dishwasher items.

I use the five in one tabs simply because you can't get many straight forward tabs these days in Tesco, and these are really cheap anyway - cheaper than Finish classic. I just treat them as standard dishwasher tabs - forget the 5 in 1 label!

Tesco tabs were relaunched (a totally different product) a couple of months ago and now look a little like Glist to me, and certainly they are not made in the UK anymore (I forget where it says they're from) I wonder if they are Henkel?

 

[kirk280980]

Hi all,

Regading Bold, when I e-mailed P&G to ask about this previously, they replied that the softener contained within is indeed clay based (as Carl mentioned), and designed specifically for this application. They do not merely mix detergent and conventional softening ingredients together, as is commonly perceived to be the case, because the two do not interact well and the end result would be residue in the machine and spotting on fabrics.

Unless it got wiped when I last carried out a system restore, I'll see if I can find the e-mail with their response, and copy and paste it here.

Personally, I find that using Bold lies somewhere between adding a separate softener and just using detergent alone. It won't leave clothes super soft, but does take away any harsh or rough edge to fabrics quite successfully. So I wouldn't necessarily use it for all my wash, but I do like it for those items that I wish to retain some body, rather than feeling limp.

Nick, the Tesco dishwasher tabs may very well be Henkel, as the same is the case with the Sainsburys Perform dishwasher tabs. Bought a box of those ages ago to try them, and could instantly see the likeness to Glist, because the tablets are the exact same shape and size and vividly coloured.

Did consider giving the new Fairy Powder Bursts/Active Bursts a go, just because they look rather unusual, however doing the maths soon revealed how expensive they are on a per-wash basis. While this wouldn't necessarily break the bank, I found it hard to justify the cost when my usual product does a stellar job anyway.

Normally I stick Finish powder, along with separate salt and rinse aid. Means I can control the dosage of each individually, and it does work out to be more cost effective than buying multifunction tabs. And refilling the dispensers isn't exactly hard work - takes a few minutes each month, which is a small price to pay for having the machine doing my dishes day in and day out!

Cheers,

Kirk

 

[seamusuk]

In the Bosch...

Im Currently using Finish classic tabs(amazing bargain from Sommerfield a few months ago- 66 for the price of 44 AND half price!!!!!), think I worked it out @ just over 5p a tab.
I use one of the huge bags (25kg) of granulated salt we have at work(think that was £4 odd)- so far ive uses about half in coming up on 3 years. Rinse aid is orange Finish our local Savers had on offer @ 99p for the large bottle- I brought 10 lol

Seamus

P.S For US ppl you may know Finish as Calgonite?? I know its called that in Europe and so may be elsewhere??

 

[oxydolfan]

I think the finish products are called "Electra-Sol" here.

 

[frigilux]

I have a bag of Ariel w/ Downy, Glenn, and it's OK. Doesn't seem to suds-up as much as regular Ariel. Can't tell if it does much in the softening department, because I already have soft water. There's a bit of tell-tale Downy scent out of the dryer.

Nor have I done a side-by-side test to see if it removes stains as well as regular Ariel.

 

[sparkcymru]

3 in 1 tabs

Seamus your right about manufacturers giving warnings about 3 in 1 tabs etc. there have been lots of problems with these tabs in machines causing foaming to come out of the machine all over the floor. I think 3 and 5 in 1 tabs are just a lazy option for people and even though they cost more people will pay cause of the perceived easyness of it all. Glist 5 in 1 i tried but the damn tablet is too big to fit in the dispenser so i have to break em in half. lol. I also had problems with a finish powerball tab in a zanussi table top dishwasher, the ball ment you couldn't shut the dispenser on it. oh well. I prefer salt n rinse aid with seperate tablet. far less stress!
Steve

 

[carlstock]

Combination tablets can cause dishwashers to overfill. Service engineers often have headaches over this and then simply suggest to customers to use separate detergent, rinse aid and salt. I must say, however, that we have not had any problems with combination tablets, although we stopped using them some time ago because we are jinxed in this house when it comes to appliances! Well, I am! LOL

The reason for using separates is this: the dishwasher can decide, based on its capacity, when to release the necessary component, at the right dose, at the right time.

Also, a recent survey was done in the UK that showed many people do know how to use their dishwasher properly. Many even thought they only had to top up the salt “when they felt like it”! Even in relatively soft water areas, salt should still be added to help replenish the water softener, which should always have a little salt going through it.

The salt added to tablets is not enough for very hard water areas, but I doubt many consumers know this. Also, apart from UK Fairy Active Bursts, the rinse aid in tablets is often made from powder!

Also, don’t forget to clean your dishwasher at least once a month with a proper dishwasher cleaner!