Do you use the reccomended detergent or less?

[richardc1983]

Currently I am using less, probably just over half the reccomended dose.

Wash results are good still and the powder is lasting me longer obviously

 

[panthera]

I find it interesting to

read the European detergent labels. Depending on the water hardness, you need up to 2.5 times as much detergent in hard water as in soft.

The answer is obvious, use a cheap and effective water softener (our wonderful phosphates) and then cut the detergent way back.

Works for me. The effectiveness of the enzymes, tensides and bleach are not lessened by the volume of water to detergent ratio.

 

[superelectronic]

Beware of grease!

On the rare occasions I have decided to cut the dose I've tended to find that whilst the clothes may be sufficiently clean and fresh, grease will always be a problem in the end. Those little spots you've forgotten about don't wash out and collars develop dirty lines. The little spots are made worse by optical brighteners highlighting them on darker colours too. Of course, you could pre-treat the grease but that does make for extra work!

Dealing with hard water is a more serious issue long-term: growing up, our first Hotpoint machine became pretty encrusted with scale thanks to my Mum's light hand with the detergent; our second one by contrast is fairly clean and relatively fresh-smelling - I put a stop to underdosing (probably because I took over the washing duties and Mum slightly lost touch with her previous habits in the interim). Water softener is certainly an option but rarely as cheap as simply dosing appropriately. I think the detergent manufacturers are actually closer to giving realistic directions than they once were!

Alex

 

[panthera]

hmm, in Germany

Water softener costs less than 1/4 what the additional detergent costs to achieve the sane effect. Even cheaper when using STTP in the 'States. Could that be a UK thing?

 

[whirlcool]

We use about 1/2 of what the detergent manufacturer recommends.
We have reasonably soft water. We still get a layer of suds during the wash cycle and the water feels very slippery. Our whites come out perfect so we must be doing something right.

 

[mrb627]

Slightly Less

I use slightly less than the recommendation. I get some suds in the wash but they are gone by the last rinse. Works well for me. Sometimes I will add a tablespoon of borax to the mix.

Malcolm

 

[ronhic]

Definately...

...use less in this house.

Canberra has very soft water so I usually use between 1/2-2/3 recommended amount....

 

[brisnat81]

Calgon here is about $6 per kg.
Drive when I buy it on sale is $5 per kg. The non x2 Drive powder had 4.0g of Phosphates per wash, the x2 formula is 1.3g. According to the box, the allowable standard is 7.8g.

I dose as instructed by Mr Miele. Small loads get a bit less than half a scoop, full loads a bit less than a full scoop.

The Miele seems to suggest dosages from 40%, 50%, 60%, 75% and 100%

Its amazing when you cut your dosing back for not full loads how much further the powder goes. I'm curious to see how easy it is to get less than half a scoop in the new tiny x2 scoop.

I'm down to my last box of DriveMatic in the unconcentrated formula. Luckily Drive Front Loader x2 came on sale this week and I've bought 17 boxes to distribute around my family

 

[ronhic]

17 Boxes!

....It was $5.00 or half price here this week....

 

[brisnat81]

4 for us, 4 for Michaels mum and 4 for my mum.
5 boxes of Drive Toploader for my brother.

When they started running out the old formula Drive, I bought 50 boxes @ $4 a box just in case the new one was crap.

We've got a full pantry for non perishables and cleaning products. If it comes on sale and we're almost out, I'll buy 5 or so.

 

[ronhic]

I like your thinking Nathan...

I bought 20 old old 1kg boxes of Omomatic 4 years ago...the 1 cup formula...

Love it to bits and only use it occasionally....still have 4 boxes left which are now being strictly rationed to the 'once every 6 month use just for a change' on the bed linen.......

 

[twinniefan]

old powders on ebay

Hi Nathan and Chris,
Have you ever looked at ebay for boxes of old style detergents?, I have noticed they do pop up on there from time to time, personally I am waiting to see if a box of Blue Torrent ever shows up on there, (don't fancy my chances though, I wonder if I am the only person who remembers it, sigh! I am just getting too old now I think.)
As per the thread I too use a bit less than the recommended dose of whatever powder or liquid we have.

 

[alr2903]

I like more than the rec. dose of kroger low sudsing, and a extra rinse. Sometimes i run my whites through twice. No detergent on the second run. alr2903

 

[richardc1983]

Im confused as I checked on the yorkshire water website:

http://www.yorkshirewater.com/extra-services/in-your-area.aspx
it says moderatly hard water

but

http://www.espares.co.uk/hardorsoftwater.aspx?p=ls15+8dz
Says I have soft water so not sure what I should be doing?

 

[superelectronic]

If you have to ask whether you have hard water...

...you probably haven't got it! Those of us who have know all too well.

To paraphrase the line peddaled by many a classic Hotpoint instruction manual: check in your kettle - if it furs up, you have hard water. Mind you, in these modern times of filtered water, this might not be so accurate! If you ever use ordinary soap, does it create scum in the sink or just wash away? Scum = some amount of hardness, not that it takes much at all.

Conventional thinking of the water hardness in the UK would suggest you're far North enough to have soft water.

Going back to an earlier post, water softener is indeed pricey in Britain - at least Calgon is, at a minimum of around 20p per wash (the hard water dose for a normally soiled load using premium powder alone comes out at about 30p v 18p approx for soft water dose as a comparison). Of course, we do have cheaper alternatives based on washing soda - indeed, soda itself is dirt cheap - but in my experience has proved unsuitable for all but the palest of laundry: darks end up with the odd white deposit patch.

Whilst prevention is generally better than cure, one could always descale machines from time to time - be it with cheap and cheerful vinegar or some proprietry product designed for the job. I can't advise with any real authority on the merits of such practises with reference to corrosion hazzards though!

Bye!

Al

 

[qsd-dan]

I use the recommended amount when labeled, but most of the detergent I use doesn't state a measurement for toploaders, so I usually just double the dose. Clothes come out clean and there's no detergent residue leftover or a "harsh" feel to them. I assume my guesstimate is pretty close.

 

[gmmcnair]

I use less....

...I have very soft water, so I generally use the "Medium Load" recommended amount vs the "Large Load" amount. It works out fine, even on fairly dirty stuff with cheapo detergent.

 

[richardc1983]

I think it must be soft then as when we make a cup of tea we get a film on top of the tea.

 

[sudsmaster]

The water here is relatively soft (4-5 grains). I use enough detergent to get a very thin layer of suds in my front loaders (Neptune and Miele). I use the liquid detergents as is, but boost the powders with STPP (except for Persil, which does reasonably well without needing STPP).

I also go by the cleaning effectiveness and the softness to determine if I'm under-dosing or over-dosing. I use the mfg recommendations only as an initial guide and then ignore them once I get a handle on best amounts in relation to load size, soil level, water temperature, etc.