This is an unopened box of Dreft from the 1950s that I picked up on ebay.
Germaseptic Dreft: Better Than Boiling!
- Thread starter supersuds
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Haven't tried cleaning it yet, but it's in pretty good shape. It seems back in those days some American women were still thinking in terms of boiling laundry.
The idea of just soaking dishes and rinsing seems a little farfetched now, but I've seen other brands (Vel, for instance) that say the same thing.
The idea of just soaking dishes and rinsing seems a little farfetched now, but I've seen other brands (Vel, for instance) that say the same thing.
One side of the box. It even prevents nylon snags (riiiight).
The other side. Like All, it also advises to get suds 1/3 to ½ way up the window of a frontloader.
The ingredients listed on the front are Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate, which apparently is just surfactant. The germaseptic part must have been Trichlorocarbanilide, which is similar to Tricolsan, the antibacterial ingredient in soaps such as Dial and Safeguard.
So it's a neat bit of history. Clearly P&G was trying to inject some new life into their original detergent.
The contents are not hardened and it could be opened and used, but I think I'll keep it pristine.
So it's a neat bit of history. Clearly P&G was trying to inject some new life into their original detergent.
The contents are not hardened and it could be opened and used, but I think I'll keep it pristine.
This is actually an interesting half-way step in Dreft's history. In the 40s Dreft was the earliest detergent (non-built--pre-dated Tide by several years). It was intended to be the 'fine fabrics and dishes' product; sudsy, equivalent to Vel--essentially what we'd now think of as powdered Dawn or Ivory liquid; or the synthetic version of Ivory Flakes. In the late 50s or early 60s, as they perfected liquid light-duty detergents (which was as much perfecting the packaging (i.e. low-density polyethylene squeeze bottles) as the product), that didn't leave much room for a less-convenient powdered product for these types of jobs, so they started (like in this package) to do the "germaseptic" thing, then in the 60s morphed the product into the pink baby-clothes and diapers product which it is now (essentially at the time just Oxydol in pink drag 
..."activated borax" isn't anything more than sodium perBORate). My grandmother always had an apothecary jar of pink Dreft in the bathroom for bubbles in the bathtub...my mom had a similar jar of blue Cheer...always had to match the decor!
..."activated borax" isn't anything more than sodium perBORate). My grandmother always had an apothecary jar of pink Dreft in the bathroom for bubbles in the bathtub...my mom had a similar jar of blue Cheer...always had to match the decor!
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Jamie:
There was a first step with liquid detergent, too.
Before it came in squeezy bottles, it came in metal can-type bottles. These looked something like taller versions of metal brake fluid cans, with a plastic screw top. They were lithographed with the branding and label instructions.
The brand I remember (this would have been 1957 or so) was Trend. It was a revolution; I was four or five at the time, and I was aware that this product was very desirable. The reaction of the housewives in my family was basically, "Holy ****!" - except that ladies didn't actually use that expression then.
After years of Ivory Flakes for dishwashing, a detergent that kept sudsing and actually cut grease without near-boiling water temps being necessary was some punkins.
And there was not one of us kids who didn't get in trouble for pouring a bunch of it into the sink and watching all the suds build up - as high as the sink, then over the edge, then onto the floor....
Draw the veil.
There was a first step with liquid detergent, too.
Before it came in squeezy bottles, it came in metal can-type bottles. These looked something like taller versions of metal brake fluid cans, with a plastic screw top. They were lithographed with the branding and label instructions.
The brand I remember (this would have been 1957 or so) was Trend. It was a revolution; I was four or five at the time, and I was aware that this product was very desirable. The reaction of the housewives in my family was basically, "Holy ****!" - except that ladies didn't actually use that expression then.
After years of Ivory Flakes for dishwashing, a detergent that kept sudsing and actually cut grease without near-boiling water temps being necessary was some punkins.
And there was not one of us kids who didn't get in trouble for pouring a bunch of it into the sink and watching all the suds build up - as high as the sink, then over the edge, then onto the floor....
Draw the veil.
Cute commercial, Mike, thanks. Save 7 cents now! Funny how those pesky bacteria grow back so readily on bleached diapers but not on diapers washed with Dreft's relatively weak germicidal formula. Hmm....
Great line about Dreft being Oxydol in pink drag, Jamiel.
As far as early dishwashing liquids are concerned, Wikipedia says that Joy came out in 1949. ("Joy in a bottle beats anything in a box.") I was watching some I Love Lucy episodes from the second season, and they are clearly washing dishes with some sort of liquid -- it looks like the Joy bottle at the link but it's hard to say.
Great line about Dreft being Oxydol in pink drag, Jamiel.
As far as early dishwashing liquids are concerned, Wikipedia says that Joy came out in 1949. ("Joy in a bottle beats anything in a box.") I was watching some I Love Lucy episodes from the second season, and they are clearly washing dishes with some sort of liquid -- it looks like the Joy bottle at the link but it's hard to say.
My grandfather did some early work on surfactants for a soap company in Cincinnati, OH (not P&G) and brought home samples for my grandmother to test. She always reminisced that it was fun to wow dinner guests with some of the samples while washing the dishes. It must have been quite unpleasant to use Ivory Flakes or other soap product for doing the dishes...yecch.
Yeah, I am familiar with the metal cans for liquid detergent, but they still weren't very satisfactory...rusted, left rings on the counter, and fairly expensive. Cheap blow-molded LDPE (low density polyethylene) is such a perfect container for it...
Yeah, I am familiar with the metal cans for liquid detergent, but they still weren't very satisfactory...rusted, left rings on the counter, and fairly expensive. Cheap blow-molded LDPE (low density polyethylene) is such a perfect container for it...
