HE Powder & HE Liquid HELP

[roscoe62]

Hello Everyone,
I'm new to this forum but I have to say there is plenty out there about HE products and I need some help.I have very soft water, when I decrease the dose for liquid HE to a tablespoon it doesn't rinse well, so I have been giving liquid the"dismissal" unless someone has some suggestion? I tried all of them Tide was the worst.
The problem is if I use a powder HE I find white laundry gets dull over time.I can't get the sears product I had used last time and it worked great, no suds,like a dishwasher detergent,and it had a clean rinse, so I use tide powder HE, the only one I can get locally. Is there something I can do to keep the white laundry from going dull and at the same time not having the door blow off from a suds lock?
Maybe increase the water temp on the hot water heater? I'd appreciate any help here.My machine is a whirlpool duet 4.0.
Thanks

 

[frigilux]

You can try Amway's SA8 (powdered version). It used to out-perform even Tide w/ Bleach Alternative, but a reformulation a year or two ago decreased its stain-removing power. It rinses much better than any P&G detergents. I order SA8 online---no hassles; quick delivery.

If you really feel extravagant, go to Britsuperstore.com online and order powdered Persil Bio detergent and have it shipped to you from Britain. It is an excellent detergent. Cleans like a champ and rinses out well, even in soft water. Be prepared for sticker shock: I order three 50-use boxes at a time, and they cost about $47 apiece. However....since you have soft water, you can use about half the recommended dosage (even less for lightly-soiled loads) and get over double the uses from a box.

I have mechanically-softened water, too, so I share your rinsing woes! And you're right: Tide just doesn't want to rinse out.

 

[passatdoc]

I use Tide HE or Gain HE powder (both are P&G products) which work very well for colors, and rinse fairly cleanly for an American product. I have hard water and no water softener. I rarely have whites to wash, except the occasional white dress shirt. I wear office casual to work, and a white shirt is hauled out of the closet only for a wedding, funeral, or like occasion. I bring back Persil (Henkel-Germany) or the Unilever equivalent (Persil in UK, Via in Sweden, etc.) on trips to Europe sufficient for doing the rare white load.

Tide HE is easy to find at Target and markets. Gain HE is not as common, which is unfortunate because it was rated a Best Buy by CR the last time Gain HE powder was tested (several years ago). This is because it's cleaning power was close to Tide (behind SA8) and it is rather inexpensive. A product that scores third or fourth highest but is half the price will often be tagged a "Best Buy". Recently I had good luck buying Gain HE from Amazon.com, three large boxes for about $24 delivered.

Two tablespoons (30 ml) is more than enough even in my hard water and I reserve three tablespoons (45 ml) only for very large, heavily soiled loads.

 

[roscoe62]

Amway's SA8

So Frigilux is this Amways on line? Sorry to be so dense.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Amway

Just be aware to what kind of people you are giving your money. If you cared enough to boycot Target, you will want to think twice about Amway. Fortunately, with my relatively soft water, Tide HE and STPP work very well together to give very clean washes and very good rinsing.

It might not be that you are having rinsing problems, but rather that in your soft water the citrate water softeners in liquid detergents just keep foaming even through the detergent is rinsing out properly. Hard to understand when you see suds, but that's what the detergent companies say.

 

[mayguy]

I have very good luck with Norwex, and it is from Canada. It is found online, or from a home party.

Only a tsp is used for Front loader.

 

[jimbompls]

Has anyone ever tried calling the consumer product information line listed on the back label? That would probably be a good first step.

 

[roscoe62]

Norwex-Mayguy

So is this for a full load and does it keep white clothes from going dull?
Thanks Mayguy

 

[tomturbomatic]

Between not knowing what they are talking about, not understanding technical questions and adhering to the corporate line, it is usually frustrating unless you want a coupon for more of a product you are having trouble with. The people I have talked to on those lines have seemed like the dumb cluck that posted the video of how she makes her own washing powder. Sorry for being sexist and, I don't know the right term, "brainist" maybe.

 

[jimbompls]

Try Cheer brighCLEAN HE

Cheer has 2 different liquids that should do the trick. The GREAT thing about Cheer (as opposed to Tide) is that it does NOT contain optical brightners, it can be used with either soft or hard water, or be used with any water temperature. I retired from the Army this year and Cheer was the best detergeant to use on the new digital uniforms. We were not permitted to use most of the common detergeants because they contained optical brightners and would severly fade our uniforms. The only POWDERS we could use were Cheer, All, Bold, and Surf. The only LIQUIDS we could use were Cheer and Woolite. Because Cheer was on both lists, and could be used with all water types (whether soft or hard; cold or hot) it is the military's detergeant of choice with our fussy uniforms.

Being in the military and growing up on a farm, have used many a detergeant (to include Amway).. the Cheer product line is by far the BEST!!

Now a word from our sponsor:

Cheer brightCLEAN™ High Efficiency formula helps get whites and colors sparkling bright. Available in Fresh Clean Scent and Free & Gentle.

As far as the SA8 comments.. there are SA8 HE's out there now. However, I don't know if Amway uses optical brightners (which should be avoided in using) or not.. I do know they use less fillers than Tide. The comment about comparing Target to Amway is so true! You start supporting Amway, and you unknowingly indirectly support the Republican party. The interesting thing about Target was, it used to be owned by Mark Dayton's family (who were Democrats).. what a slap in the face Target did.. oh well, Mark Dayton finally won the election a couple of days ago and will be Minnesota's new governor Jan 3rd despite Target's wasted and unethical contribution to the Emmer campaign.

The link below will take you to the Cheer HE product line.. for those who don't have HE Machines. Still highly recommend Cheers other products for the reasons I stated above.

http://www.cheer.com/laundry-detergents/high-efficiency.shtml

 

[jimbompls]

Also by working for a Quartermaster Laundry and Bath unit for awhile.. one common misconception out there. You have to see suds to know your detergeant is doing a good job... FALSE!!! With how concentrated detergeants are now days and with HE Machines, you should hardly see any suds at all! Btw, Tide was being used by Haliburton/KBR by the civilians doing laundry for service members.. the military got involved and made them change to Cheer because Tide was fading and getting our new uniforms dingy and was breaking down the fabric.

 

[launderess]

Just So You Know

Not all versions of Cheer detergent are OBA free.

Unlike in the Cheer with "Colourguard" of old, P&G has revised newer offerings from the brand, and yes some do contain fabric whitening agents.

As for Tide causing laundry to "fade", well the stuff is loaded with bluing/brightening agents, and that is what they do to coloured clothing. Tide detergent is known for producing "whiter than white", wash and heavy doses of bleaching agents along with OBA's is what helps does this.

On the other hand using coloured detergents (those without bleaches and OBA's)on whites and lights can lead to them turning "dingy" after awhile. This is because the brightening agents applied to the textile fabrics have been removed and now the item appears different. Most white and light coloured fabrics sold in the United States, and or items made from such material are loaded with brightening agents.

 

[launderess]

Whole House Softened Water

IIRC there are several detergents on the market designed for use in homes with mechanical softened water. *Think* Culligan among a few others that make/sell such devices have these detergents.

Soft to very soft water such as produced by water softeners can be a huge pain when it comes to laundry. There is such a thing as having "too soft" water when it comes to washing day, and it can lead to poor cleaning and rinsing results.

Some persons give up and have arrange to have water supplied to the washing machine and perhaps a few other areas not softened, that is somehow pass by the softener, just to avoid these problems.

 

[jimbompls]

Roscoe, I didn't see originally that you are in Canada. Here is the Canada Link for what I was originally telling you earlier.

http://www.cheer.ca/en_CA/laundry-detergents/high-efficiency.php

 

[roscoe62]

Cheer HE

Hi Jimbompls,

I have used this as well and after some time I get the same results, SUDS.And I wash whites in hot water, so I don't get it, only frustration.
I have no problem with the HE powder, well two,only Tide is available locally and after some time the white clothes gets dull.From what I've read on Optical Brighteners over time the clothes not only gets dull but fabric worn before you have had a chance to wear out the garment yourself. I see there is one called Persils you can order on line, have you or anyone else tried this?It's made in Germany like my duet.
Thanks

 

[mayguy]

roscoe62

I've been pleased with it. I had a white shirt that I had ketchup dripped on.. I did not pre-treat it or anything, and it sat in the laundry basket for 4 days before I washed them, and the stain was gone.

My whites looks good too.

 

[frigilux]

German Persil (made by Henckels) is an excellent detergent, and it rinses cleaner than Tide products...but it doesn't rinse as cleanly as its UK counterpart (which is made by Unilever). As with UK Persil, you do not need to use the full dose recommended by the German version in soft water.

You can get Henckels Persil at a reasonable cost, too. Try a box; you may find it fits the bill for you. I like the "Universal Powder" version, which cleans stains well.

 

[labboy]

I use the Henckels Persil Universal Megaperls and am very happy with it. I use 3 tbsp Persil with 1 tbsp STPP. This is much less than the recommended dose--4 tbsp is the max I will use for very dirty loads. It rinses well and does a great job on whites.

 

[roscoe62]

Mayguy-Frigilux-Labboy

I've ordered the Persils, it will take 4-8 business days to arrive and the dosing amount I can understand, most manufacturers want you to use more to buy more, but why use more in a HE machine that uses LESS water, the idea behind all of this is efficiency .
Thanks for all your help.