Is Normal Liquid Safe For Colours?

[hoover3060]

Hi Guys

Im thinking about experimenting with liquids in the speed queen (Just for a short while as I like my powder too much).Id like to just buy one liquid for the whole wash (gasps come out from everyone). Just to save some pennys thats all.

Anyway im sure ive read that normal liquids eg Persil or Ariel (not the "colour" kind) are ok to use for colours because liquids do not contain bleach. I have been looking at liquids whilst in Tescos or Morrisons and yes they don't seem to contain bleach but im not sure if there is anything else in them that will bleach colours. What do the "optical brighteners" do?

Im no expert on powders or liquids so wanted some info before I decide to buy any.

Thanks as always

Mark

 

[whirlcool]

Consult our Laundry Chemical Engineer....

Paging The Laundress, will the Laundress please come to this thread......

 

[2drumsallergy]

Liquid Detergents and Coloured Laundry

Hi Mark,
Yes it sure is however its worth buying a colour variant for black jeans as the OBAs (Optical Brightening Agents) can make blacks look grey. I would recommend Ariel Liquid or Daz Liquid is also very good and has the wonderful old fashioned Daz scent. Both Ariel and Daz liquids clean brilliantly and rinse out easier than any other liquids I have tried. I'm with you regarding powders, I have found over the years that powders always outperform liquids.
Bold Liquid is also good but you still need a separate softener on Synthetics to eliminate static.

David

 

[lavamat_jon]

Hi Mark,

I always edge on the safe side when washing any coloured garments and will use colour liquid or powder on everything that isn't white, liquids included. The optical brighteners can affect the hue of colours and although won't fade them as much as bleach will the colours will look washed out. The Ariel bio liquid whitens very well, and in my mind if it can do that to whites then I don't want it doing to my coloureds too .

I've used Bold liquid before, actually I washed bedlinen religously in it for about 6 months and even though it has no bleach it did fade the bedding considerably, especially when you compared my duvet cover to the matching curtains I had at the time. So I'd say it's advisable to buy the colour variant of any form of detergent, be it powders, tablets, liquid or liquitabs, and stay on the safe side .

I'd suggest if you want to buy just one liquid for the whole wash, buy a colour liquid and add Ecover's laundry bleach to white loads. This is pure percarbonate bleach, and isn't loaded with fillers like Oxiclean or Vanish, and does work well. This combination probably won't clean as well as a biological powder on whites, but will still leave you with a fair result and definitely will on colours. The Ariel Colour & Style range to me is the best colour product out there in all forms, while Persil's biological powder is great their colour products to me do lag behind Ariel to the extent that even Ariel C&S liquid or liquitabs will remove inground mud and grass stains whereas Persil colour powder does struggle.

Hope this helps

Jon

 

[chestermikeuk]

Yes Mark..

Gasps from me, dont try it with your best new coloureds, I would say stick to Ariel colour powder, I like Jon was surprised at how much Bold and others faded some of my washed stuff over time..

The use of liquids does interest me due to the quick wash times but most powders can keep up now due to the better dissolving action,

Mark, for effect and an old retro smell & lather, try Persil Handwash UK in the Speed Queen , half a cup at first at let us know what you think, it shifted Uni`s thinking..

Cheers, Mike

 

[lavamat_jon]

Mike - where's that obligatory picture of the box of Persil handwash? :-D.

Have a good time in the states, and you're long overdue an email from me so I shall get that sorted soon .

Jon

 

[Unimatic1140]

Persil

Morning jon, am using my uk wordly charm to get Robert using Persil in the super-unimatic, and wow what sudz,,,what retro smell-a-rama see the pink forum Super Unimatic thread...!!!

Cheers, Mike

 

[hoover3060]

Thanks for your comments and advice guys (I always know where to come!). Still deciding what to do. I still have a lot of powder left in my big box of Persil colour so will probably buy some liquid and use it on whites / lights as I only have a small amount of "whites" powder left.

David its funny you mention the vintage smell of Daz. I was in Makro the other night and went along the row of detergents smelling all the liquids and looking at what they contain. When I got to Daz I got a sudden retro feeling and was transported back. What a great vintage smell. It was as I remember it used to smell....fab!

Mark

 

[hoover3060]

Mike

Forgot to say I will be buying some Persil handwash!! Looking forward to some sudsy action! Haven't used it for ages as we used to use it in the twinnies but always ended up with suds lock!

Mark

 

[launderess]

You can use any liquid or gel detergent for colours long as it does not contain brightening agents (OBAs) or bluing. Thankfully you are on the side of the pond where such things must be listed so it should be only a matter of reading the label of contents.

However in general detergents for colours should contain no or low levels of brighteners, however not to sure all brands adhere to that theory.

Oxygen based bleaches aren't that harmful to colourfast items for two reasons:

Oxygen bleaches normally will not bleach colourfast dyes and garments past the original colour. Also oxygen bleaches do not bleach strongly at the low wash temperatures colours and darks are normally washed in. However too strong a bleach and or done too often can cause some colours to fade.

Being as all this may, have used 1 teaspoon of Ecover oxygen bleach in all my colour loads for ages, in warm water, with no harmful effects.

Oh yes, oxygen bleach will cancel out the chlorine added to tap water as well, this helps protect colours. Indeed many detergents advertised to "protect" colours actually contain low levels of oxygen bleach, well at least those sold in the United States where chlorine tap water is the norm.

 

[hoover3060]

Thank you Launderess!!

Info very much appreciated!

By the way quick question. In costcos over here they do their big tub of own brand powder. Is it any good?

Mark

 

[launderess]

Sorry, never used the product so cannot say. Perhaps others will give their views, or just "Google" Costco detergent and see what comes up. There are bound to be reviews or some such somewhere.

Oh wait, do you mean "Kirkland" detergent? If so it has received good ratings by "Consumer's Reports (Amercian version of "Which" and others.

L.

 

[hoover3060]

Yes Kirkland Signature I think its called. Thats the one I meant.

Thank you!

Mark

 

[sudsmaster]

I would second Launderess's comment about optical brighteners. However I would add that while they can make dark colors look faded (because they absorb UV light and flouresce back bluish light), their effect is probably temporary and they can probably be washed away with a non-OBA detergent next laundering.

As for chlorine in tap water, this is probably becoming less of an issue as more municipal water works are swtiching over to chloramine instead of chlorine. Chloramine still kills bacteria but much less of it is required than chlorine. Not sure if chloramine itself has any bleaching activity, but I suspect it would be less than that of elemental chlorine in regular chlorinated tap water. Water depts have switched to chloramine because in part over concerns that elemental chlorine reacts with organic matter to produce carcinogens. Chloramine apparently doesn't have that issue.