Laundry Detergents

[jkbff]

... I know this has been posted tons of times but I can't seem to find a clear answer...

I've searched and searched, and while my results have led me to an interesting read of jock straps and bachelor cop uniforms, I haven't taken away anything useful except that skidmarks need hot water to be cleaned (duh)...

Of the American detergents, what brands are alkaline and what brands are not?

What brands are enzyme-based and what brands are not?

What should one use in hot water doing mild colors/whites (undies, socks, towels etc) vs warm and cold?

I think I've even asked this question before, I've gone out and purchased the Members Mark Tide knock off in the huge ass jug that leaked all over the floor, I've purchased Tide pods, Tide + Oxygen stain fighter, Powdered Tide, Clorox for Colors, Melaleuca MelaPower, Sol-U-Mel, I have vinegar and bleach on hand but I hate using bleach and lastly I have some old label Biz. Dawn is always kept at the ready just to add a drop or two in for good measure.

Am I understanding correctly that powdered works better in hot, liquid in cold?

I have been fighting with this !#&*$&#!@$% Samsung FL that I have and I finally got it to work with a mixing valve on the cold line. It decided it would function with hot water coming in the cold line when I took the hood off and messed with wires..

I've been so excited that I can was with hot water again that I've been rewashing everything this weekend only to notice that my fabrics feel... crappy :/

I don't use softener in my machine I hate the feel and the smells. Its either original Tide, products that are free and clear or if I am feeling especially frisky I put sol-u-mel in the wash as well.

Mainly what I am trying to achieve by this post is what should I have in my arsenal and with what I currently have, what temps should each of the products be used at?

Long live having the freedom to use hot water as you wish, and long live the memories of those who have fallen to protect that freedom! Happy Memorial Day!

 

[appnut]

I have a Whirlpool Duet WFW97. I personally feel a modern front loader is totally inept if it doesn't have a supplemental heater. I pretty much only use two to three cycles. Allergen--which has an assured 130 degree wash temperature and I can also use the sanitize temp too. Bulky items I've recently "discovered". I use it for everything else which isn't towels, sheets, undies, ... (those get washed on Allergen). Bulky items has a medium speed tumble and a just reasonable amount of wash time after it finishes filling up (10 minutes). It also turns on the supplemental heater during the wash time. I can use all temps on that cycle too, including santizie. I use whites for anything which needs a fast tumble that doesn't fall into either of the above categories (such as flannel sheets) but can also benefit from the supplemental heater (like in the wintertime) on warm. My detergents are Tide HE with bleach for all the stuff done on allergen (although my extra dark towels are still washed in hot but use "the other detergent). My other detergent is Gain He, but presently using the last box of Cheer He Powder I got a Sams Club when they briefly were marketing it. I also use Biz powder for really bad stains and works like a charm. For the occasional items which reqire, I use the hand wash cycle. Garments have less wrinkles when washed in a FLer and using a bit of fabric softener. I use Snuggle (love the little bear) or All free and clear--no scents. Personally, I think you are way over complicating laundry. I can be a picky sorter though and have tons of cloths. HTH.

 

[andic29]

I also have a Samsung frontloader. Which model do you have? I have the 419 and was thinking of spending some time today trying to browbeat it into using more hot water. I did a wash last night on "hot" and the water was barely 80 degrees. Id love to know how you achieved hotter water!
As far as which detergents have enzymes... I think pretty much all of them do, except for the reeeeally cheap ones and some of the "free and clear" ones. I only use powder (Tide) on sanitize washes for whites, cheer powder on hot for my husbands uniforms, cheer liquid and tide total care on hot for all my colors. Gain liquid or Tide liquid for bulky bedding and Gain powder for sheets. I've recently tried Vaska for my towels and am quite liking it. I tend to switch all this up because my stash consists of at least one bottle or box of everything that you can possiby find in the store. Anywho, from all the posts I've read on here, my takeaway was that powders are best, especially in hot and warm water and liquids are better for oily stains and cooler temps that powders may not dissove in. I can't really say anything about alkalinity, but Im sure Laundress can! Happy and safe Memorial Day to all, and a big thanks to our Veterans! Im very proud of my grandfather and husband

 

[stan]

Joshua

Hopefully Laundress will be along to answer these questions.

I'll take a guess here and say that I think that since powdered detergents usually contain a fair amount of washing soda, the P.H is going to be higher than a liquid. So cooler washing... liquid-detergents
Warmer, or hot washing.. powdered.

Powdered Biz has enzymes and washing soda, but cooler temps and longer cycles are needed so the enzymes can do their job. Correct dosing of detergent, is important, along with an appropriate one for the fabric, machine and water conditions in your area.
If your water is hard, then STPP along with your detergent is necessary.

 

[yogitunes]

well....this can come in a variety of issues......

lets start with detergents.....read the label...most will tell you whats inside, generic and low end detergents usually have only anionic/nonionic ingredients....some have a few boosters or additives.....

for higher end products, such as Tide or Gain, and the like, have an enzyme added to them.....

Arm&Hammer adds baking soda.....

always stick with the basics.....a good detergent-powder or liquid, bleach, ammonia, borax, washing soda, color safe bleach......the conbination of many of these will usually remove most any stain.....

some things require bleach to remove no matter what.....

normal laundry practices will require matching cycles, and temps...to the fabric and stains....

every machine is different on dubbing down HOT washes.....some you can bypass, others you can't.....

I was puzzled by having an internal heater, but only by my own experiences, as for not needing one, in my case, it would lower my temps, or rather not come 'on'...from what I have read, it will only increase the temp up to 130 degrees give or take, I was expecting these to give a somewhat boil wash......my water heater is delivering 160 degrees.....even when HOT is selected, the most it drops of the two machines that are dubbed is 10 degrees....

the theory of most HE machines today, granted we don't see water, but its the concentration of detergent 'lather' that cleans the clothes, it was compared to washing your hands, soap and a little bit of water for the cleaning, then several rinses is what removes the residue.......granted some machines are not effective at rinsing well....

 

[launderess]

Liquid vs Powder Detergent

Today is largely a matter of personal choice and or what sorts of soils and stains your average wash consists.

In general however the old rules still apply; powders are better for solid/clay based dirt, and liquids for oils and fats.

Enzymes or not you have to read the label to find out. Since they are considered a health risk (allergic reaction from inhaling and so forth) manufacturers must disclose the existence of enzymes in their products, but not always what sort and concentration. Sometimes you can find this information listed on MSDS, others not and just a blanket "enzymes".

Tide liquid detergents all are around pH of 8.0 to 8.6. OTOH Tide powders range from 10.0 to 11.0 or slightly above. IIRC Tide with Bleach is on the higher end of the scale. This could be because oxygen bleaching systems work best in alkaline conditions.

Old school laundry theory and practice held that moderate to high alkaline *detergents* ( this would include soap since that is always alkaline in water solution) along with hot or warm water provided best cleaning. Mind you many powders of old got their heft from liberal amounts of alkaline builders such as lye, washing soda, borax, etc...

Modern liquid detergents with their high and complex surfactant levels along with polymers, enzymes and God only knows what else have largely replaced powders due to claims they perform just as well while also being more gentle on fabrics. Being as that may certain soils will not shift with just liquid detergents alone; that is some sort of bleach is required. It is not a coincidence that now liquid and pod detergents have taken over many markets you find various oxygen bleaching products (with or without enzymes) being sold as well.

Have used TOL liquid or gel detergents in hot water for years with great results. One just adds various oxygen bleach tablets, pacs, pods, powders, etc.. from one's stash to compensate for what is lacking. Those "booster pods" from Tide in particular are quite good. Nabbed a bunch of both scented and unscented from fleaPay for a good price awhile ago. I use one with either liquid detergents that lack powerful enzymes or vintage powders from one's stash that suffer from the same problem

For colours I find liquid detergents less aggressive and better at preserving than powders. This probably has much to do with the American market not having a really TOL powder detergent for colours such as Persil, Ariel, and other offerings from Europe.

Have a huge stash of the old formula "Biz" (case of coin vend size meant for Laundromats), but the stuff is wayyyyyy to sudsy for either of my front loaders (Miele or AEG). It also is a true "high dilution" product in that the stuff is very hard to rinse out when used in same. So now keep it for soaking in tubs or the Hoover TT. May end up putting some boxes on eBay as probably never will finish them all.

Thing about the old Biz and other laundry additives as well is they often basically are powdered detergents. Biz contains every single thing that other powdered detergents from P&G had at the time. If you use Tide and Biz together look out! You'll have suds and rinsing issues for days. Ask how I know, *LOL*.

You don't really need a lot of things in your stash. If you stick with a good top shelf detergent (powder or liquid), an oxygen bleach additive, and perhaps one or two products for special things (colors, woolens, etc...). Oh and perhaps a spot treatment such as Spray N Wash to hit really tough stains before they go to the wash.

IMHO it is best to pre-treat the odd stain in a load if the balance is otherwise stain free. This rather than expose the entire wash to the full treatment. However past say one or two small spots you have to be careful. Many pre-treatment products are heavy on surfactants. Use too much and in combination with whatever else you add to the wash you'll have rinsing issues.

 

[launderess]

Another thing

Tide powder detergents have reserve alkalinity of around a pH of 5.1 or so, and are only *appreciable* soluble in water. OTOH Tide liquids have zero reserve alkalinity pH and are totally soluble in water.

A reason one has not really embraced the vintage box of "ultra" Tide powder in my stash is seeing the cloudy and often gritty water that drains out of the machine. The stainless steel sink my washers drain into is always covered in a powdery residue when Tide (or Cheer ) powder is used for that matter. If left alone and allowed to dry the sink has a distinctive chalky white coating.

Have no idea if it is the washing soda, Zeolites or both but it really puts me off Tide and other P&G powders as they do not seem to be very clean rinsing.

 

[stan]

Dear

You mentioned oxygen bleach tabs. What are your thoughts on liquid non chlorine bleaches (oxygen) vs the tabs? The ingredients in Oxy/Clean powder, looks to me like mostly washing soda, and a questionable amount of bleaching agent in the mix. And possibly not the best non chlorine bleaching agent!
Thoughts

 

[jkbff]

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?47723 <-- My first post with this machine.. The Samsung WF210ANW.

I've modified the water level sensor to fill up to about 1/4 up the glass, plus now I have a manual mixing valve..

TBH I've never been taught how to do laundry, I'm always trying things to make my clothes smell and feel as neutral as possible. I hate the feeling of fabric softener..

I have a textile fetish of sorts.. I love the way expensive linens feel and I don't want that experience altered by added chemicals..

I spent 64 bucks setting up a mixing valve/washtub faucet and making it work on my cold intake, so now I've been washing all weekend trying to figure out cycles. etc..

Cycle-wise, I don't wanna use the heavy/bulk etc because they are 1.75 hrs long. I've been reading the forums on agitation periods before rinse etc and started messing around with the quick wash. I have it set on quick wash, cold/cold, no spin, heavy soil and it puts the timer at 23 minutes. Rinse starts at 11 minutes. I leave the manual valve on whatever setting, hot/warm/cold.. The cycle runs, then when its done, I turn the valve to rinse/spin and set it cold/cold, highest spin, extra rinse which puts the timer at 31 minutes. I let that cycle run so I have a total of 54 minutes invested into a load and the clothes feel/smell cleaner then when the cycle runs for 1.75 hours.

I have been tearing this place up looking for things to wash/rewash... Not that I should admit this but I am seeing dirty water for the first time in this machine since I got it.. That being said, I've been playing with the powders etc. Anything that I was to a warm to hot gets powdered tide + oxy stain boost and tide ultra powder. cold to cool got liquid makers mark stuff in the dispenser and tide + oxy stain boost in the tub. Some of the other stuff got melaleuca/sol-u-mel.

When I run that short cycle on hot, it is an absolutely fabulous feeling watching the steam drift up when I open that door to check on things.

I just have to get better at organizing my loads before I put them in...

I went to Family Dollar to check their prices out before I went to walmart and noticed they had a lot of bagged ariel, roma and foca. Is any of that that worth using? I ask because walmart had two boxes of ultra tide on the shelves.. and the boxed/powdered stuff seems to be disappearing. Is sun any good? they have it in pails at walmart.

Oh, whats the difference between Tide with Bleach and Tide with Bleach alternative? They both have different boxes.

I know I am over analyzing this, but like I said, I was never taught how to wash my clothes and I don't wanna have the machine wasting a bunch of time that I could use rendering more laundry through. I get Sundays off, and today was a treat to be able to run 8 loads through the machine while roomie was at work... (fwiw, I asked him how to do laundry and he just dumps a crap ton of oxy clean in the drum and cheap mexican-market soap and softener in the machine... I told him I'd do the washing from now on tyvm..) He did ask me why my clothes smelled better than his and I said what, you mean clean? He's like yea.. I said Cause I don't use a quart of chemical in each dispenser... He told me I needed Jesus and went to work... :/

I appreciate all the replies and I hope you guys don't mind my continued posts.. I'll try random mixtures/suggestions and post the results till I find a method that works....

Im just so happy my washer can now use hot water!!

 

[blueneon]

I'd been wondering about those cheap bagged detergents at Walmart too! I usually take my laundry to a laundromat that has Huebsch (Speed Queen, Alliance Laundry Systems, Raytheon, insert brand name of the day here) FL machines so I try to stick to detergents that do their job without a lot of sudsing. Currently I'm using Arm & Hammer with good results, but before that I was using a small amount of Tide thrown in there on top of about 1/4 cup of borax and that worked great!

Borax is... strange. I can't tell that it really tries to affect the pH of whatever it's added to, as you can mix it with vinegar or alkaline detergents without it reacting. I first learned about cleaning almost anything with white vinegar and borax from one of the Tightwad Gazette books - it just works, and doesn't cause sudsing. Baking soda also works added in with detergent.

One of the advantages of throwing in borax, though, is it works as a water softener. Watch out: This will INCREASE the sudsing action of any detergent you are using. This will also of course help avoid the crispy feeling laundry...

 

[launderess]

Liquid Hydrogen Peroxide Bleaches

Long used in commercial laundries especially in Europe where boil wash temperatures allow the full benefit are almost useless otherwise.

Consumer Reports tested a few of the top brands back in the 1980's (Snowy, Vivid, Clorox2, etc...) and found most sorely lacking in bleaching and stain removal power. IIRC the only one to score anything decent was Clorox II, but even then the results were dismal when compared to powdered oxygen bleaches.

All oxygen bleaches are hydrogen peroxide. It is just the powdered forms (sodium perborate and percarbonate) are created by combining liquid hydrogen peroxide with either borax or washing soda respectively. This produces a more stable product that is easier to use than liquid oxygen bleach, but also has drawbacks.

Both liquid hydrogen peroxide bleaches and sodium perborate require hot to boiling water temps to really get going stain removal and whitening wise. Both also work best in alkaline solutions. Sodium percarbonate OTOH supplies it's own alkalinity and will work in cool or even cold water just slower.

Where liquid oxygen bleaches do play a role especially in the pure form is for those seeking a less aggressive bleaching action. Persons who are working on delicate textiles and even wool or silk. Because liquid hydrogen peroxide is temperature dependent the reaction and aggressiveness can be controlled by using cooler water temps. It will take much longer to remove stains or whiten but you are also not damaging fibers. Indeed liquid hydrogen peroxide is one of the few bleaches that can be used on wool or silk. It does not contain any alkaline substances and breaks down in to water with a few trace amounts of other substances. This means you don't have to do tons of rinsing in order to remove and or neutralize the stuff.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Hydrogen Peroxide bleaches over here in Europe are marketed and thought as a safe solution for stain removal whenever an item cannot be "boil washed" or cannot be used chlorine on it, boil washing or washing higher than 60 degrees is a thing that very few still do nowadays anyway,this is for various reasons.
I am prone to think that this is mostly because nowadays most of laundry consist in mixed loads with items that you better not boil, I also believe that there is the general tendency of people to stay lower with temps on their own because laundry nowadays does not get as dirt as it used to....

Anyway, they are considered a substitute for that matter...the plus is they are also safe on colors and woolens, as Launderess mention powdered forms of such products are found to be working better but they are not safe on certain fibers due to alkaline formula of the oxygen provider compound, while I cannot really share the stance about liquid oxy bleaches being unuseful unless used in boiling water (found them being substantiually the same both in 50 degrees or boil wash) I can see that they are often too weak/watery to really mean something in wash water unless added in very very generous quantities not worth the price they cost for sure, powdered forms seems to be more concentrated other than providing optimal conditions, they actually smell like oxygen coming out wash water and you can see the difference.

Many liquid oxy bleaches if used according measuring indications are sort of "cup in the ocean" especially if used with detergents totally missing such ingredients, in a front loader they might be better (more worth it) to be used in because of their lower water use and so diluition but always poor concentration it would be, I think you better buy higher volume hydrogen peroxide and use that one...

In europe oxy stuff are much famous, like every sort of different additives and stain removers or stuff to add to your regular detergent, looks like they are much more needed than they are are in the US where I cannot spot so many additives in stores as I do here in Europe....
You can find any kind of color safe bleaches of every brand and different forms sold everywhere, powders, gels, liquids, caps and so forth....but I don't recall them being common sight, actually known generally before the 90s, they had their full boom in the late 90s, infact earlier adverts for such bleaches often showed granmas that were stopped by daughters by pouring what they thought being bleach on colors shirts, wool sweaters or fine embroided table cloths, granmas would explain they ain't bleach but color safe bleach you could use everywhere, pour pure and also use as a pretreater as it would not damage fabrics, weirdly the firsts forms of these color safe bleaches started being marketed in liquid forms over here, and only later with the development and understanding of "oxy concept" in powdered forms which then developped in specific oxy additives such as Vanish powder etc, all percarbonate based stuff meant for all except wool and silk .... before that what was known was the "boil wash" and the addtitves you could find were mainly rather enzyme based presoaker to use in prewash or in-wash, for white wash usually people relied on perborate and later percarbonate, perborate though was the one working best in higher temperatures and detergents usually already contained such stuff, then there was chlorine that though was preferentially avoided... were of course preferred alternative methods if available that didn't damage clothes and gave less problems in rinsing etc...
Actually many hydrogen liquid bleaches started being marketed mainly for being used on colors and woolens, but people soon found out they did good in lower temperatures for whites, and started adding the stuff to their white wash, this especially using detergents lacking their own bleaching system that in the time were starting being more common...(liquids).

Liquid oxy bleaches works fine in lower temperatures...and are actually used in these cases, today as I said, they find their use mostly for woolens and silk as they were initially meant to, powder forms indeed takes care of all the rest....

[this post was last edited: 5/27/2014-18:10]

 

[stan]

Thank you Laundress

For answering the oxygen bleach question!

Joshua
Didn't mean the high jack your thread with that question.

Wish I could offer you more advice with your washing question, but I have only used top loading machines, and I've always had control as to wash, and rinse times, as well temps, and number of rinses. My normal go to products and methods would be considered out dated by most here. (I don't use fabric softener, dryer sheets more than half the time I don't even use the dryer! ) but I digress

As mentioned above, think the basics still apply
Sorting
Pre treating
Correct wash and rinse temps
Loading (under, or over)
Wash time
Number of rinses
And of course the right detergent for the soil level. And water hardness.

I suspect that the Foca, and Roma may cause too much froth in a Front loader, but someone with a modern F.L machine can best advise. (The Foca dose contain enzymes)

HTH

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Foca has instructions in it for front loaders but it is absolutely not low foam like are not all the others mezican regular ones, for istance Roma, Ariel, Maestro limpio, Blanca Nieves, Lirio, Viva, 123, Pinol etc... I know of a few members that use Foca in front loaders succesfully though.
Foca as for others mexicans ones are typically high foaming detergents indeed, actually often appreciated for their sudsing qualities.
Non HE detergent can be used in front loaders, but you have to control sudsing by carefully dosing at stages the amount based on soil and water hardness and watching foaming, task that of course require attentions to figure it out how much you actually may need, do rapportations, and so do corrections for loads to come, also of course they tend to suds more in very soft water, and if you have soft water it would be more problematic. So it is not a quick thng to figure out what's the actual amount you need to avoid oversudsing and it may result in a mess for initial loads with the stuff.... That's the problem that led manufacturers in making specific low sudsing products.......
I think it sounds everything obvious till now....
In conclusion...
I gotta be honest, these mexican detergents are GREAT and also better than certain known american brands and are cheaper , but for use in a front loader are not the best choice.....
If you're enough lucky to find places carrying it, there is a version of Mexican Ariel that is meant for front loaders machines, I have heard is carried in well furnished dollar stores next to their regular foaming kind, it is called Bajaespuma, (low foam).....
It appears not being sold in walmarts or chains like them, and is anyway pretty rare to be found around....
The most of mexican products are indeed high sudsing.....
Here is a video of how Foca "behave" in a Miele front loader washer....surprisingly, no trace of foam at all...


[this post was last edited: 5/28/2014-10:40]

 

[kenmoreguy89]

BUT......
It also act like this in a blackstone top loader....
So...what's the verdict? I say:" depends".... On many factors...


Even liquid marseille they sell over here in Europe (mostly famous in Italy, France and Spain) acts the same way and are just as sudsing as foca is, and non HE products are.....but it's full of people using them without problems, and loving them, as long as you learn to dose them properly, they generally won't give problems.[this post was last edited: 5/28/2014-10:34]

 

[launderess]

Non HE detergent can be used in front loaders.....

Yes and no. Much will depended on the product in question.

There are two main type of surfactants used in laundry detergents; anionic and nonionic. The former basically has all the qualities of soaps but aren't that affected by hard water conditions among other things, but they are very high foaming. Nonionic surfactants tend to be lower to nil foaming which makes them excellent for automatic dishwashing and laundry systems where froth will be a problem such as H-Axis machines.

Detergents are either formulated to be "high dilution" or used at either low or high. The original incarnations of Tide, Cheer, Oxydol and a number of American detergents are not only high foaming but high dilution; that is they are designed to work in top loading washing machines. Simply lowering the amount of high dilution product for use in a H-Axis washing machines opens up a huge can of worms.

First it may never be possible to reach the proper water to product dilution ratio to not only remove soils from laundry, but soften water, keep soils in suspension, prevent redeposit on both laundry and machine parts, and so forth. Then there is the problem of such products designed to be flushed/rinsed away by a large volume of water found in top loaders.

Finally at least American high dilution laundry detergents are not designed for the long cycles of front loaders, in particular those found on European machines.

Long story short while the thing may work for awhile long term it is better to find a detergent designed to be used in front loaders from the start.

Detergents such as All, Dash, Gain (original formula) and a few others sold in the United States had either controlled or low foaming properties. This allowed for proper dilution ratios to be reached regardless of type of washing machine. My box of All as does DASH, FAB, and a few others gives dosages for every type of washing machine sold in the United States at that time: wringer, twin-tubs, front and top loading along with compact/portable.

 

[arbilab]

Just to throw a monkeywrench (explain if possible): I use regular Tide powder (Kroger no longer shelves HE) in a washplate twintub. It does like to bubble UNTIL I put a tablespoon of STPP then it flattens right out.

 

[chachp]

Skin Allergies

I have a number of allergies to highly scented detergents, lotions, etc. I was told by the doctor I have an allergy to the Essential Oils which is basicaly the fragrance.

So as you can imagine I have tried many, many brands to get the right combination of no scent and good cleaning. In my experience most of thost "Free" detergents do a really crappy job of cleaning especailly noticable in my whites and kitchen towels. The one that has performed best for me is the Sears OXI detergent.

It cleans very well for me and for whatever reason does not bother my skin. I don't know alot all of these things you guys mention above I only know if my cloths are clean and I don't break out .

I have a Bosch front loader. For the most part I wash my jeans and colored clothes in cold water. I wash my whites in the Sanitary cycle that heats the water to 161 degrees. Sheets I do on warm and on my machine that is 140 I think.

So, I don't know if I am doing anything wrong or not but this combination works for me and keeps me itch free.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Well, whites and colorfasts at 161 degrees and colors in warm....that sounds normal....nothing wrong, not sure why you cannot get the same by using powder tide free and clear, or All free, . But only sears ultra plus... Are you using powders or liquids? But I don't think it's detergent's fault if you have such hard times with clean results .... You have a Bosch right?
Allergies, well, you say you're allergic to essential oils, I read you went to an alletgy specialist that told you so...
From my pretty limited allergologic knowledge the usual allergens you find in detergents are scents and dyes.
Many hypoallergenic scented detergents seems to include natural fragrances/essential oils to them, and or synthetic scents proven in laboratories to do not give problems to the most of allergic subjects, but granted that allergies are personal and so they all are still potentially problematic for some , natural fragrances also seems to be less allergenic that synthetic/chemical scents, but all are potential allergents..so here comes free and clear stuff...
Free and clear infact does not contain any scent or dye of any kind, also, sometimes, they miss certain ingredients that might be more difficult to rinse, this as a "precaution" for every situation and persons since often they also states that they are specifically meant for people having allergies and they also give guarantee that their product won't , they wants to be on the safe side , in this for enstention I include of course also ingredients that are meant to last after the rinse such as optical brighteners...
For what concerns allergy to scents, I found out that many people claiming being allergic to detergents scents, does not have indeed any problem by using body products, such as shampoo, creams and so forth with natural essential oils....(herbal stuff).
My thought is that many people that believes being allergic to the scent, actually is not allergic to the fragrance itself, bit is allergic to the phtalates, which is a chemical found in many modern detergents and softeners and even body care stuff that binds scent to the clothes or what comes on contact with , kinda a fixative for the scent..,.
I can see why you're satisfied with the Ultra Plus, I have used the stuff, the one in the geen and orange packet, and seemed not having any nice scent to it, actually it rather stank, it was a mix of chemical spirit/desenfectant (hospital smell) and soap, with a note of hospice stink....it didn't wash well also, but perhaps oxy variety is better in that sense.... I have tried to order other kinds to see why so many people are happy with it, but Sears incomptence didn't allow it...
Do you know specifically what you're allergic to? What natural essential oils or synthetic scents? For example, one of the synthetic scents you most find in detergents is the "coumarin".... and many people are allergic to it....

[this post was last edited: 6/2/2014-09:15]