Lenor = Downy

[hoover8pulse]

Agreed the Bold pearls are good, they've surprised me also with their stain removing power and the ability to leave everything really soft.

I find it funny on mumsnet when the members say they use a Non Bio 'because bio makes them or their little darlings itch' and then they say they use Vanish because stains are hard to get out! They don't know they're adding the stuff they are trying to avoid into the wash! Another one is when they use a sensitive detergent, but use Lenor Unstoppables and the stinkiest fabric conditioner they can find, and wash all of their clothes on a 15 minute cycle 'because I'm a busy mum and have no time' there is no point. The amount of people on there who use non bio is ridiculous, there was somebody from the White Goods Help website who posted on there saying biological and powder detergents were the best ad mostly everybody else just didn't bother listening to him.

I saw in a post of hers that she said she will buy any biological powder, but the one she buys depends on which one is on offer. It must be interesting to work in the laundry sections of either Unilever or P&G, testing out new formulas, fragrances, stain removal capabilities etc.

Did see the new pink Lenor when I first bought some new Summer Breeze, was really excited at the idea of it smelling of the old in the pink, but it's a nice smell anyway. Tried to get some of the perfect black Surf but Sainsbury's didn't have any!

 

[aegokocarat]

Pink Lenor?! I have to find some, that stuff was amazing!

Rabbit123 is really resourceful, and it makes me cringe when people who moan about having rediculously irritable skin buy unstopables to use with something like Fairy and then wonder why their skin is irritated and itchy. I use non bio be it Fairy or persil or Ecover, because most bios I have used be it Ariel or a supermarkets own brand, used to give me a nasty pinhead rash over my back and feet and I just stick with what I know is fine with me, also i never notice any difference with stain removal between bio or non bio myself.

Also, since both of you like Bold, The Original Factory shop were selling XXL boxes of the lavender powder and bottles of Comfort sun fresh, not sure how much though

 

[liamy1]

Yes!

Would be really interesting to work in the industry.

I am not sure they have launched the Surf Vivid Colours and Perfect Black yet, I haven't seen it anywhere. Will keep an eye out for it and say here if I see it anywhere.

aegokocarat, the Pink Lenor is really nice, only seen it in Wilko's so far, if you have one nearby. Thanks for that - Love the original factory shop; it's been ages since I have been (our local one has only just reopened as it had to be refurbished after the floods at Christmas last year).

 

[hoover8pulse]

I've seen the Vivid Colours liquid in Tesco, but it's £5 so not paying that! The only major difference you could tell so far was that the ingredients list no OBA's, other than that it's the same.

I have found like you aeg that most Non Bios actually keep up the cleaning and stain removal power of biological detergents, I guess I prefer to use biological powder, not even for a particular reason.

 

[aegokocarat]

I'm sure I've seen the vivid colours stuff in Sainsbury's too, and I THINK Ocado are stocking it as well (Ocado fetish lol)

 

[liamy1]

Ah right,

Thanks for that, I hadn't seen it. However, being honest, as much as I love detergents - Surf is the last one I choose usually. So it may not have registered when scanning the shelves. Will keep eyes peeled on next shop. I wouldn't pay £5 either.

Can't beat Ocado for product range.

Non Bio - I haven't noticed any difference in stain removal either.

 

[liamy1]

According..

To MySupermarket, Surf Perfect Black is £3 at Sainsbury's.

 

[hoover8pulse]

Ocado is the best for product range agreed, they stock everything! They don't deliver to my address though

Yeah that's why I went to Sainsbury's, in order to get some for £3, so annoying really they had neither. It's weird how the new range is formulated, the liquids are biological yet the capsules are non biological. Apparently that will mean it's the first time Surf has been without enzymes for 30 years.

Regarding Surf, I actually really like their products. The Sunshine Lemons powder is my favourite and have always found it cleans to a very good standard. Interestingly though, the Sensations liquids and capsules have three enzymes in their formulations; Mannanase, Amylase and Substilin, whilst the Sensations powder only lists Protease in it's formulation like other Surf products.

 

[zanussi_lover]

P&G Detergent Scent Shakeup

I saw earlier in the thread that Fairy Non Bio has changed. I hope they haven't changed the perfume of Fairy Non Bio Powder, as that has a lovely delicate smell and really its the only powder that makes my clothes feel clean, soft and not itchy against my skin with a fresh subtle perfume, and without adding any conditioner to the wash.

I've seen on the Fairy non bio Facebook page that the Fairy gel has changed the perfume, as it says New Scent on the bottle. I've yet to smell this before I buy it. I found Fairy Gel has a very strong musky unpleasant aftershave smell and if they have made the scent more subtle then I will purchase it as a colour detergent.

I bought some new Blue Bold Lotus Flower and Water Lily powder and Liquid and I agree both have lovely scents, much better than the sickly sweet melon afterkick that was in the previous version, this has a clean ocean fresh spa minerals scent which does remind me slightly of Bold Aqua of the early 2000's, but unfortunately, it gave me a red rash on my neck so shall be donating it to my mum and dad for use on their washing. I have yet to sniff the updated lavender one.

I tried a box of Ariel powder too, this has quite a pleasant toned down mild scent though its nothing really like Ariel Essential, or the Grassy scented Ariel we had until 2005. I stopped using Ariel after 2005, as they turned the perfume into a piney citrusy strong perfume and smelt very strong and unpleasant until last year. But the scent doesn't last on clothes, which I wish it would do. Ariel Alpine (Circa 1998-1999) was gorgeous, my mums friend used to use Ariel Alpine Powder and i wanted her to wash all my clothes in it.

I'm not a fan of any Fabric Softeners apart from Fairy Almond Oils and Ecover (Yellow Cap) Sun Fragrance, the new Lenors again smell very sickly and chemical and aren't really to my personal taste, but each to their own.

 

[liamy1]

No way

Have they done a non bio Surf?

Is this for the new one's - Vivid Colour/Perfect Blacks?

So they will have no Bleach as liquid, No OBs as aimed at colour's and no enzymes? How are they going to clean? Lol

Regarding Surf, it isn't that I dislike it, it is just for some reason Surf and Daz tend to be the last one's I chose not even 100 percent why.

Will normally chose

1st Ariel (not 100% why this is my fave, as no glaring reason as to why it is better than others)
2nd Bold
3rd Fairy
4th Persil

However, do go through phases of what I really like at times, so positions 2,3 and 4 can change haha - there has been times when I have been using Surf quite a bit, then not so much. In fact a few months back, I bought some Surf capsules for the first time in about 12 years (have bought the Powder and Liquids in that time)

I am heavily swayed by offers in Supermarkets though, I NEVER pay full price, eg 45 wash box Persil usual price is £11! No way would pay that, the last Persil I got was £5.50 and the one before that was £4! I would really really want to have the product to even contemplate full price and even then, don't think I would (but due to the amount of products I have at any given time, thankfully I never have to, I don't think I have ever run out of detergent in all my adult life :/ ).

 

[liamy1]

Fairy

Zanussi_lover, I haven't smelt the new liquids or pods, but the Powder scent has definitely changed to my nose. I actually could swear it is Daz's previous scent (the one before what Daz has just changed to now).

 

[aegokocarat]

Zanussi_lover
My nan has a more recent box of fairy powder and the ingredients composition seems to have changed, I.e (because this bits all I can remember) 5-15%oxygen based bleaching agents and (some sort of) surfactant. Funny you should mention Fairy gel because I dont mind the smell but I used to buy it a bit too often and I got sick of the smell, Fairy, Ecover and Ecozone laundry products are what I usually buy on a regular basis, also, Ecozone have 2 new softener scents now, so I'm itching to try those as I usually buy their Simple&fresh scent or either one of the Ecover or fairy softeners, though, Essential Waitrose Pure softener smells gorgeous!

 

[zanussi_lover]

P&G Detergent Scent Shakeup

I saw earlier in the thread that Fairy Non Bio has changed. I hope they haven't changed the perfume of Fairy Non Bio Powder, as that has a lovely delicate smell and really its the only powder that makes my clothes feel clean, soft and not itchy against my skin with a fresh subtle perfume, and without adding any conditioner to the wash.

I've seen on the Fairy non bio Facebook page that the Fairy gel has changed the perfume, as it says New Scent on the bottle. I've yet to smell this before I buy it. I found Fairy Gel has a very strong musky unpleasant aftershave smell and if they have made the scent more subtle then I will purchase it as a colour detergent.

I bought some new Blue Bold Lotus Flower and Water Lily powder and Liquid and I agree both have lovely scents, much better than the sickly sweet melon afterkick that was in the previous version, this has a clean ocean fresh spa minerals scent which does remind me slightly of Bold Aqua of the early 2000's, but unfortunately, it gave me a red rash on my neck so shall be donating it to my mum and dad for use on their washing. I have yet to sniff the updated lavender one.

I tried a box of Ariel powder too, this has quite a pleasant toned down mild scent though its nothing really like Ariel Essential, or the Grassy scented Ariel we had until 2005. I stopped using Ariel after 2005, as they turned the perfume into a piney citrusy strong perfume and smelt very strong and unpleasant until last year. But the scent doesn't last on clothes, which I wish it would do. Ariel Alpine (Circa 1998-1999) was gorgeous, my mums friend used to use Ariel Alpine Powder and i wanted her to wash all my clothes in it.

I'm not a fan of any Fabric Softeners apart from Fairy Almond Oils and Ecover (Yellow Cap) Sun Fragrance, the new Lenors again smell very sickly and chemical and aren't really to my personal taste, but each to their own.

 

[hoover8pulse]

The non-bio applies to the Vivid Colour/Perfect Black capsules only, the liquids are biological and list enzymes on the ingredients list. The capsules bag states they are non bio, it's odd one contains enzymes and the other doesn't.

That's exactly it! The capsules have no bleaching agents/enzymes/OBA's so they will leave stuff pretty dingy looking after a few washes. Going by the ingredients on the bottle, there is barely any difference between the colour variants and the normal Surf liquids, but I guess the companies prey on consumer's thinking 'I will buy this Surf for my whites, this one for my colours and this one for my black clothes.'

Following on from that, I bought some Ariel Colour & Style pods the other day, despite having a few regular ones left over, and they are both exactly the same! Same colour (normally the colour variants have a purple liquid as the base whilst the normal ones are green), same smell and they both list Optical Brighteners in the ingredients!

I feel the same about Ariel lol, there's no specific reason why I choose it, I just do. I will normally choose Ariel, Surf, Fairy or Persil, and sometimes supermarkets own (normally though this only applies to Aldi/Lidl detergents).

Supermarket prices are shocking! Why on earth would you pay £11 for Persil, like you I wait until it's on offer. As Morrisons is my local supermarket, they normally have it for £5 which is a good deal, same with Ariel/Fairy, 40 washes for £5.

It seems, all of my other fabric conditioners have been pushed to the side in favour of new Lenor Summer Breeze. Since I bought it I have not used anything else, it's so good!

 

[aegokocarat]

In my experience, given that I use Ecover and Ecozone non bio liquids which dont contain OBA's or enzymes, I havent noticed any difference between those or a product contaning OBA's, and if anything, I think it all comes down to how you actually wash your clothes anyway. NB I've been using Ecover and Ecozone liquids for a while and alternate between those and Fairy.

 

[hoover8pulse]

That's true, it really does boil down to how you actually wash your clothes, and apparently OBA's are both not required in laundry products, and they can also cause harm to the body according to some websites.

 

[launderess]

Laundry/housekeeping manuals

Were advising women (and anyone else doing laundry) going back to the Victorian era, if not before, that bluing was not needed if the wash was done properly. The main use of bluing was to cover up the yellowing that came naturally to textiles made from cotton or linen. Secondary use was to cover up bad laundry habits and or slovenly housekeeping. That is the yellowing caused by wearing/using thing longer than one should before going to the wash, and or not doing that process properly. The yellowing of shirts underarms, pillow slips and bed sheets, that sort of thing.

The whole "Persil washes whiter" originally came about because that soap contained oxygen bleach. Combined with hot or boiling water you could get some really bright wash.

By the 1950's or so post war housewives were being "advised" by adverts and whatever to step up their game. In theory mod cons and new products made housekeeping easier than it had been for previous generations. However instead of relishing in this fact, the war on dirt was raised up a peg or two. It now was not just enough to get one's wash clean and "white", but "whiter than white". Happily chemists came out with OBAs; fluorescent dyes that make one's wash glowing (literally) white.



This being said OBAs cannot nor will not cure poor laundry habits. Also the same thing about bluing applies; wash that is done properly really does not need fabric whitening agents (OBAs). The only niggle with this comes in that much cotton and even linen cloth is treated with OBAs when made. These dyes are not very long lasting which is one reason why you find them in laundry products; to replace what is taken away by laundering. If you don't use an OBA containing product after a period of time it *may* seem as if things are dingy, even if properly clean. This is due to missing the reflective properties of the fluorescent dyes. To remedy this if one wishes just wash in a detergent or use a fabric softener with OBAs.

As for skin have never heard of OBAs causing health risks per se; if they could penetrate the skin to that degree the things would be classified as a drug. The main gripe with OBAs from some is that they "attach" or whatever to skin. This may be true but is also rubbish. We all shed cells as that organ self renews; whatever residue from OBAs would soon enough be sloughed or whatever off.

 

[mrboilwash]

Well, there have been serious concerns about OBA`s health effects.
Said it a hundred times before.
Biggest concern I believe is the OBAs might revert back into something like diethylstilbestrol, a terrible endocrine disruptor.

To stay more on topic it`s good to hear P&G has changed a lot of their scents recently.
I found the German equivalent to Bold waterlily and lotusflower smelled exactly like "urine cake with a touch of hubba bubba chewing gum". Actually not unpleasant but way to strong.

http://www.healthylivingmagazine.us/Articles/268/

 

[mrboilwash]

Further read on diethylstilbestrol, which is not exactly the same chemical as used in OBAs but it`s still somehow related to the stilbenes found in detergents.

http://https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethylstilbestrol

 

[aquacycle]

RE: detergent scents, I recently found French Skip in one of the various pound/discount stores and bought a few boxes. Skip is Unilever's leading brand in France. Despite the blue box, this is biological and it smells NOTHING like our Persil Bio. It's got this lovely retro soapy scent too it. I've not tried it yet, but I'll be putting it through it's pases at the weekend. I really do miss the days when washing powder just smelt like washing powder.

I always seem to view detergents in levels:

Premium level: Persil & Ariel
Sub-premium level: Daz. Radion used to be here too once upon a time
Lower level: Bold & Surf (though I'd rather use Surf over Bold anyday!)
Eco detergents: Method, Ecover, BioD etc
Sensitive: Fairy, Simply, Surcare

Store brands sit in various levels depending on performance.

My detergent of choice is always Persil Bio powder. I kind of view it as the original detergent and for some reason associate it very strongly with good housekeeping/laundry. Crazy I know, but Persil has never let me down. Bold would be my last choice of detergent. I've always found Bold to give very poor results with too much focus on scent than cleaning. I try to avoid heavilly scented detergents anyway due to the nature of the chemcial scent boosters used, many of which are listed on the EU banned and regulated substances legislation.