Liquid vs powder laundry detergent

[frontloaderfan]

Persil...

I would like to chime in here about Persil. I have been using nothing but Persil in my 2012 Frigidaire FL since November and can only recommend it, although some scathing tongues from Germany on this forum claimed those of us in the US who buy Persil are mad for paying what it costs here. I used to use Tide but I did not like the fact that I could never get it to completely rinse out of my clothes.

I became acquainted with Persil when I lived in Germany from 1994 to 2005. It cleans very well and doesn't leave an overpowering floral scent behind. Since the water here is relatively soft (under 3 grains), I can get by with using < 50 ml of detergent per load and everything comes out brilliantly. Persil Universal should not be used with colors, however. They sell Persil Gold, which is safe for colored items.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

For me, its FOCA, a POWDERED laundry detergent...

 

It's cheap, has environmentally-friendly packaging, and does a fairly good job, while also gentle on my laundry...!

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Yes, Foca is good, not excellent but very good, especially for it's price.....I like it.
Can't gather to the chrous of " how good henkel persil is" as I don't find it anything special really, kinda average MOL one, can actually find even better ones over here and cheaper, when it sells on regular stock price...
But I buy it sometimes when on offer, and that's what I am using right now, as I bought a large 76 loads carton for 8 euros on 50% off at our "esselunga" store, when it usually sells for 16...otherwise it really isn't worth it, IMO, actually a waste just for a name...
P&G Dash has been considered the best in this country, but of course persil dixan is the following one in matter of fame, after all, it was the second ( better say) the other one detergent for automatic washing that came out at the same time of Dash, before in Italy we had Tide and Persil...
Now Dash lost some share, after it started to come in a new concentrated version which just don't give the same of the former, it actually looks like same stuff but higly priced...

As for the speech i heard some people do about dixan/persil being european or european detergents in general being developped for harder waters, cuz in europe we got harder water...well...
This is not what I know...really....
I never used this one in the Unites States to see how it behave in the alleged " different" american water,granted that while north east got soft water, great part of midwest got hard water, and it changes upon locations of course, but have used tons of american ones over here, and didn't notice any difference in matter of needing more, actually I need slightly less of the indications and in comparison to theones here, and we have very hard water in this area, ....so.....
Just comes out as a surprise to me...and weird to hear...difficult to believe.

I will not comment on the fact of the fortune Persil costs in the US....I can perfectly understand that some people may like it, and would spend more for it if it likes, after all this is what I do as well keeping buying American products every time.....and not just TOL offerings, but whatever gets my curiosity, and let me tell you, among the cheapest ones I discovered some really good ones i would actually buy for that high price every day....and that we would dream of to get for the same price over here...
It's such fun and nice to try foreign products and new ones, that's why I often organize detergents swaps.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well, what's also environmentally-friendly about FOCA, is how it is in its own environment...

 

It does not get all rocky, turning into hunks & chunks of BRICKS, like other powdered detergents do...! (At least, so far, yet, it hasn't...)

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[launderess]

Many Americans Seek out and or Swear by Persil

Because for years it was the only decent low foaming detergent they could use in their Miele front loaders. Tide finally came out with an "HE" product but the early versions caused just as much froth (if one was not careful of dosing) as normal versions. Also many formulations of Tide powdered detergents are very heavy on builders which makes the stuff not always easy to rinse out of laundry.

Persil is expensive here because it is imported thus incurs mark-ups in price to reflect various duties and tariffs accrued along the way. Then of course MieleUSA and other vendors must make a profit.

P&G along with others now produce some quite good detergents for H-Axis washing machines so Persil isn't always wanted or needed. Many however still will use nothing else regardless. Was walking along East 57th Street a few months ago and saw a huge box of Persil being carried by a black delivery man. One assumes he was coming from Gracious Homes or perhaps the Miele store in the area since Home Depot on Third Avenue does not sell Persil. Product was likely destined for one of our households in Sutton Place.

Where Persil does shine against Tide powder is that both the megaperls and regular powder are much easier to rinse out than the former.

Finally still think European laundry detergents perform better with the longer and often profile wash cycles found in washing machines from that country. More so with the low water machines like my AEG-Oko Lavamat.

 

[allan]

Bought some Persil Megaperls

Well, I found a brick-and-mortar store that stocks Henkel Persil, and it's only a 10 minute walk from my home. Very convenient! They had many boxes in stock, so I thought I'd buy some and give them a try. The place is called Reliable Parts:

http://www.reliableparts.ca/locations/BC#Burnaby

Anyway, I purchased one box each of the Color Megaperls and the Universal Megaperls, both rated for 48 loads each. The price was $41.95 Canadian per box. They also had the Universal Powder in stock which does 80 loads for $52.95, but the box was too darn big, lol.

I plan to use these mainly on my heavily soiled loads, such as grass stains, blood stains, etc. As Jerry Seinfeld once said:

“Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.” Lol

I know the Tide HE Bleach Alternative probably cleans just as well, but I prefer a powder, and the powdered version of the Tide is impossible to find here where I live (I don't think it's even available in Canada). Plus, from everything that I've read so far, Persil rinses better than the Tide product, and this is very important to me.

I'll still use the Nellie's Laundry Soda for my lightly soiled loads. I really like it because it doesn't make me itch (I have mild eczema), and it's also readily available locally (I prefer not to buy online unless I have to). If the Persil stuff gives me any allergic reactions I will simply give them away to a relative or just restrict it to stuff that doesn't come directly in contact with my skin all day.

Anyway, I took some photos of the boxes for anyone else who is also thinking of trying out the stuff for the first time.

 

[henene4]

Keep the dosage low...

We here have a waterhardness of 35° dh (don't know what this equals to in grains) and we don't even need more than 160ml on a big heavy soiled load. I suppose 100ml should be more than enough for you.
Further, as you bought the MegaPerls, make sure to wash at least warm and as long as possible. They don't dissolve that fast in my opinion. And, essentially, you probably could buy a oxy bleach agent and add it to the color Persil to use it for whites. Should end up the same.

 

[logixx]

What? 35° water hardness? Insane! We have 16° and I find that too much already.

 

German hardness and American grains per gallon are almost identical - so your water would be 36.5 gpg. What is also important to note is that the dosage instructions on Persil boxes relate to German water hardness values. German "soft" water is already considered "hard" in the US. For us it's:

 

Soft = less than 8.3 grains

Medium = less than 14.6 grains

Hard = more than 14.6 grains

 

According to Wiki, the United States Geological Survey considers 8 gpg as "hard water" water.

 

[henene4]

35° dh

Well, we live in a area where lots of stone ( especially „Kalkstein", don't know it in English, but it is most likely pure calc) are found (my father is actually a stone maison) so any ground water in our valley with its own water system has to go through this stuff. So it is practicly hyper-mineralized before it destroys cattles, coffee makers and faucets. Fun to have. It goes that far that if I clean our washers filters I can find peaces of line scale which shattered of the heaters surface.
It is so bad that at some places the minerals settle up on top of the water if it sits long enough.

 

[mrwash]

I just had a look...

... at the recent analysis of your water in your town an it even says that it has a bit more then 40° dH. This is just insane high. Do you have anything like a unit to soften the water? Otherwise you would be busy with buying new appliances all the time....

Concerning the Persil that allan bought: I hope it still cleans well, because the package shows that it must have been produced quite a while ago. In Germany we are probably two or even three "package cycles" ahead so I would guess that this version is like two years old. So I hope it still cleans well enough so that you didn't waste your money.

 

[washer111]

Since We're on the Subject

Our hardness around here is about 260ppm, which equates to about 21 Grains per Gallon or 20.45ºdH.

 

Until this happening, we kill 2 kettles in just over 1.5 years. Wouldn't want to imagine what the electric water-heater boosting element, or that in a Front-Loader would like without good Phosphate detergent... 

Thankfully, we have a whole-house softener installed, which greatly improves the taste of the water (Even our new Water-Filter doesn't change the taste very much!)

 

 

 

[allan]

@ mrwash

How can one determine the age of the Persil I bought? Has the design of the box changed since then? What does the latest box design look like in Germany? My boxes look exactly like the ones on the Canadian and U.S. Amazon websites (and also the Persil Store website) if that means anything:

http://www.amazon.com/Henkel-Persil.../ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AJISNG5MOOATD

http://www.amazon.ca/Henkel-Persil-...ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A34R5723QII1LW

http://www.persilstore.com/cleaning...-color-megaperls-3.038-kg-2-boxes-of-45-loads

I haven't opened the boxes yet, so I can still return them. The boxes do give off quite a strong perfume smell, even unopened. I find it very pleasant.

 

[allan]

@henene4

I plan to initially use only the minimum amount of Persil (45 ml) and then adjust up or down based on this. My washer is quite small (only 2.3 cubic feet) so I hope I will need less than what is indicated on the box.

Also, the water in my place is soft according to this unscientific test I did:



I put in even less water in the bottle than she did, and it foamed up like crazy, lol.

 

[logixx]

Incidentally, I just did a video for one of our members of the detergent aisle of one of our big supermarkets (mrwash might recognize it

). These were the large Persil boxes they had on display.

 

[wrungout]

WOW!!

I wish I could get my hands on a big box of the Color Persil like that!!!! what is the cost of it? I love Persil. I have been a loyal Amway SA8 user for years, but have recently discovered Persil.

 

[henene4]

@mrwash

Well, I just checked again and you are right! I hadn't checked since we got our new DW 3 years ago.
We had a whole house softner, but my grandpa got ill (kidney problems) about 14 years ago so we stoped using it and never used it again until we removed it about 10 years ago.
We and my grandparents had simmilar coffee makers (made by Phillips). We have a Brita Maxtra filter for our kitchen. My grandparents don't. My grandmas lasted 2 ½ years, ours is going strong for about 5 years now. So this thing works. But we don't have too many problems. We just have to descale certain things more often.