low suds

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christfr

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Joined
Aug 25, 2002
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Location
st louis mo
what is a brand that i can buy that is realy low suds? the 1-18 and westy dosnt like to many suds and i cant seem to find any thing like that
 
Sears HE

Is low sudsing. But there are two factors which will lead to sudsing regardless:
1) Soft water and detergent residue from previous washings. You'd be surprised how much gets dissolved out of the clothes when the water is truly soft.
2) Too much fabric softener. Oh, ye gods and little fishes, did I just reopen the cationic/anionic debate? It was stuck in split-phase the last I looked.

Seriously, before you switch, try running a load with no detergent at all. If it suds like mad, there you have it.

One other thought - I just discovered the other day that the Persil measuring cups (thoughtfully included by the manufacturer in every box) are "full" when they are a good 1/4 below the rim. I always thought "full" was to the rim. How clever of them and how dumb of me. Surely I can't be the only one to fall for that?
Don't answer that...
 
Chris, I've been using Fab and Dynamo that our local BigLots store sells.

My machine is a M.Wards TL portable, 1987 vintage built by Frigidaire. It spin drains and tends to suds-lock easily and these detergents perform well in it. Not sure how they would do in a FL'er. I use Foca or some Chinese Tide for whites and it always needs a 2nd rinse.

Bill
 
Sears HE

Great detergent. Steve and I bought a bucket of it a few weeks ago. Does not suds and works beautifully, even in the Vintage Maytag.

Thanks Chuck for the advice on the Sears detergent.

6-20-2007-14-13-33--GadgetGary.jpg
 
il have to go chech out sears.. cool.. and i had no idea that fabric softener would cause that hum.. god knows i love my downey ha ha
 
Some more low suds options....

The Sun Detergent in the big bucket is also really low sudsing. It's not as potent as the Sears or the Kirkland, but it works well enough on everyday soil. Another one that works well is FMV (Kroger/Fred Meyer) in the bucket, and Good Day detergent in the bucket from Albertson's. A final one that's good and low suds is Next to Godliness from Trader Joe's (if you have one).

Lately, I've been grating up a 4-5 oz bar of soap, melting that in some hot water on the stove, and then mixing 1 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax in a gallon of hot water. I pour the melted soap mixture into the borax/soda solution, stir well, and ladle it into containers and let it cool.

That mix produces minimal suds, yet seems to hold the soil in suspension. About 1/2 to 3/4 cup per load is enough to make the water feel "slick" in a top loader (generally enough for adequate cleaning). It's incredibly cheap to make, and doesn't give anyone a rash (big plus in a family of people with sensitive skin). I use a little vinegar in the rinse to get the last of the residue out.

Any of the above produce minimal suds in our Frigidaire top-loader (Franklin transmission with a straight vane agitator that suds locks on medium or low fill with almost anything) and the Maytag wringer, yet seem to get the clothes clean.

Hope this helps!
Mike
 
got me a big old tub

Hey Chris, The big 'ole tub will last you forever too. We have been using the Sears detergent for years. Ours usually lasts about 6-8 months and we do a lot of wash. Enjoy and when are we getting together? Mark
 
I have to agree with Gary and Chris, Sears HE is great. I have been using it for years. When I had the Westy Space-mate it was the only detergent that didn't go crazy in that machine. Now with the HE T4, I don't seem to have nearly as many suds problems.
 
We recently had sudsing problems with our 1994 WP DD machine. No matter how little detergent you put in, you'd always have plenty of suds in the rinse water.
So I ran a load with 2 cups of Cascade Complete and very hot water in the machine and let it agitate for about 10 minutes. Then 30 minutes later agitate it again for 10 minutes. Then I let the machine sit over night. The water was very efferescent while doing this.
The next day, we ran some clothes using FAB powder. The rinse came out fine. We ran another load using some Gain powder. Still, no rinsing problems.
What I think is happening is that the liquid detergents are leaving a detergent build up inside the washer. I wish I could take the machine apart and see what the outer tub looks like.
Unfortunately, we have a TON of liquid detergent left on hand to use up.
 
Fab powder and Fresh Start are great choices for a low-sudsing detergent. ALOT cheaper than HE detergent also.
 
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