Mexican Detergents/Fabric Softeners Disappearing From Shelves?

[oxydolfan1]

The aspect of Ariel that always intrigued me was how little I needed to use in my soft water to get clothes clean, compared to the directions on the bag. For the life of me, I could not figure out what a "practi-taza" was! (I think it was a P&G-issued measuring container.)

The water in Mexico must be much harder than ours.

The other memorable performance characteristic of Ariel is that it rinses well....VERY, VERY well, compared to Tide.

Even though the fragrance packs a wallop in the bag and in the washwater, I really don't find it's overpowering once the wash comes out of the dryer....I think Gain powder leaves a far more noticeable fragrance behind.

What WILL leave your clothes reeking like a Vegas wedding parlor is Mexican Downy!

I once tried a Mexican powder I've never seen mentioned here called Rindex, and it was very lemon-lime, but I wasn't impressed by the results.

 

[westyslantfront]

I have found that all Mexican detergents make suds cake if too much is used. I found the same when I was using Tide or Gain.
I keep a supply of carpet defoamer when suds cake gets too big.

Ross

 

[Unimatic1140]

I keep a supply of carpet defoamer when suds cake gets too big.

But Ross, "You'll Have Cleaning Failures Without Heaping Suds"!

I just let the Unimatic spin them away in a blink of the eye.

 

[mielabor]

lavadora de ventanita...

That's a washing machine with a small window.

 

[westyslantfront]

Hi Robert. I am trying to be more careful with the amount of
detergent I use and when in doubt, especially with front
loaders, I use Tide HE. Nate is so much better about
precisely measuring everything.

Ross

 

[polkanut]

My wife & I drove to Stevens Point which is about 35 miles south of Wausau for brunch this morning, and after we were done, thought we'd check out the Mexican grocery there. I snagged 4 650g bags of Viva "Fresh Lavender", and 4 600g bags of reg. Viva. So I'm happy for a little while, at least. The lavender scent is quite strong BTW.

 

[polkanut]

Didn't realize until now that 1-2-3 is also made by Henkel, same as Viva.

 

[westyslantfront]

Hi Tim. You are so lucky to find lavender Viva.
I searched high and low in Tucson but could only find
regular Viva. Lots of suds like most powdered detergents but
sure does a great job cleaning.

Ross

 

[brettsomers]

ventana = window. "ita" suffix meaning small

 

[Unimatic1140]

Very interesting

Well I was wondering if it meant "small window washer", but it surprised me that that would be the way to refer to a front loader in Spanish. How would you refer to a Duet or LG Front Loader with large windows, "lavadora de ventanisma"???

 

[frigilux]

Being a musician, I would vote for "lavadora de ventanissimo", LOL.

 

[brettsomers]

ventanota. if i had to guess i would say they used the phrase "lavadora de ventanita" because many people still use wringer and spinner washers in Mexico. also, "the masses" in Mexico certainly arent as literate as in the US. it gets the idea across to a population that may have never used a front loader.

 

[sudsmaster]

Glad you've "discovered" the Mexican laundry detergent cornucopia, Robert.

Sadly, I can't use any of them in my Neptune... to much sudsing. Although I suppose my work clothes would do ok - typically they get splashed with machine tool coolant, which contains some pretty effective foam supressors.

I like the aroma of Ariel. It's much less obnoxious than Gain.

One of my coworkers is Mexican and his wife must use that Mexican Downy. His clothes are really "fragrant" with the stuff. However, although I'm not real fond of the aroma, it's a lot better than the way some blue-collar workers stink, naturally, lol.

 

[mielabor]

I think every country has its own description of washer types on detergent boxes. In the Netherlands the terms front loader and top loader were not used until after the disappearance of agitator washers. Front loaders were called automatic washers or drum washers (agitator washers were never automatic here). This was because top loaders could either be drum washers or agitator washers and each type needed its own instructions for detergent use. Nowadays all washers are drum washers so the information for agitator washers is not mentioned anymore on the detergent boxes.

 

[MrX]

Just looking at our boxes here in Ireland..

The P&G powders (Ariel and Bold) assume that all washing machines are the same, they have a little water hardness map of the Britain and Ireland and have suggested dosage for Hard, Medium and Soft water for heavily and lightly soiled clothes.

Unilever:

Persil and Surf Small and Might : 1 cap = 1 Wash
No mention of anything other than normal front loader washing machines.
They suggest adding extra for larger 6 to 8kg washing machines and using 17mls for hand washing.

Persil Colour (Powder) - Same: table of hard, medium and soft water and a suggestion that you add extra for a 6-8kg loads.

No mention of hand washing or alternative types of washing machine.

Ecover : Same!

 

[kirk280980]

Until recently, Unilever always stated on their packaging "Top loaders and twin tubs: double the dosage recommended for your particular washing conditions". As to why they no longer include this statement, perhaps they feel it's less relevant nowadays; agitator machines are no longer produced here, so there are probably fewer of them still in use as a result. Although some folks will purchase a US import to replace their Hotpoint TL when it finally croaks, the vast majority of customers I dealt with just resigned themselves to having a FL or H-axis TL instead.

 

[powerfin64]

Any chance of..

someone sending a small bag of Viva and 1-2-3?(can't seen to get those here) I have ariel here, which I like alot. Bought a bag of Foca and one I've never heard of "Real".but haven't got to try them YET..that will change soon.

And a BIG thank you to Venus, for sending me a bag of "Ace" actiblu(regular) and Limon! I can't wait to try these out! They smell WONDERFUL!! My house smells great and I haven't even done laundry with them yet!!!
THANK YOU VENUS! your the best mom ever!

Rich

 

[~sudsshane]

Venus/Retromom

is a very generous and respected member of our washer family. We too are detergent/fabric softener swapping buddies.

Rich--You will just love the Ace "Limon"..it is one of my favorites!

 

[westyslantfront]

I have sent Venus Viva and a bucket of PHOSPHATES.

Ross