Modern vs vintage formula detergents

[twinniefan]

Hi folks,
Would be very interested in people's opinions as to how today's detergents stack up against the old vintage ones which I guess most of us grew up with.
I realise a lot of the brands are still around but do you think that changed formulas, perfumes, etc make these better than the old ones.
I personally think the older formulations worked better, as from what I do recall watching mother do our laundry, our clothes back then seemed to be much cleaner than what our clothes do these days.
This might have to do with (and I am only speaking from my mum's ways of doing things) back then I believe the norm was that detergents were simply poured straight out of the spout in the box and not measured out like thay are today, this of course led to enormous amounts of suds being created,(and likely suds lock as well.)and maybe this led to the appearance of cleaner clothes, although I do maintain clothes seemed to be cleaner back then.
I think that some of todays detergents are pretty average performance wise, i.e. Surf, Spree, Fab and the like and yet they used to be leading brands when I was a kid and indeed some of mum's friends used to swear by these brands and would not change for anything,(for the record Mum was a Rinso gal and nothing else for her.)
Liquids were unheard of back then also and as far as I can recall liquid Aura ws the 1st here in Aus,(happy to be corrected if wrong about this.)and it did not work too badly but it was not as good as most powders.
Looking forward to your views guys.
Thanks
Steve.

 

[polkanut]

When I was a kid,

Mom, and Grandma Wilde were dedicated Oxydol users. Grandma Baumann was a loyal Instant Fels user, and I miss the old formula Rinso, also miss LaFrance & Blu-White.

 

[danmantn]

I can't speak for vintage brands, but about the only thing I have found modern that seem to work are Oxydol (powder), Cheer powder, and Amway's SA8 powder. I do use Target's Up and Up simply because it smell's like vintage 80s Dynamo so much--use it for sheets and towels. Fuller Brush's detergent seems to do a good job, but is expensive, even at the outlet.

 

[passatdoc]

My mother found that "dirt can't hide from new intensified Tide". Tide, first and always. Bear in mind, detergents had phosphates in them back then, so it's not surprising that they appeared to do a better job.

In some California markets and discount stores catering to Latino clientele, you can sometimes see detergent imported from Mexico (technically illegal, since it contains phosphates), sometimes Ariel, sometimes another brand in an all-plastic sac package with only Spanish labeling (can't remember the name). The latter brand has instructions for washing by hand in a tub of water as well as instructions for automatics. So for people who washed by hand in Mexico, it's a brand they might recognize.

I'm not really familiar with machine washing methods in Mexico (i.e. FL vs TL), though the proximity to the USA would tell me that a lot of used TLs make their way to the Mexican second-hand market. I've heard of people who post here about buying Ariel in Latino markets in the US for top loaders, but I don't know whether Ariel from Mexico is intended for use in front loaders, in terms of low sudsing. Perhaps it is ok in a FL, assuming that a lot of people who buy new machines in Mexico use front loaders. Given that many areas of Mexico suffer from chronic drought and water shortages, using FLs would make sense.

I've seen the latter for sale at Big Lots, a chain of discount stores in the US that often sell close-out merchandise at large discounts. However, sometimes the stores customize their inventory to match their clientele. There are two Big Lots stores near me, one of which is within walking distance of a heavily Latino neighborhood. They consistently carry the Mexican detergent in the clear plastic bag. The other store, in a former supermarket space, is twice as large but in a non-Latino area, and does not carry Mexican detergent.

The Latino customers buy it because the brands are familiar to them, plus they clean better than domestic, non-phosphated detergents in otherwise similar wash settings. However, I doubt if most of the Latino buyers are aware that the imported detergents contain banned phosphates.

addendum: the smaller store (near a Latino neighborhood) used to have a nice selection of coffee and tea. The coffee was either whole bean or ground, and often upscale "gourmet" brands on close-out. In particular, one could often find large cans of Melitta coffee for $3-3.50, or boxes of Twinings tea (20 tea bags) for $2. Recently, I was shopping there and could not find the coffee/tea aisle, only a small section with instant coffees. The son of a good friend worked at that particular store as a stock boy during senior year of high school and through the summer, before starting college this fall. He explained that gourmet coffee and tea did not sell well with the heavily Latino clientele, so they got rid of the section and only sell instant coffee, and only imported Mexican herbal teas. When I countered that the other nearby store still sold ground/whole bean coffee and British tea, he replied that individual stores are now customizing the inventory to match the clientele. The result is that Anglo customers who used to frequent the Latino store now go to the other store, which carries merchandise they are more likely to purchase (e.g. Melitta ground coffee and Twinings tea rather than Nescafé and yerba matté).

 

[polkanut]

Jim,

I agree with you. People just continue to buy what works for them, and what they are familiar with as a rule.

 

[passatdoc]

Agree, polkanut. If I were newly arrived from Mexico, not only would I buy what is familiar, but if I also tried a US detergent, I would conclude that Mexican detergents do a better job of cleaning. I doubt if many of the recent immigrants know about phosphates or their ban in the USA.

 

[iheartmaytag]

The two Mexican detergents we get here are Foca and Roma. Both are loaded with phosphates, but very sudsy even in a TL machine.

I would think that the Mexican market would have access to new machines, since most of them are made there.

As for Vintage,
My mother always used Cheer, or Tide sometimes ALL. Tide started giving her a terrible rash and we got away from it for years and when we lived in IL, she used a lot of Oxydol. Now that I do all the wash, it's pretty much Tide in one form or another.

 

[strongenough78]

Ahhhh I miss the vintage ones!

My Mom was an avid Arm & Hammer user. She also kept a small bottle of Wisk around to use as a pre-treater for stains. She'd occasionally use Ajax, Dash, Gain, and when the first Tide with Bleach came out, she started using that. My Grandmother on my Dad's side used Dash exclusively. I miss the smell of vintage Dash and wish they would bring it back. She's now had to switch to All since the demise of Dash. My Grandmother on Mom's side used Tide, then Tide with Bleach when it came out. I agree clothes seemed to come out much cleaner and brighter back then compared to now. I myself have switched back to Arm & Hammer. I was using Gain since I LOVE the scent, but Arm & Hammer is actually cheaper and I like the results a bit better too. And now that I've started using STPP I'm very happy with the results I get.

 

[strongenough78]

Twinniefan....

The only vintage liquid I can think of that was used here in the States is Wisk. It's been around for many, many years. And back when I was a kid, it was highly concentrated. My mom used to use it as a pre-treater. But on the occasion when she ran out of her usual powder, she'd use it in the wash. She had to be very careful with it, cause even with a large load of heavy clothes, a small amount would create mountains of suds, and she'd sometimes have to put everything through a second rinse. In fact, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but Liquid Wisk was around since the 50's I think. Possibly the 60's for sure.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Strongenough78
Yes, WISK For that "Ring Around The Collar"

Besides WISK, I think ERA was the only other Liquid.

 

[brisnat81]

Hi Steve,

I would disagree. Mum used to spend hours soaking and scrubbing, with oxygen bleach, Preen and Sard Wonder Soap. Mum never got rid of the nappy bucket, it just switched from holding Nappies to soaking clothes.

Stuff did come clean, but she put a heck of a lot of effort into getting there. That was with SA8 as the Detergent through the 70's and 80's.

These days, I add a scoop of Drive with no additives or pretreating and 99% of all stains come out in the wash.

I think the enzyme technology has evolved greatly.

Nathan

 

[strongenough78]

iheartmaytag.....

I forgot about ERA. How long has that been around? And that's exactly what Mom would use Wisk for, that ring around the collar, and other stains such as grass stains and such lol.

 

[iheartmaytag]

Era has been around for a long time, maybe not as long as WISK, but I remember Mom trying a sample one time, and didn't care for it that much. She did keep WISK for pre-treating. My Dad was a welder so he managed to get into a lot of stuff that required pre-treating.

 

[ronhic]

for the record Mum was a Rinso gal and nothing else for her.

...and so was mine...

Until, that is, they stopped making it. Then she went to OMO and in 1989, OMOMATIC.

I have a 'thing' for Levers detergents. Give me Drive, OMO or Surf any day over the Cold Powers, Dynamo's etc....though I will use DUO and BIOZET without complaint.

I'd have to agree with Nathan to some extent. Years ago collars and cuffs would be scrubbed, spots sprayed and whole items soaked prior to the wash. Mum's cupboard always had Bio-add, Sunlight soap and a can of Preen and then Nappisan in later years. They've mostly gone now....well, the bio-add and Napisan have....

I think this is partly because she shifted to Front Load in 1989 and just finds she doesn't need to soak anymore but prior to that, yep, the nappy bucket saw stirling service in their house too....

So I do think that modern detergents clean better and for less product.

What I miss is the classic, slightly soapy smell of old Omomatic....proper 3/4 or 1 cup formula....

....lucky I have 2 boxes that I treat myself to every now and then...

 

[launderess]

The Little Blue Jug Is Dynamo!

Recommened by women who used to use powders!

IIRC, Dynamo came out before Era (protein gets out protein was the slogan for the later).

When Dynamo was lauched in our area, every home got a nice sized sample bottle complete with measuring cup. Years later one still has and uses that Dynamo cup! *LOL*

Vintage detergents vs modern, well that is probably going to depend much on what sort of stains and soils make up a bulk of the wash. The old phosphate laden formulas were great for ground in dirt and such, but on their own wouldn't do much to shift greasy/oily stains, as well as those from protein, fruits, gravy and so froth. For that we have enzymes to thank, and I for one wouldn't want to go back.

Enzymes allow doing the wash not only at lower temperatures instead of hot or boiling water, but lower pH (less need for all that washing soda or other alkaline substances to shift oils), which extends textile life.

Being as all this may, some vintage products are streets ahead of what is offered today. Fels Naptha soap will remove stains that other detergents/washday products can't touch.

"Ring Around The Collar",

Wisk, was around for ages (it first came in a can, then switched to bottle), and though lacked enzymes in the original formula, was good for ground in oil stains because of the high level of surfactants (much like soap) that dealt with such stains. Fels soap (which in it's original formula contained a form of petrol), can remove the same soils, and is still used by many for that purpose.

 

[strongenough78]

Ronhic

We still have Rinso here. In fact I see it all the time at the 99 cent store. Classic formula in both liquid and powder.

 

[launderess]

Lever Brothers USA

Or whomever owned the brand name "Rinso" sold it off awhile ago.

The new owners of the detergent mainly deal with "99 cent" stores in the United States, and such.

One can still also find "Rinso" in places such as Oz, but not sure if it is still made by Lever Brothers.

 

[mrb627]

Well....

For Liquid, I would welcome back the vintage Wisk. Love the smell of that stuff.

For Powder, I can almost remember the smell of All Temperature Cheer.

Malcolm

 

[passatdoc]

Fresh Start

Fresh Start was the first ultra-concentrate. I started using it in the early 80s, when I was in an apt with a downstairs laundry room. Much easier to tote a bottle with a handle and a cap than a big box of powder down the stairs while also managing a full laundry basket. It smelled nice, worked well, you only needed one small capful for a full load, and I believe it was also low sudsing (most likely would have worked well in FLs).

At one point it was sold in large plastic buckets at Costco (neé Price Club) and I still have one of the buckets in my garage. I use it as a trash receptacle for dryer lint and used dryer sheets.