"Safer" Commercial Laundry Products
If one were to persevere far enough, safe commercial laundry products can be found and purchased via an on-line janitorial supplier. For example: I’ve ordered Ecolab Brite White (although it’s on backorder and I've yet to audition it). It is a pre-measured powder, designed for residential type TL’s. I've also found Ecolab “Clearly Soft” online, but it’s $249 for a 5-gallon pail. They can keep it. Zep has built detergents and other commercial laundry products, some of which are designed for home-style, small machines. I've tried Zep “Vantio” (powder) which is a built detergent that has a (1% solution) 12.3 - 12.7 pH. And it’s designed specifically for residential style machines. Another is Zep “Zeplift,” an enzyme-based, powdered detergent. One of the best I've tried is Colgate Palmolive’s “Dynamo” (thick, blue liquid). It has (what they call) “special builders” but is not as caustic as some detergents with high concentrations of alkalies. It’s safer to use and still gets everything clean, including hair-dye-stained colored towels. I’m still working on finding a softener that’s to my liking. I’m very picky... Hate Downey, Snuggle, etc. And some of the dryer sheets can block your dryer’s air flow.
I can understand why commercial distributors keep a tight leash on to whom they sell products. Some of that stuff can really mess up your laundry and equipment if not used correctly (as already stated by launderess), not to mention: cause physical harm to the user. Also, there are a lot of DOT restrictions on transporting the really toxic laundry products. Give the UPS man a break... not an ‘Alkaline Break’.. LOL.
One more thing I thought of: Some of the commercial products have a limited shelf life. Take for instance, sour: (and sudsman, correct me if I’m wrong) It contains phosphoric acid, so it is dangerous if used incorrectly and without the proper protection, and probably comes only in large quantities, so it would probably expire before you could ever use it up at home.
I've been doing some homework on this, but I'm sure the pro's can elaborate with a lot more accuracy and experience, which I’d love to hear. I don’t want to sound like the know-it-all newcomer to the forum. It may be strange, but I just find the whole industry (machines and products) to be very interesting and enjoy reading about everyone’s cool machines and experiences. Low suds and high spins to everyone! Wash On! (corny, I know) Ha!