Now I'm Getting Scared

[launderess]

Went down to our local Ace Hardware as my Jiffy Steamer was leaking (again), and was out of my favourite epoxy (Seal-All), and as per usual found myself stopping in the detergent section. As with several other stores I've visited recently, powdered detergents, including Tide were almost totally absent! Did notice that the 2x liquid version of Tide Coldwater is now in the same Tide bottle as every other liquid detergent from Tide, but we're not on that right now.

Tide with Bleach powder is the number one selling detergent in the United States, with other versions not far behind. As liquid detergents cannot have oxygen bleach, what is going to happen? Who is responsible for this?

May have to stock piling Persil in case this anti-powder hate spreads across the pond.

L.

 

[DADoES]

WM and local grocery still have selection of powders ... but not everything I'd prefer they carry.

 

[washabear]

In my area, Target seems to have the best powder selection, albeit small compared with the liquids. It is dominated by Tide variants, but I usually see others as well, including Cheer, Gain, Arm & Hammer, and Surf. My mom buys Gain powder there; most of the supermarkets here don't seem to carry that anymore.

 

[sudsmaster]

Liquid detergents can't have oxygen bleach? News to me!

 

[brisnat81]

Unilever Persil

Is Omo, or Omomatic.

No sign of powders dissappearing in Australia.

Omomatic is reccomended by most FL Manufacturers here.

I doubt Powders will dissappear any time soon in the rest of the world outside the US.

Our powders are that concentrated, that a 50mL scoop (1/5 of a cup) is ample for most loads.

 

[askomiele]

I heard that to push people into cooler temps. powders are getting out of order because of their slower dissolving acts. But that's rediculous! It takes only a few moment longer to dissolve them completly. Over here powders are still prefered above liquides for price and cleaning perfomance. All powders are concentrated over here as well. So 1/5 of a cup will do the trick.

 

[frigilux]

I'm noticing the same thing, Launderess. The powdered detergent sections are shrinking rapidly around here, too.

I'm using powdered SA8 as my daily driver now, along with UK Persil (rinses cleaner than even SA8, so I use it for loads of bath towels) and UK Ariel (love the scent!). I doubt any of those will go liquid-exclusive any time soon.

Except for Woolite For Darks and Cheer For Dark Colors, I've not purchased a laundry product off-the-shelf for quite awhile. I'm loving Quixtar's SA8, Tri-Zyme Booster and All-Fabric Bleach.

The dollar's weakness overseas has meant getting my fix of UK detergents is costing a ridiculous amount of money. My last order (one large box each of Persil and Ariel) came to nearly $175. It's the shipping, of course, that's the killer.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Gene, do you mean shipping from overseas or from the dealer to your house? Places here that sell Miele vacuum cleaners sell the Persil detergent, not that it is cheap. Vacuum dealers up there don't sell it? Targets by me usually have powder Tide HE. Keep Warm! Tom

 

[jasonl]

Food City still has a selection of powders but even that's shrinking.

 

[whirlcool]

A few months ago WalMart announced that they are phasing out powdered detergents completely. They cited enviromental reasons (packaging) as one reason.
We've switched back to powders after we noted that it seems that liquid detergents can make out TL machine smell musty. When we use powdered detergents this doesn't happen.
Our local Miele dealer sells both Persil powder and liquid detergents.
But I am worried about them. We have been dealing with this particular dealer for several years. They have always been very service oriented. But when I went in there a few weeks ago to buy a new HEPA filter for our Miele vac I noticed that all the floor displays were gone. No demo units at all. They were also a sewing center, and all the sewing machines were gone. I asked to talk to Taylor, their repair guy and was told he no longer works there. This was a family owned business and the woman that was in there was one I had never seen before. When I looked at their stock of bags and filters almost all was gone. They didn't even have my HEPA filter in stock. I asked the woman working there what was going on, she said that the place was still owned by the same family, but that they are "reorganizing". Hmm, looks more like going out of business to me.

 

[launderess]

Miele Bags

I've got several cases, if things get bad. Just let me know what you need.

 

[laundryshark]

Hy-Vee Store Plumb Out of Gain Powder!

That's what I found out this morning while at a local Hy-Vee Store, but managed to buy four 63-load boxes of Tide with Bleach. Got enough powder in the closet to last at least a year or more. *grins*--Laundry Shark

 

[peterh770]

"A few months ago WalMart announced that they are phasing out powdered detergents completely. They cited enviromental reasons (packaging) as one reason."

Yes, you know those plastic bottles break down in landfills SOOOOO much more quickly than those cardboard boxes...
[/sarcasm]

 

[rolls_rapide]

Pardon my ignorance...

...but I thought liquid detergents cost more to ship around (they are comprised of water after all!).

Surely powders are the most concentrated form; and the 'Compact', 'Micro', 'Ultra', 'Futur' concentrated versions, even more so. (Concentrated/compact powders disappeared years ago in the UK, to be replaced by those infernal tablets). Bring back Ariel 'Futur', I say!

Standard powders are still available in the UK, as you know, but they seemed to go through a bit of a packet 'downsizing' a few years ago: their concentration may have been improved at that point.

So what is WalMart thinking???

 

[frigilux]

Tom---I get German (Henckel) Persil online from a source in the USA, but I've come to prefer the British Unilever version. The only place I know to get that is from a British product importer (Brit Foods Superstore). I believe the Miele dealers sell only the Henckel version.

In short, yes, the UK detergents are shipped to my house from England. The Unilever version has a different scent than Henckel's (which smells of fresh rosemary) and it's hands-down the best rinsing detergent I've ever used.

I love the scent of Mexican Ariel (as I've said many times, it reminds me of a bag of crushed up Sweet-Tarts), but the citrusy scent of UK Ariel is probably my all-time favorite-smelling detergent. I love the smell of the laundry room and adjacent area when I'm using it.

 

[appnut]

Whirlcool

We've switched back to powders after we noted that it seems that liquid detergents can make out TL machine smell musty.

I've used Sears HE powdered detergent for over a year since I got my Fridgemore FLer. Not a hint of mustiness or mold. I thin the U.S. public has been sold a bill of bad goods when it comes to liquid detergent. A friend sent me some liquid Purex HE and Fresh Start detergent as well as some form of Ariel. The Purex liquid and Ariel rinse much better than the Sears powder. Really makes me mad WallyWorld is phasing iout powders all together. That's the only place I can get Fab powder. (I better stock up). An interesting observation, modern frontloaders that offer a prewash/soak option and allow you to load all the dipenseer segments up, say you have to use powder detergent for the main wash if you use prewash or soak first. Sucks. You won't have any powders to chose from and I am not a fan of Tide, never have been. Makes me itch very badly just coming in contact with the powder.

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm still seeing plenty of powders at the local Safeway and Pak 'n Save supermarkets.

Lately, been impressed with Sears Ultra Plus HE with Oxyclean. It seems to be significantly lower sudsing than their other Ultra Plus HE formulae, esp when heated to 160F in the Miele. Doesn't seem to oversuds like the other Ultra Plus formulae do. More suds with increasing temp than Persil, but still more than acceptable. Plus it seems to clean pretty well, even without any added STPP. Doesn't seem to leave the fabric as soft as Persil does, so I'm guessing it still packs more than a little sodium carbonate.

 

[cehalstead]

phase out

I don't mean to rain on anyone's opinion parade, but the way I read the article was that WM was only going to keep liquid detergents that were concentrated...they were not going to keep liquid detergents that were not concentrated. I don't remember reading anything that said they were not going to keep powdered detergents. I could be wrong.....please enlighten me if I am...

 

[selectomatic]

My Mama Always Said . . .

That powdered detergents didn't dissolve quickly enough -- especially in cold water.

I don't know whether that's true today, but a LOT of people still believe it. And marketing is all about ideas and concepts, NOT facts.

True or not, I'm sure that the belief has a lot to do with the fact that liquid detergents are more easily marketable.

-kevin