Persil Pearls (US) Discontinued

[logixx]

Concentrated vs. just powder

When purchasing laundry detergent in Germany, one must differentiate between "compact" and regular powders. Concentrated or compact powders are usually sold in plastic bags, while regular powders are sold in cardboard boxes (sometimes touting 100+ loads). The unfortunate thing is that manufacturers add a lot of fillers to the regular detergents and frequently less active ingredients. That is why all "large box detergents" received worse tests scores than their concentrated counterparts. P&G's Ariel was the most noticeable case: Ariel Compact did excellently, while the formula in the large box failed completely.

Personally, I never cared for the Megaperls because some always get stuck in the dispenser, while powder dispenses without problems.

OT: over here, Henkel has released three new Vernel flavors called Vernel Suprême that are "inspired by fine French perfume", as well as a liquid "sauber und glatt" that's supposed to make ypur laundry "clean and smooth" by making ironing easier.

 

[launderess]

"clean and smooth" by making ironing easier"

Fabric softeners or conditioners have been making that claim for years now. To an extent it is true, but one supposes modern formulations have added something extra.

Laundries use fabric softener/conditioner if things aren't going to be starched to help things feed easily through ironers/mangles.

P&G offered Downy "Advanced" which was great for smoothness/wrinkle free laundry. Thing one remembers is that when laundry was spun after final rinse with the stuff, water had a sort of foamy look which was interesting.

Anyway it didn't last. By the time finished one bottle and went to look for more, Downy Advanced was discontinued.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2446393/anyone-remember-downy-advance

 

[mrboilwash]

Wouldn`t surprise me at all if Persil Megaperls were gone for good in the US.
Henkel`s Persil is not the well known market leader for over a century in the US as it has been here. As a newcomer it might be a wise move to focus on products that actually sell and as a matter of fact powders are not that popular anymore in the US as they used to be.
Then if you don`t follow the "start filling washer, add detergent, add clothes" routine for TLs you might end up with spot bleaching which means the clothes are ruined. New TLs might have lid locks which don`t allow for a tried and true routine so I guess they decided to go the "follow washing machine instructions for adding detergent" path.
Anyway, spot bleaching doesn`t shine a good light on a new product and as a newcomer they probably can`t afford a single unhappy customer.

Launderess while your`re absolutely right that FS has always been beneficial for ironing, I think Alexander was referring to a new Persil liquid detergent that claims to lessen the need for ironing. No idea how that is accomplished haven`t had a look at the ingredients so far, might be polymers, I don`t know. Besides of that there are a few new upscale Vernel versions out now.[this post was last edited: 5/13/2017-03:27]

 

[frigilux]

Have noticed the shelf space given Persil products has shrunk dramatically at the HyVee grocery store I frequent. The pacs and pearls are gone. ProClean and ProClean 2-in-1 liquids are still on offer, but have been downsized to one row each on the bottom shelf. Quite a demotion for what is considered a premium detergent. There used to be several rows of each variation on the prime real estate arm-level shelf.

I use only the ProClean 2-in-1 version, as CR scores it substantially higher for stain removal that regular Pro-Clean and other Persil variations.

Always thought the pearls might migrate to the boot of my front-loader. Anyone found that to be true?

 

[iej]

I don't think Henkel would have really considered top loaders with agitators when they were designing MegaPearls.

They were a convenience format aimed entirely at front loaders with dispenser drawers in Europe. The idea is they eliminated messy, dusty fine powders while making the machine's dispenser drawer's job a little easier as they tend to flush into the drum more effectively than some powders.

Henkel doesn't sell detergents here in any format. We only have Unilever, P&G and store brands in the mainstream detergent space with R&B in the dishwashing and niche laundry space along with various eco brands like Ecover and Merhod etc, so I've only ever used them while living on the continent.

I can't speak for all of Europe as different countries have different marketing approaches to these products but here in Ireland powders have gone from dominant to still mainstream but definitely in fairly rapid decline.

The arrival of very concentrated liquids seems to have been the death knell for powders here both because they're well marketed and seem to be generally very effective.

From what I gather, liquid detergents are easier to produce but, one would wonder about all extra plastic that is now replacing what were pretty simple, cardboard boxes that held powders throughout all those decades.

We're now using a lot more plastic jugs and even if 95% of them end up being recycled, it's still a lot of plastic waste we probably didn't need to deal with.

 

[DADoES]

 
Friend reported there were no Power-Pearls on the shelves at the Target of target.

 

[launderess]

Gone from Walmart

So that's it then, isn't it? If where it all began no longer stocks the power pearls, then it's official.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Persil-P...Scent-Powder-Laundry-Detergent-89-oz/42417854

Still you never know; Persil is known for stain removal and outstanding whiteness; something you cannot get in certain instances from a liquid alone. Nearly every European consumer testing group is unanimous; liquids/gels are not good for badly marked laundry. As such cannot imagine Henkel is going to allow Tide to remain #1 as it were when it comes to that area. I mean how can a laundry detergent brand claim to go against P&G when it cannot beat TWB?

Thus mayhaps Henkel has called a "time out" while looking to solve some of the issues with Power-Perls.

Simple solution would simply make the stuff a compact powder as Persil is sold also in Germany.

Pulver ist besser!

https://www.test.de/Waschmittel-Pulver-ist-besser-4324833-4324838/

 

[iej]

The only liquid system I've found worked is Miele TwinDos but that's effectively doing exactly what a powder does by adding a squirt of peroxide type oxygen bleach at the appropriate time in the cycle.

My whites are coming out absolutely flawlessly with that approach.

It basically comes down to needing to add oxygen bleach to your whites whether that's integrated into a powder or added as a booster with a liquid.

Without bleach : dingy whites.

 

[logixx]

Our consumer magazine tested the TwinDos system by Miele and rated it worse than powders for cleaning and whitening, unfortunately. Maybe Unilever will bring out a bleaching liquid, as they already have a dishwasher gel with oxy bleach "pearls" in it.

 

[iej]

I wouldn't rate it as any better than powders, but I have found TwinDos works pretty well and I like the relatively neutral scent it leaves behind. It leaves an extremely mild non-floral scent that's a little like Unilever Persil liquid but much less clingy.

The main thing I'm finding is that in a household that has multiple users of the machine who are very heavy handed with dosing detergent, and in an area that has exceptionally soft water, I have been able to cut our detergent use quite dramatically while getting very good results. Also there's absolutely no mess in the laundry room.

So, overall I'm quite happy with TwinDos and it's working out pretty economical given the price of main-stream TOL detergents here (probably much more expensive than Germany) and its tight control of dosage.

Just looking at https://shop.supervalu.ie/shopping/household-cleaning-liquid/c-150302170 to compare with German or US prices.

1.4l of Persil Small and Mighty Bio liquid (40 wash) - €14.40 (US$15.74/ £12.22)
2l of Ariel at full price €12.60 (US$ 13.78 / £10.69)
Store brand (actually pretty good) 28 wash . €2.45 ($2.68/ £2.08)

Powders : https://shop.supervalu.ie/shopping/household-cleaning-powder/c-150302165
40 wash Ariel bio €9.00 ($9.84 / £7.63)
45 wash Persil bio €9.30 ($10.17 / £7.89)

I may just switch back to using either Ariel or Persil and a wash booster when I run out of my huge supply of free TwinDos cartridges though as they are quite pricy if not on special offer.

Although, they're still not that much more expensive than a full price pack of Persil here and the bleach cartridge lasts ages as it doesn't use all that much.

 

[imperial70]

Laundress should have her own sydicate

in either a newspaper or webcast. I enjoy reading your posts very much and always look forward to them.

 

[iej]

Maybe a YouTube channel sponsored by Tide or Persil

 

[launderess]

Mark my words

Soon there will be a glut of Persil power pearls on fleaBay going for insane money. *LOL*

 

[wishwash]

I've never been a fan of Persil. It cleans OK but I don't like the scent at all. If only we had a detergent exchange here, it would save that bottle from just sitting in my laundry room!

 

[logixx]

Here are some pics of Henkel products at our local drugstore. It seems all the inventory of Persil and Perwoll was somehow shoved into the detergent aisle (and I didn't even take a picture of everything).

Besides the three Vernel scents, there are also new Persil Sensitive Pods with "real soap and almond milk".

 

[iej]

Just looking at the shelf price tickets there in Germany. That's running at considerably less than half the price of equivalent Unilever Persil here in Ireland.

 

[launderess]

Methinks Henkel/Persil Is Feeling The Heat

Now that many German consumer testing sorts along with Internet chat have said you can get just as good results with cheaper products, such as Aldi's detergents.

Same here really with P&G. Tide began stumbling during last recession when many consumers were forced by financial circumstances to look elsewhere. Funny thing was most discovered that other products cleaned just as well as Tide for less.

One used to rarely see Tide on sale, nowadays however you cannot help but to find most versions on special offer somewhere. If one plans ahead and stocks up.....

 

[logixx]

Discounter brands have been almost as good as / as good as / sometimes even better than the "big name" products from Henkel or Procter for years now. This holds true for laundry and dishwasher detergents. Why pay 25 Cents per load when using Persil Megaperls 360° Cleanliness and Care... when I can get the same clean for just 11 Cents from Aldi etc.?

 

[launderess]

Laundry detergent market is what one would call "mature&

Like toothpaste, toilet tissues and a host of other products there is only so much you can do to differentiate one from another.

Leaving aside proprietary and or patented bleaching and whatever systems most detergents pretty much are the same under the bonnet. What changes are the endless variations of scent and promised qualities.

Persil from Germany attained near cult status here in USA because there was nothing like it on market. Especially if one owned a front loader from Europe such as Miele. It really has only been rather recently that American detergents have dropped high frothing ingredients for instance in favor of "HE".

As others have frequently pointed out there is nothing "special" about Persil in its native territory.

 

[wishwash]

Where are you finding Tide on special offer? The best I've ever seen on Tide is one dollar off.