Poll: What detergent do you use for towels?

[hoover1100]

'harsh' detergents on towels

Well my towels are washed together with cleaning cloths, tea towels and dish cloths etc, which are often very heavily stained.

I see no reason to change my bath towel and bath mat more than once a week. Hand towels, tea towels cleaning/dish cloths etc are changed whenever they start to look at bit grubby.

All are washed on cottons 60c with Persil bio powder, which is the detergent I use on everything.

Matt

 

[retromania]

Re-strung my clothesline out back. Will start using it more. Have been using dryer plus a wooden drying rack indoors.

 

[retromania]

I have used the Seventh Generation free & clear powder and liquid and it does a good job, but I will be using my Sears powder laundry detergnet for quite a while as it is one of those jumbo boxes.

 

[DADoES]

 

Gain HE Powder, spiked with STPP and oxybleach, 50°C.

 

[autowasherfreak]

The same detergent I use for the rest of my laundry Arm & Hammer powder, is my detergent for the month.  I think when this runs out, I want to go back the the Sears Ultra Plus.

 

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I use only low-sudsing detergent with towels

I wash my towels with other bulky items like jeans. I never have a lint problem on the jeans, but I do this because I try to wash like-weight or similarly bulky items together.

Currently the detergent of choice is a new package of Fresh Start that I just got. I love it for it's low sudsing, as I hate to run a second rinse and waste all that water.

Recently I used-up one of those old boxes of Tide w/Bleach that I found at a local Rite-Aid drug store. There were five boxes, three made in 2001 and two made in 2004. I used the oldest of the 2001 boxes first. Other than lack of scent, the detergent worked great and it made less suds than I expected. I used it to wash my gym towels and gym clothes.

Generally though, I pay attention to what I'm using with towels due to sudsy rinses, so something low sudsing is always in order.

Gordon

 

[retromania]

Gordon

Do you have soft water where you are? We do here and I have a sudsing problem also if I'm not careful. That's why I like the Sears detergent for he machines. It is low-sudsing and does a really good job.

 

[jerrod6]

"I'm not sure why so many people use harsh detergents and "stain release" products for items that aren't that dirty. Bath towels need light, gentle cleansing without being heavy handed or build up residue. For this reason I use VASKA HERBATERGENT for my towels and linens. It's gentle and leaves your towels smelling wonderful and fluffy without the need for fabric softener. Highly recommended."

Hmm...sshrivastava

 

[haxisfan]

Separate mine into light/white and bright/dark colours:

Depending on how brightly coloured they are, I wash them at 60 or 70 occasonally even 80 degrees. I usually wash other items togehter with them but only small items like sturdy white socks and tea-towels, as this is the only chance for me to venture into a higher temperature cos' most of my clothes bear a label with strict orders to wash at 40 (although I often transgress and go up to 50) tut tut :-&#92

 

[haxisfan]

Opps... forgot to mention...

Of course I was also meant to say that I mostly use powder detergents!

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Andy -

Yes, Charlotte's water is mildly soft out of the tap. At least I think. We've lived places where we had incredibly hard water (like the water in Denver which as so hard you couldn't get soap to bubble in the shower) and it is nothing like that.

That said, my folks have a water softener to balance the Ph in their well water, and the result from that is VERY soft water that makes even rinsing your hands under the sink difficult. Charlotte's water is not that soft for sure. It's soft enough to make snow caps in the washer if the detergent isn't low sudsing.

When we lived in Denver I became very water conscious, so I hate to run a second rinse just because a detergent is too soapy. Not sure why this is such an issue with towels and not everything else, but that seems universal....

Gordon

 

[yogitunes]

Main driver is Sears Ultra Plus......but also what I find on sale or with a coupon.....one detergent is used mainly for all loads......powders or liquids

I also use color safe bleach as well as regular when needed......sometimes softner, if I have it....Hot or Warm wash, very rare to use a Cold wash, maybe for black jeans.....cold rinses only in the summer, warm in the winter.....

Some of you guys seems to be going back to the 70's when they had a seperate detergent for HOT, WARM, and COLD....then theres All Temperature Cheer....

 

[ozzie908]

Not sure about 3 kinds of detergent but I always have 2 I use a Biological powder for everything except darks then its a colour safe liquid and the reason for liquid is that at times the powder in the dark wash has not dissolved properly and left powder marks on the washing. I use FS on most things that are line dried and never on towels as they go in the dryer. Oh and I never use cold washes as cannot abide the mould in my door seal..

 

[retromania]

Gordon

That explains why when I use some types of hand soap my hands continue to feel slick even tho I rinse and rinse.

I have only become water conscious within the last few years I'm sorry to say!

Don't forget there some of us that live sort of close by that want to see the washer collection some time.

 

[passatdoc]

Gain HE powder. I save imported Persil (Henkel or Unilever) for my work clothes, nearly all of which are 100% cotton, wrinkle free office casual (khakis plus collared shirt). For sturdy cottons and towels, I use either Gain or Tide HE powder. From time to time, Amazon offers a good price on two- or four-pack purchases of Gain HE powder, so I have a several year supply stocked away---not because I hoard it, but because it's hard to find locally and the Amazon deals generally require a bulk purchase. I haven't tried the new concentrated HE powders, because I have a LOT of Gain and Tide HE powder to use up before it would be time to buy powder detergent again (I mean a matter of years).

 

[mtn1584]

I love a HOT water sudsy towel wash in my Speed Queen TL. I use powdered Cheer, and Ultra Suavitel.
MIKE

 

[dirtybuck]

The Weather Is Warmer!

I was wondering when members of the group will be hanging their clothes outdoors and the digital cameras brought out for pictures.

 

[dirtybuck]

DAMN!

I meant to post the above in a new thread! I'm gonna go ahead and do it anyway. Sorry for not paying better attention.

 

[drmitch]

I`m using Arm and Hammer liquid and I add some shavings of Fels Naptha for a pleasing scent.

 

[bajaespuma]

Well, since you asked...

I use Tide with Bleach and run them on the "Stain Cycle" of my LG Front loader (longer wash cycle that starts out lukewarm and then heats the water to hot {about 110 degrees F, on a good day} and then 3 cold rinses) because, I believe it was Laundress who said that the oxygen bleach in the detergent required lots of time and hot water to do its job and sanitize the load. I use fabric softener in the rinse and I throw everything in the dryer for fluffiness except for the washcloths which I line dry because I like them rough and scratchy for what they have to do. Because I'm such a cheapskate, I have towels that are more than 20 years old, but they seem to get better with age.

 

If the towels are white, I do them in the "Sanitize" cycle which heats the water to about 150 degrees F on a good day and in less than 7 hours. I use slightly less Tide with Bleach than in a regular cycle to avoid foaming. Everything else is the same.