Powder vs. liquid detergent

[frontloaderfan]

You're lucky, mine doesn't even have a heater or a drum light. Strictly BOL. You can see them at the bottom of the "Pedestals or no pedestals" thread. I wish I had spent a couple of hundred more and got some nicer features...

 

[mrboilwash]

Hi Ryan, what is considered hard water (7 gpg) in the US is still considered soft water in Germany.

1 gpg (Grain per Gallon) = 0,9591 °dH (Deutsche Grad)

means your 7 gpg are only about 6,72 °dH

< 8,4 °dH is Soft (in Germany)
8,4 - 14 °dH is Medium
> 14 °dH is Hard

 

[ronhic]

Ryan

Given the above information and how strong a performer Persil is, I think you should try the dosage for 'soft' water and 'medium' soil level and see if you're happy with the results.

When we lived in the UK, I used to use the lowest dose - soft water/light soiling. This was in London which has hard water, but I used to add Calgon gel to negate the hardness.

I never had a problem with stains.

 

[aamassther]

Your set is the one I recommended to a friend, they like them. It's a good, sturdy machine.
Sound advice from Ronhic, I started with soft water, medium and was able to back down, depending on the load. For a lights load of polos and t's 60cc, sturdier, dirtier stuff closer to 100cc, my massage linens 120cc.
I use megaperls color for darks.

 

[frontloaderfan]

mrboilwash: Danke der Aufklärung! I had forgotten how hard the water is in Germany.

Chris: Thanks for the suggestion! I will definitely try that next time. 270g Persil is a TON for a frontloader. Talk about overkill! It also says that it contains water softener, an added bonus. I recall a news spot in Germany where they were saying most good detergents actually contain water softener anyway and that Calgon was just using their "Washing machines live longer with Calgon" slogan to scare people into buying something they didn't need.

Todd: I've had them just over a year now and so far they've been an awesome set! Since I got the government mandated bugs worked out (more water and unplugging the water temp sensor), the washer has been a real performer. I haven't had any of the problems with either of them I had read about online.
I think I'd like to get the Color Megaperls next too. I used them from time to time in Germany as well. If you place an order over $90.00 from the Persil store, you don't have to pay for shipping, so maybe next time I'll order both and stock up for a while.

 

[MrX]

Front loaders are most definitely designed for use with powders. In fact, they're probably more powder-friendly that traditional top loaders as they even come with a dispenser drawer that automatically disperses the powder and adds it to the wash at the right time (and does it twice if you've a prewash selected).

I use both powders and liquids for different purposes.

For general, light washing where I don't want to remove stains, I use Persil Small and Mighty liquid (biological version). It's much less likely to cause colours to fade and it seems to do a reasonably good job on most items.

For anything with a serious stain and also for all of my white clothes, towels etc, I just use regular biological powder either Ariel or Persil.

I find you can use those powders with everything, but they do start to fade dark colours and jeans much more rapidly than liquids.

 

[aamassther]

Ryan, with your modifications, your machine sounds like the 2000 era frigidaire I had. Did a good job cleaning with plenty of water and 4 rinses.
Productswithstyle.com or persil store both have single pkts of persil with free shipping, you don't need to spend their minimum that way. I buy my somat powder that way. 20 bucks, no shipping. Loaded with phosphates.

 

[MrX]

It's not just US detergents that hang around afterwards!

Ariel (P&G top of the line detergent in European markets) is very pungent. It's hard to describe the scent as it's not floral and it's not pine, it's just 'Ariel' but it's definitely designed to hang around.

Persil (Unilever version) also has microcapsules which seem to retain its scent for a very long time. It's not an overpowering scent, but it's very distinctively 'Persil'.

i've noticed that CIF cream now suddenly smells rather like Persil powder too. I wonder if Unilever's just using the same perfumes to scent it.

Persil liquids here have quite a difficult to describe scent too. It's quite sharp, but not citrus and it's not at all floral. It's not an unpleasant smell but it's very definitely artificial and I'd immediately associate it with Persil.

Henkel Persil seems to be far less pungent!

 

[frontloaderfan]

I used Ariel Futur a couple of times but I recall I didn't like the scent of it as much. I think my favorite, after Persil Megaperls, was Frosch powder (I probably just like the pretty tin in came in). It seems there are a lot of very "chav scented" (love that term!) detergents here in the US. Things like "floral explosion" (sounds like something Paul Lynde would do during sex) are just too overpowering for my taste.