Powders on way out?

[sudsdudeshane]

I find it very sad that many supermarkets have chosen to not sell a variety of powdered detergent. Personally, I think powder cleans so much better on heavily soiled clothes. Alot of the liquids on the market today smell nasty and are watered down. I have no desire for my clothes to smell like Vanilla,Lavender, Citrus or Green Apples!! I wish P&G and Colgate and Redox would bring back the fabulous scents of yesteryear, such as the original Classic Tide,Oxydol and Ajax..Those were great smelling detergents!

 

[kenwashesmonday]

It's very tough to run a supermarket. No matter how large the store, new products come out every day, where do you put them? Gotta stock what people buy.

Ken

 

[tomturbomatic]

There is some hope, if you can use Tide HE. The powder is now being offered in large boxes and the nasty-smelling liquid is available in those huge jugs that have a valve like old ice-water dispensers that sat on the shelf in the refrigerator so that everyone had to hold the door open while the valve somewhat slowly filled each glass. Lots more power consumed and lots more frost buildup in the days when these were popular. I have not seen so much of the Free & Clear HE, or whatever it is called. I wish Wisk would make an HE powder. The tab formula was great, but tablets don't work in most HE machines because of the small amount of water, so they had to be smushed up into a powder before using. I guess this is another thing in which we older laundry enthusiasts are going to have to bend with the wind and accommodate the majority who prefer liquids.

 

[frigilux]

I've been using powders again after using nothing but liquid Tide HE for several years. If you want something approaching the vintage Tide scent, look for plain old Tide--not with bleach---Original Scent. It's fairly close to vintage. Unfortunately, plain, unadulterated Tide is hard to find on store shelves. I see it at Sam's Club.

And there's yet ANOTHER new version of Tide: Tide HP (with extra color-safe bleach). Saw it in powdered form at Sam's. I think that makes 38 versions----but the month isn't over yet, LOL.

 

[oxydolfan]

Powders have almost disappeared from my northern New Jersey supermarkets, and have, except for Tide in the smallest boxes and Ariel, have totally disappeared from stores in Brooklyn.

Many Target and K-Mart stores have some in stock (I bought two boxes of Surf at Target last night, they carry Cheer and Cheer Free, and Walgreens drugstores carry smaller boxes of All and All Free powder).

I believe supermarket sales are skewed by high sales of closeout liquids like Fab, Dynamo and Ajax, that are promoted at such unbelievably low prices compared to the higher-priced P&G and Unilever offerings, and even the Huish- and Manhattan Products-produced store brands, that the economically pressed shoppers with large families don't even consider the powders to be an economically wise choice anymore.

 

[westytoploader]

Liquids deteriorate the neoprene on the vintage Frigidaire pulsator diaphragms (except the 1-18 and some Rollermatics, which is made of a different material). One of the reasons why I will NEVER use them.

 

[oxydolfan]

I've been thinking that, if there was one product they could easily resurrect (besides old Oxydol, Dash, and Solo lol!) it would be Fresh Start!

It smelled fresh and clean, whitened and brightened, got out tough stains, and didn't fade the clothes! It was naturally low-sudsing and came in a bottle with a cap-the best of both worlds....

I would think that it could be considered an environmentally friendly product, since you could recycle the clear bottle like a soda bottle, and I remember getting a lot of loads out of it.

You know, I've been trying to tell people that the world would be a much better place if everyone would just follow my instructions, but they just won't listen....sigh....

lol

 

[launderess]

Fresh Start is still around, but for how much longer and or in the original formula is up in the air as the brand was recently sold.

Those small bottles weigh quite allot, would not be surprised if Fresh Start detergent is also high on washing soda, which not only would explain the density, but inexpensive price as well.

L.

 

[DADoES]

I got the last box of Tide Coldwater powder @ HEB this evening ... which is not to say they won't get more. That makes two unopened 31-load boxes I have, and a bit still left in an open box. Used it on a load of jeans (in warm water) last night. Very controlled sudsing, nice.

 

[DADoES]

http://www.nextag.com/Colgate-Palmolive-Fresh-Start-62681032/prices-html

 

[cycla-fabric]

Missing the Powder Detergents too!

I miss the varitety of powder detergents too, as I am not a liquid fan here. I have found Arm & Hammer still makes a good powder detergent (sold at BJ's) and find it works well and has a nice clean scent which is nice. I hope they keep the producing it in powder form as I do like it. I even wrote them and complimented them on the product and to keep on making it.

Cycla-Fabric

 

[oxydolfan]

I've often wondered if calling up these corporations and commenting on all of these changes would actually change anything.

 

[launderess]

Well in the case of several "vintage" detergent brands, probably not because both P&G, Lever Bros, and Colgate-Palmolive have been on a selling binge as of late, letting go well known brands such as Fresh Start, Oxydol, Biz, and so forth. The new companies,or rather company as Redoux brands seems to be snapping most of them up, seems more intent on "reinventing" the vintage brands by making them "modern" to appeal to a new audience.

Wonder if the patents/rights for various formulas and or scents were sold with the brands, or did they remain with the original owners.

L.

 

[frigilux]

In many of those cases, they just sell the name to the new company. Hard to know for sure without doing some brand-specific research.

 

[sudsdudeshane]

Powder

I found tonight at "The Winn-Dixie" a 263oz box of Gain Powder!! I had forgotten how nice this detergent smells..

 

[peterh770]

There are pallets of Tide CW at the Marietta Close-Outs store here in town.

While at my father's house this last weekend, I used Tide powder for the first time in a long time. Man, that stuff leaves clothes smelling sweet (as opposed to sour). Great stuff, but pee-yew!!!

 

[dixieland]

I still prefer powders. Tide Makes a good one and supposedly the Costco brand is good too. Next on my list is the sears brand.

 

[agiflow]

I like powders myself. Since the purchase of a new washer a few years ago i have switched back to Tide original scent powder. Great cleaner as is Gain and Gain smells better to boot, though the rinsing ability with heavier cottons is less then desirable.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Early Fresh Start in the 70s was very high in phosphates. It had enzymes that were good on protein stains but the enzymes that worked on oily soil came later and they are what made those powder ULTRA detergent formulas (Tide, Cheer, Wisk, etc) such great cleaners. So, it's not that great on oily soils. I still have some FS in a large plastic pail that I bought in the late 80s or early 90s from a Sam's Club in Sarasota.