Powders vs Liquids

[pulsatron]

Hi people,
My local deli has not had my old favourite German Persil powder in for quite some time now, so I have been experimenting with different detergents and I find myself becoming a bit of a fan of liquids now,in particular the liquid Surf range,they are always reasonably priced and do seem to do a pretty fair job of cleaning the clothes.
I would be interested in some other opinions as to wether the liquids are preferred by you good folk or are powders pretty much the mainstay here.
I must say in is good to not have to worry about pre-dissolving the liquid as opposed to the powders,however I was mostly of the view that powders worked better,I also recall quite a long time ago I was told by as friend that some of the thicker liquids i.e. Dynamo and possibly liquid Omo were actually powders in a liquid suspension and when the liquid dissolved,the powder was dispersed in the wash, is this likely to be true I wonder?,perhaps some og you guys may know the answer,I must say though liquid Surf is thin and clear so I would say that is not the case with this one.
Cheers people.
Steve.

 

[gadgetgary]

In my Maytag Neptune........

I usually use powder for whites(I think it cleans better) and liquid for colors. And from another AW member, I always use a bit of the cheap fabric softener to cut the suds.
My current powder is Arm & Hammer, and liquid is Dynamo.

 

[seamusuk]

Liquid detergent?????

I personally dont use liquids- the reason being they tend to leave a gooey residue in the outer drums of front loading/ HE washers(99% of UK machines lol). Strangly the chemical that goes in to keep them liquid dosent disolve very well!! especially at low temperatures( I only use above 40 deg c once in a blue moon- think thats 110F).
Im currently using Sainsburys Megaperls in normal Bio and colour variants- they are kinda odd- not really a powder, more granular! and are concentrated to double the strength of normal powders. Looking on the Miele US website they may be made by Persil as I see they recommend Persil megaperls(not availiable over here!!

Seamus

 

[mattywashboy]

fantastic thread

you have just caught me in a turmoil myself. I'm looking to change my detergent and have never used liquids before. I was thinking Radiant liquid or maybe Dynamo. They had BioZet liquid for like a month here in WA so i missed that. Also i was wondering about using Matic detergents in top loaders, would they work as well as regular detergent but with less suds?, I'm sick of the Hitachi kicking up too many suds due to its vigourous wash action. My current powder is Bio Zet. I did use Spree liquid for a change but it looked too much like hand soap for me so i stopped using it. Any recommendations from the other Aussies would be great.
Good thread Steve
Matt

 

[portendere]

My problem with liquids

If you spill a powder, it's easy to sweep/vacuum/brush up.

If you spill a liquid, you've got a slippery, gooey mess.

Maybe I'm just clumsier than most.

 

[maytagbear]

Since my Maytag doesn't

have Automatic Temperature Control, I use liquids in winter, and powders in summer. Seems to work well enough.

I have read on this site that powders are better for vintage machines, but this is just a 9 year old n00bie...... (9 years, and I still think of it as my "new" washer.)

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[retromom]

Powder for this household!

I used to use liquids, but found they gunked up the washer. I am strictly a powder gal, and prefer the phosphate-laden Mexican detergents followed a close second by Tide with Bleach.

I continue to notice the incredible shrinking power section in the stores. There are more and more liquids taking their shelf space. I hope this is not a (no pun intended) "trend" to eliminating powdered detergents.

Venus

 

[frigilux]

Having used liquid a number of years, I've gone back to using powder. Had no particular problems with liquids, just wanted a change.

Hi Venus! Glad to see you posting again.

 

[retromom]

So Frigilux.....

What did you miss...my vast knowledge of everything appliance-related, Sophia Loren good looks, self-deprecating sense of humour, or my dry wit? ;-)

I'll be back.......

Venus

 

[pulsator]

Powder, powder, powder!!!! I only use Tide Original Scent Powder!!!!! Oh, well, with the exception of my dad's Duet machine. I use liquid Ecos in that machine...

 

[nickuk]

It's good to keep both on hand

as the liquids do a better job at removing oily stains than powders, they dissolve easier on a really gentle front load cycle, are slightly easier on fabrics and are really handy for prewashing / pretreating / handwashing etc. They're also great for handwashing cooker shelves! Soak overnight in bio liquid, the dirt just floats off in the morning ;-)

Downsides of liquids I find are usually the scents are a little strong, and they are not as good at muddy stains (sorry for non technical language) as powder. Also, in the UK at least, no liquid contains any kind of bleach.

Personally I feel that the `powder for whites, liquid for deep colours' is an excellent philosophy because not only are those the ideal products for the job, you also have the advantages of each kind of detergent on hand.

It's true to say that liquids can do damage to a FL, even to the extent of wrecking tub bearings, but I think this is only the case when liquid is used all the time with big dirty loads on a warm cycle. Of course, if you do hot washes with powder, maintenance washes, dose properly etc I don't think liquid will be a problem. I have no evidence to support that though, I may be wrong.

Great thread. Seamus....yes, the Sainsburys stuff is Henkel but Jon and I never quite proved if it's Henkel Persil or a cheaper variant. I love the scent of the bio megaperls, and the whitening is superb. Rinsing was a little less than adequate for me but that's the only gripe. A fantastic value product too. What are the colour ones like? The JS color gel is also Henkel and is a a nice product though not quite so good at pretreating or rinsing as Ariel liquid IMO.

Regards

Nick

 

[seamusuk]

Sainsburys........

Hey Nick

The colour version is great as well- slightlly different scent but still very nice without being overpowering .
I have a full 36 scoop box of the colour and 3!! normal bio.(On special @ £1.12 for the 12 scoop or £2.17 for the 36!!!.
Can you see why I stocked up lol

Seamus

 

[zipdang]

Doin' my part to support the economy

I guess I'm a detergent slut. I've got piles of both liquid and powder. Currently my arsenal includes:

Seventh Generation powder
Seventh Generation liquid
Bio-Kleen liquid
Whole Foods 365 powder
Liquid Tide
Mrs. Meyers liquid

I'm sure my stockpile will get bigger before it gets smaller.

 

[polkanut]

There's a tug-o-war in our house as I prefer powder's and my wife prefer's liquids. When I do the laundry it's strictly Mexican detergents for this boy and Bluette bluing. When the wife does the wash it's liquid detergent from Aldi's or Purex Pure Rain and Mrs. Stewart's bluing. But regardless who does laundry, we both hang it outside to dry, weather permitting.

 

[pulsatron]

Follow up and thank you for the info

Wow! what a great response thank you one and all, although I am still a bit unsure about what I prefer perhaps the best suggestion is too have both at home and just alternate periodically.

Mattywashboy,
You asked about which liquids the Aussie folk here have tried well for my part I stay away from ones which seem thick and gluggy in particular Dynamo it is horrible and leaves streaks in your clothes I like the ones which are thin and clear you might likw to try the Surf range by Unilever,as I posted originally it is usually reasonably priced and seems to work fairly well although I must tell you it does foam up a bit in my Twin-Tub.
I counter this by using a little bit less than waht is suggested on the bottle.
We here in Sydney used to be able to get a brand called "Aura",which was made by an Aussie owned company by the name of Pascoe's which I think is based in your home state of W.A.,perhaps you can get it over there as it seems hard to find here in Sydney.
Remember "thin not thick",perhaps you might let us all know how your experimenting goes.
Thanks once again to all who responded.
Cheers folks.
Steve.

 

[pulsatron]

Folowing up the follow up!

Hi again Matt,
sorry I forgot your other query about wether Matic type detergents would work in top loaders or not well when my old front loader died,I still had a fair bit of low suds powder left (Fab-matic from memory),as well as Persil(Which does not foam up much anyway) and both worked perfectly well in the new Twin-Tub,in fact the instruction book from Haier suggests to actually low faom powder anyway,don't know why really.
Hope all this helps you.
Cheers.
Steve.

 

[spiralactivator]

I will use liquid if it is all that's available, but I have always preferred powder. Maybe 'cause I used coin-ops all through college, and it's much easier to measure a little bag of powder than lug a bottle of liquid all the way to the 'mat.

 

[sudsmaster]

I use powders for most wash, and liquids only for bath towels (leaves them a bit softer) and articles that can't take the harsher powders (rubber coated items, or silks/woolens).

I have read that consumer org testing has shown that powders clean much better than liquids. In fact, some liquids tested no better than plain water.

 

[jaxsunst]

I just switched to liquid Gain from powder Gain. It got difficult to find orginal scent Gain powder in this area. It seems to be working fine.