question for UK board members

[passatdoc]

Will be headed to Europe in a few months, mostly for business. Final stop before heading home to USA will be five days in London. Will be in central London using public transport, no rental car etc.

Where would be the best place, if any, to look for Persil? Just a market like Sainsburys or Tesco? Or are there other types of stores similar to US "discount" stores where one may find it for less? Is it always sold for the price imprinted on the box, or do retailers ever sell it for less? I'd like to bring home several boxes of Persil (not because of its royal warrant, but because it washes whiter, AND IT SHOWS....), either universal or coloured formula powder. Sometimes I pack them in checked luggage, with a zip lock bag for protection, but given that detergent is somewhat heavy, I think I would bring it home in hand luggage.

Question #2: is it ever sold in plastic pouches, or only in cardboard boxes. The only packages I have ever purchased (or brought back for me by friends) were always cardboard boxes. I realise that German (Henkel) Persil is not the same company, but I particularly like the plastic Henkel Persil pouches, because they're safer for packing in one's luggage. Sometimes the cardboard boxes break.

 

[superelectronic]

Head to the Supermarket....

As a native to London, I can happily say you'll be well enough served going to any of the major supermarkets for boxes of Persil...so that's Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda or Waitrose. They're all forever having deals on this or that detergent so you may well strike a bargain, e.g. Sainsbury's are selling Persil at half price for larger packets.

Do avoid the small "metro" or "local" branches of the supermarkets - they tends to charge an additional premium for the convenience factor. You should be able to find full-size stores without going too far outside Central London.

There are places that may sell detergents slightly more cheaply but they'll be off the beaten track and you might well have to have a membership card.

The price for a 50 wash box (that's 50 doses at normal soil in medium hard water) is in the region of £12 but will vary slightly from store to store. Prices are never on the box here.

Oh, and it's strictly cardboard boxes for powder here! The plastic "refill" sacks disappeared about 10 years ago.

Enjoy your stay!

 

[vacbear58]

From another London Al

(but not Alex)

Al has it right, there are plenty of large stores where Persil will be available, if you would like to email as and when you know where you will be staying it should be easy to give directions, it should be a short subway ride at most.

Although I don't collect washing machines (no room!) if you would like to meet up for dinner and maybe some appliance chat you will be very welcome - email address in profile

Al

 

[passatdoc]

The only UK Persil (Bio) box I presently have has "£2.99" imprinted on it and it's supposedly a 10 load box---though lasts much longer since I use only 30-45 ml per load in my FL. I wonder if it was some special promotion. In 2009 I brought home several 40 load boxes of Via (Unilever sells Persil as "Via" in Sweden) which were reasonably priced, like $8-9 per box. From the price information you provided, I should prepare myself for higher prices in the UK.

Larger boxes tend to be heavy, which can easily put one over the 50 lb weight limit for checked baggage. Fortunately, they (BA and US carriers) don't impose a weight limit for cabin bags as long as they meet the dimensions regulations, so I tend to carry heavy items in cabin baggage.

Speaking of laundry, when London hotels list "laundry facilities" in their amenities listings, does this generally mean a laundry where you send out a bag of soiled clothes and they send it back washed, or a self-serve launderette in the hotel? (in Australia, the latter is very common, particularly outside of CBDs). To me the word "facilities" suggests an in-house launderette where you do your own wash (fine by me).

The reason I ask is that, prior to London, I will be in a rural farm region of Eastern Europe, and the clothing already worn will be ready for a decent wash. I will be away 10 days all told, but it would be nice to travel with a smaller quantity of clothing that could be worn in Eastern Europe and then washed for reuse in London. That said, is it easy to find launderettes in central London? Second, do these establishments generally include dryers? Or do people bring their wash home and hang it up to dry? (not very practical if one is in a hotel). In the USA, laundromats (as they are called here) generally sell detergent (though many patrons bring their own), and offer change machines so one can insert paper money and receive coins for the machines. Is payment similar in UK, or do they accept tokens that one buys, etc?

 

[superelectronic]

The rising cost of clean clothes...

Washing powder has gone up in price a bit in the last couple of years but £2.99 for a 10 wash box of Persil is not far off what you'd pay for the smallest box now...it's still about £3. At 35-40 ml per load you'll certainly get FAR more than 10 washes!

Weight-wise one wash dose = 80g so the small box is 800g. One dose is 135ml with Persil powder.

The next size up is 25 washes = 2kg and priced in Sainsbury's today at £6.49.

HOTEL LAUNDRY:

means what it says - a full on service. It would be a very cheap hotel that expected you to schlep down to the laundry room or even the launderette! We do have launderettes in Central London if you fancy a trip out but they're not going to be cheap to use...maybe a shade less spendy than the laundry service. I suspect the washer alone will cost near £4 these days and probably equal that to dry (and finish up with that distinctive cremated smell that comes from all the fierce heat).

Hope that helps.

Alex

 

[jamiel]

Be careful with carry-on...just yesterday I was made to check a bag with a jug of Fresh Start (powder)...they said I couldn't carry it on. 2 best travel laundry stories...I'd been to Hong Kong before, and stayed at the Salisbury YMCA (perfectly fine hotel at the level of a Courtyard) and remembered that there were coin-ops there. A couple yrs later went back to HKG with my parents. They'd already been gone a week, are quite cheap for those sorts of things and were staying nearby at a 5* hotel (not the Peninsula, lol). I was staying at the same hotel as my parents and one afternoon my dad and I carried all the laundry over to the YMCA to do it...second story was with Brian and I...he uses a fair bit of laundry and we went to Europe for a week...Manchester, then Iceland for a bear run (!). Anyway, we checked into the rental apartment in Iceland and asked 'we need to find a laundromat'. The manager was extremely puzzled (wasn't a language barrier), but couldn't quite figure out what we wanted, until he said "oh, we'll do it for you, just leave it for the housekeeper. They did it that afternoon--no charge. Later we were discussing with the leader of Bears of Iceland and he said that no, that was customary...no charge, just leave it with the housekeeper.

 

[ronhic]

no charge, just leave it with the housekeeper.

Now that is service!

 

...if cash is a concern, check the prices....Personally, I prefer to hit the laundrette rather than pay someone else to do it. If you're staying near several large hotels, such as near Russell Square, then there is bound to be one somewhere....

 

[passatdoc]

I wouldn't expect the hotel in London to wash it for free, probably would cost a pretty penny.

In all but Sydney, every hotel I stayed at in more rural areas (including five star resorts) had guest laundries, I suppose due to shortage of labor in places like Kakadu National Park. They even provided free soap, and it cost I believe 50 AUS cents for a load and maybe 50 cents to dry. In some hotels, the laundries were free. I only wish I'd known this BEFORE I departed for Australia. The advice given to me (by both the travel agent and Rough Guide book), was that launderettes existed only in suburban areas and would be very difficult to reach without a car. Had I known that every one of my hotels save one had a guest laundry, I would have packed 2/3 less clothing.

The other area where one sees self-serve laundries in high-end environments is on cruise ships, I suppose in an effort to get passengers to pack more lightly.

That's really odd about being barred from bringing detergent on board. I understand re: liquid detergent, but I didn't think there was a ban on powders in their original packaging. The main issue for cabin bags to/from UK is that the US allows up to 22 inches/45 cm EXCLUSIVE of handles and wheels, and you lay the bag flat on the screening belt. If it doesn't fit in the overhead bin, the airline may check the bag for you (no cost), but they don't block you at security screening unless the bag obviously appears too large.

In the UK, 22 inches/45 cm INCLUDES the wheels and handles, and the bag must lie flat inside a screening tray exactly 22 in./45 cm long. If it doesn't lie flat, it can be checked through, but possibly at extra cost. I was very lucky last time I connected through Heathrow (from USA to another point in Europe). When I reached British Airways Terminal 5 on the interterminal bus, my bag was screened in the "ready to fly" line and determined to exceed UK rules. BA gave me a free tote bag to pack any essentials, then checked the bag for me without extra cost. However, I was a connecting passenger from American Airlines to its partner BA, and such connecting passengers had started their journeys with a "legal" bag on a joint ticket. I doubt if someone who began the journey at Heathrow would have had his oversized cabin bag checked for free, unless it was the only piece of luggage (in my case, I had already checked two bags and the cabin bag became checked piece #3. Normally, if you show up with three bags to check in Economy, you will pay $100 per piece over the allowed one or two free checked bags.

 

[launderess]

Speaking For Myself, and I am Unaimous

Has been our experience that:

Laundry Facilities - Means just that, equipment for hire (laundromat if you will)either in the building or in the suite.

Laundry Service - Someone else does the laundry, could be in house at an OPL, sent out, or in the case of property rental someone (housekeeper/cleaner) will do the "service".

Seeing hotel laundry rates both in this country and round the world, unless something must be dry cleaned, and or is complicated to launder/iron, one almost always better off doing the wash oneself. Have seen bills of >25USD for just one shirt by hotel service laundry. God forbid you ask for "rush" service! *LOL*

Carry On:

Sadly betweent the "war on terror" and airlines finding new and increasing ways to shake down passengers, yes you need to take care with what you attempt to either check or carry on to planes. The persons whom clean out rubbish bins must make quite a haul. Have seen persons dump everything from one or two offending items, to entire contents of suitcases (if not the case itself), to avoid paying what they consider outrageous fees.

My personal suggestion is to simply send the stuff back via postal service. It gives one a chance to interact with the "locals", and see a bit of where the natives hang out.

While powders are great, you'll get more either from "MegaPerls" and or other concentrated "powders" in that the smaller containers allow a higher product to weight ratio. Works great both for air travel or otherwise shipping home. IIRC, many EU and UK postal services across the pond have a version of "flat rate" boxes. That is all one can fit into a fixed packet goes at one rate regardless of weight.

Happy Shopping.

 

[ronhic]

2kg by sea will cost GBP13.22 and by air GBP23.37

 

Sending larger quantities by 'Parcel Force' isn't actually cheaper than sending 2kg 'small packet' rates above... 

 

[hoover1100]

While powders are great, you'll get more either from &#3

That's true, sadly, none of those are sold in the UK though.

I agree with what has been said above, you're best looking in larger supermarkets, perhaps check the wesites of places like Sainsburys and Asda to see which ones have the best offers and locate the nearest store to you.

Tablets might be another option, slightly more expensive to buy, yet have all the cleaning power of persil powder, and may be slightly smaller per wash to transport.

Matt

 

[ronhic]

ACtually

...with tablets, you can 'de box' them as they are wrapped in pairs...so you could ensure your 2kg limit is used to the max. Just be sure to put the top of the box and the ingredients list in...just in case...

 

[launderess]

Tabs

Crush em up and store in a (clean) glass or other container with a well sealing lid. This way you can dispense as much or little to suit dosage required, rather than be locked into a certain amount.

Did this whith the short lived Wisk tablets, and it worked quite well.

L.

 

[passatdoc]

@hoover1100: thanks for the advise. I did check Sainsburys' website and found a sale on Persil Bio this week. Will have a web=enabled Blackberry and possibly also a netbook computer in tow. I think as a tourist they are invaluable, not just to score deals at markets but to look up opening/closing times of attractions (British Museum, Kew Gardens, Tate Modern, etc.) as well as directions for clueless Americans.

Note: Sainsburys had a recipe idea for peach iced tea. How bloody American is that? Furthermore, while the recipe did state "brew 200 ml hot tea using Sainsburys Red Label", it didn't specify that it be prepared in a pre-heated tea pot with cozy. Maybe they assume that EVERYONE prepares tea in this manner, so it's unnecessary to specify how to brew.

 

[passatdoc]

changing luggage allowances

Usually, I bring two checked bags to Europe: one duffel filled with gifts for friends and relatives there, the other bag (wheeled duffel) with my own clothes. After distributing the gifts, the gift duffel folds down and rides home empty in the wheeled duffel. The latter is somewhat oversized (68 inches combined dimensions, vs 62 allowed), but as long as I adhere to weight limits, they never notice the slightly oversized dimensions (plus, if you don't overpack a wheeled duffel, it's hard to argue what the height actually is, since it's soft sided).

The wheeled bag is from LL Bean and weighs only 8.5 pounds empty, so you can carry 42 lbs or so of cargo inside. The LL Bean bag is also large enough to swallow items like a briefcase or overcoat or raincoat, things that one normally removes (to save weight at check in) and carries on board, since they are above and beyond the standard allowances. But on a train or bus or rental car return, it's nice to have everything in one bag so as to have one's hands free.

Until 2005, the allowance to/from North America was two bags checked, each up to 32 kgs/70 lbs. In summer 2005, they dropped the weight limit to 50 lbs/23 kgs. I recall flying to Sweden in late summer 2005 and being exempt from the new limits because I had purchased the ticket prior to the imposition of the new limits. However, from 2006, I had to adhere to the new 50 lb/ 23kg limits. Mainly this meant paying attention to the empty weight of the bag for the first time, so I replaced my 14 lb former rolling bag in favor of the lighter LL Bean piece.

The last time I flew to Europe with the two piece, 50 lb/23 kg allowance was in fall 2008. My next journey was fall 2009, by which time the limit was down to one piece, 50 lbs/23 kgs. However, on that trip I was upgraded to Business Class eastbound, which actually gave me the right to check three bags (I had two). On the way home, I flew Economy but by then was down to the single rolling bag.

I have an upcoming trip in May. In order to bring the second bag with gifts, I'll have to pony up an extra $50 at check in. To me it's worth it, I couldn't send a 50 lb parcel by overnight mail for $50, and the stuff I bring usually can't be purchased in Europe ($7 Costco Egyptian towels, See's chocolates, and whatever else they ask for).

The loophole for evading weight limits has been my cabin bag. I have packed my 22" rolling bag up to 48 lbs in the past (within USA and to/from Europe) without any issues. From UK is an issue because they count wheels and handles in the definition of 22", but one can use a 20" bag and carry nearly as much. However, WITHIN Europe, many of the carriers do limit the weight of cabin luggage. In May, I fly from California to Chicago to Helsinki (on American) and then to Kiev on Finnair, a partner of American. Finnair limits cabin baggage to 18 lbs, so evidently I will have to follow suit. It's possible that this limit is imposed at check in or security, and as a connecting passenger who is arriving and departing at the non-Schengen area, it's possible that no one would check the weight of the bag at the gate, but it did happen to me once in Paris.