Should I use modern Tide in my vintage washers?

[turquoisedude]

Forgive my naïvité, but I tend to live like it's 1958...meaning I use top-load agitator-type automatic washers, hot water, and usually a powdered laundry detergent.  Yes, I am a dinosaur...

However when I emptied out my late father's apartment, I found several jugs of this Tide HE detergent intended for cold-water washing.  

Would I be setting myself up for disaster if I were to use this in hot or warm water?   Or does it really matter?

I think the last "modern" washer I used was in Brazil when Hubby and I lived there back in early 2007...

Apologies if the picture orientation is wonky... my phone is also ancient...

 

[combo52]

Liquid Tide

Will work just fine in your older washers in hot or warm water.

 

John L.

 

[sfh074]

I would be .....

Interested in finding this question out as well. But from my chemistry days I was taught that once you have suds your solution is saturated and anything more is a waste of soap?

 

[launderess]

Last one read Tide cold water was made to work in range of temps from 84F to 100F. While there won't be any harm in using it at higher water temperatures there is a bit of risk specific enzyme cocktail might work best within "cold water" range.

Amazon.com

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I've been using Tide 'Original' liquid, the one without the HE sticker, in my Maytag A606 for the last year or so with excellent results.

 

Reading this again, I'll add that I believe that Laundress is on point with her advice.

 

[gusherb]

Any of that stuff will work fine with your 1958 lifestyle. Don't be afraid to experiment with washing in cold water with it. I bought a bottle of Tide CW to play around with using my 2015 SQ TL (pretty much living your 1958 life only manufactured in a different millennium) and it did surprisingly well. However, I was conservative and only used it during summer months when our incoming city water was around 70-75ºF.

 

[launderess]

Still have bottle of Tide CW "free" that got years ago. Had one known P&G was going to discontinue that version in USA would have stocked up.

For reasons known only to P&G Tide CW "free" is still available up north in Canada.

https://tide.ca/en-ca/shop/type/liquid/coldwater-clean-free-he-liquid

Now and then a jug shows up on fleaPay, but am not paying outrageous sums just for a bottle of liquid detergent. Tide "Free and Gentle" works just as well in warm water which is fine since rarely wash much or anything in cold anyway.

 

[qsd-dan]

May want to save it for cold and warm washes. You can experiment with hot water and let us know how it works compared to your typical use detergent. Worst case scenario is clothes emerging a littler dirtier than usual.

 

[launderess]

On all three of my European washers

Cold is 86F which is quite warm feeling to my hands. That is of course when washers heat water, out of the tap is something different depending upon time of year.

Have used Tide CW before at 86F and it worked rather well. Mostly on embroidered table linens that one doesn't want to shrink too much, things need to be stretched out as it is when ironing afterwards.

If bleaching is required have some activated oxygen stuff that works well in warm or cold water (104F or 86F respectively as machine heats).

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember reading that the cold water formula worked best at cooler temps, possibly because of the enzyme massacre at hot water temps.

 

Launderess, do the tablecloths have to be pinned to stretchers like old curtains had to be for drying/stretching?

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Tide in Vintage machines

Honestly, it should out perform older detergents. However, I would add STPP for best results and to make it a little more 'vintage'. As mentioned above it will perform best in either cold or warm water. No issues in hot other than next to zero enzyme activity in real hot water. We used it for years in warm water with killer results.

 

[mrboilwash]

Of course you can use Tide Coldwater in a short hot cycle of a vintage washer and I also dare to say it will outperform any detergent available in 1958.

I think it`s wrong to generalize that enzymes should not be used in hot water, because each enzyme seems to have its own sweet spot where it works best.
According to my favorite book about laundry detergents the oldest and most important enzyme used for washing is protease which has its sweetspot at 50 °C (122 °F) and even at 65 °C (149 °F) it seems still a tad more active than at 20 °C (68 °F).
Amylase for example seems to love hot water, so if you have starchy food residue it might be good advice to run a dishwasher as hot as possible.
Of course there could be other enzymes involved in modern detergents which are more heat sensitive than protease and amylase but those are usually targeted to very specific stains like food stains only.
For general cleaning like body soils and so on an American toploader just won`t get hot enough to kill off any of the most important enzymes.
When using a FL with a heater all the different enzymes usually can do their job before they lose activity.

https://search.cosmobio.co.jp/cosmo_search_p/search_gate2/docs/ICN_/100447.20110621.pdf

 

[lakewebsterkid]

mrboilwash

That is a really great chart!
I think a lot of the newer detergents use Protease with slightly lower maximum efficacy temperatures. I think I recall reading that somewhere. Could be wrong though. You are correct though about Amylase!