Stain Removal Test #2: Results from Ace, Sam's Club, Soap

[frigilux]

Here's your lineup for today's test: Ace Acti-Blu, Sam's Club Powdered Detergent, and Soap Gone Buy's Old-Fashioned Laundry Soap.

 

[frigilux]

This, you may recall, is the gold standard from Test #1, Quixtar's SA8 with Bioquest.

All stains removed quite effectively.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Oh, cool!

But this one, I think I can predict....

 

[frigilux]

Review: All washed in Frigidaire FL'er in hot water (130-degrees inside the machine) on the Whites Cycle with an 18-minute wash. No other laundry products were added to the loads. Very soft water. Same test load used as in Test #1.

No real standouts this time, kids.

Best of the three: Old-Fashioned Laundry Soap (3 tablespoons)

Most stains still visible.

 

[frigilux]

2nd Place: Ace Acti-Blu (sublime lime scent!)

Nearly all stains still visible. (approx. 1/2 scoop used)

 

[frigilux]

3rd Place: Sam's Club Powdered Detergent (approx. 1/2-scoop used)

This was disappointing; I like this detergent because it has very controlled sudsing. Doesn't rinse out as well as Old-Fashioned Laundry Soap, though.

Sorry I didn't test the detergents several of you requested. I have SO much detergent in the house right now I won't buy any more until I use some of current stock. I'll hit the requests on the next round of tests. Promise.

 

[oxydolfan1]

WOW!! Expected Sam's Club to do MUCH better!!

Is Ace Acti-Blu available in the US?? I haven't even seen the plain Ace powder in stores lately....

 

[frigilux]

Unless Venus is smuggling it over the border, it must be available in Texas.

Venus, tell the folks in our amphitheater audience just where you're finding this heavenly stuff.

 

[sudsmaster]

Can't say I'm too surprised. When you have to use reduced amounts of regular soap or detergent in a front loader, washing results will be impaired. That's becuase the reduced amounts, while keeping sudsing under control, may not provide enough builder/break/water softener to launder effectively. Sometimes just boosting the lower levels with washing soda or Borax (or, better yet, STPP) will dramatically improve stain removal results.

One of these days I'll have to do a comparison of wash results with various detergents and soaps with/without STPP. Or maybe somebody else can do it?

 

[launderess]

Bravo! Another Great Stain Test

All things being fair, Fels contains solvent, so it should do a very good job at removing stains. Know my vintage Fels hasn't let me down yet.

L.

 

[retromom]

Ace Detergent...

is available at your local H.E.B. Grocery Store. Eugene: I was disappointed to see how the Ace fared. After all, it is basically Mexican Tide. I don't know if I saw a past test where you may have used the Chinese Tide, but would like to see how that works. When I checked out the Chinese Tide supply, I was disappointed to see that there is now a "Does not contain phosphates" label on the bag. I may run into Chinatown to see if they still carry the phosphate-laden stuff.

BTW for those of you not hailing from the Lone Star State, H.E.B. stands for "Henry E. Butt". Really guys, I can't make this stuff up! You may know his brother, Harry though.

I await your next test!!

 

[frigilux]

sudsmaster-- I used the amount the manufacturer suggested for a medium load---a bit over 1/2-scoop. That's a pretty high concentration of detergent in a frontloader. Certainly more concentrated than it would be in a toploader. This test is a very tough one; most detergents are not going to remove the stains entirely.

I like and use Ace Acti-Blu and Sam's Club detergent on less severe loads with great results. But when it comes to loads of highly stained kitchen whites and tablecloths, I reach for the SA8 or Persil.

Venus, I'll test the Chinese Tide in the next round. Almost did it this time, but only had 3 stained (and dried) towels ready to go.

 

[frigilux]

Launderess-- I really like the Old-Fashioned Laundry Soap because it rinses out well in very soft water, unlike almost every detergent I've ever tried. It's what I've been looking for to wash my bath towel loads. And it leaves fabrics nice and soft without having to use softener. As far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper for normally-soiled loads.

 

[launderess]

Well if one has soft water, soap is just fine. You could just grate up some Fels bars and mix your own "brew". I'd use STPP (you can order it from the Chemistry Store), and use less washing soda.

L.

 

[retromom]

Just a quick question....

To all of you laundry experts: who is your online source of STTP? I'd like to try some out myself to see if there is a noticable difference in laundry cleanliness. What effect does STTP have on washing in hard water?

 

[frigilux]

Venus--- Launderess suggested thechemistrystore.com. Once at the site, choose 'Chemicals A-Z'. Then go to the top of that page and choose S-Z and STPP is listed on the page that comes up.

 

[cvillewasherbo]

clorox

how about a good ole soak in warm water, detergent and clorox followed by a hot wash with detergent only? Clorox has never failed me yet--and I like the smell.

 

[frigilux]

Normally, I always use chlorine bleach in my heavily-stained kitchen whites loads. This gives any detergent a good boost. But some people prefer not to use bleach, and so have other methods to the same end. I like the disinfecting properties of chlorine bleach, as well.

Detergents like Ace and Ariel left some stains behind on their own in the tests, but add some bleach to the first rinse (FL'er) or the last 5 minutes of the wash cycle (TL'er) and they get the job done.

 

[exploder3211]

Great Tests