Sudsman - Sears U.P., Charlie's and... Vaska!

[mysteryclock]

Finally got some Sears Ultra Plus to try -- the regular orange box kind -- and I have to say that I'm.... underwhelmed. Perhaps compared to other widely-available commercial detergents it is quite a performer but I've been using Charlie's and in comparison to that its really not hugely better or worse. Both seem to work really well on heavy soil, Charlie's seems to rinse a bit better (which could be due to the smaller recommended usage size), both are totally ineffective on the two most common stains I get at home: oil-on-cotton and concentrated tomato (ketchup, spaghetti sauce, etc.) unless you pretreat heavily. The Sears may be a bit better at de-odorizing urine soaked items (we're working on nighttime potty training now) but it isn't night and day better.

I'm also concerned about Sears UP since I found out it contains Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPE) which are apparently not that nice and have already been banned in the EU and elsewhere.

Sudsman, have you ever tried Charlie's either at home or in your commercial plant(s)?

Also, have you ever heard of / used any of the Vaska commercial products (see link below)? They are getting quite a lot of positive buzz both on the commercial front (Green spas and high-end hotels) for their product performance and non-toxicity, and for their home products in the cloth-diaper community, which I can imagine requires some significant cleaning capability (eewww!) Their commercial products appear to include detergent, stain treater, oxygen bleach, "citrus" sour and something called "Moisture Lock".

http://www.vaskaproducts.com/index.html

 

[sudsman]

AS I have stated many times

What works in one machine may not work well in another machine. I have seen plants across the street from each other with the same washers and Detergents that worked well in one did not in the other.. So many variables ,Cannot use the same chemicals in both my plants.. Ecolab liquids do not work well in one and Autochlor does not work well in the other. Ultra Plus works wonders in both plants.. But will not work well at home. I have tried Charlies and gave it to the clean up lady.. Did not work well here or at home.