Surf powergems

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Michael.

I’m not so sure now either, it’s the suds that puts me off.

Thought they’d got this under control? Why do they think we want to wear suds covered clothes?
 
Persil Powergems

Yesterday, I popped into my local Asda, and decided to buy the small pack of Persil Powergems. Whilst there, I noticed they had Surf Gems. There was no sign of Daz 'Bed of Roses' powder.

I then went to Home Bargains, and bought Acdo Non-Bio powder. I noticed that they had Daz 'Bed of Roses' powder. I shook the box and sniffed it - it seemed quite a subtle fragrance, but I didn't purchase it.

Today, I tried the Powergems, on a moderate load of darks (2 pairs of jeans, 5 T-shirts, 5 lots of undies), in the Panasonic NA-168XR1, on its Econavi Autocare sensor programme.

First of all, I removed the sump filter and cleaned all of the lint from it. Then I flushed the tub-to-sump hose by pouring about a pint of water through the drum. No further debris or fluff was flushed out, so I was reasonably sure that the optical sensor was in a clean condition.

I replaced the filter, and poured about another pint of cold water through the drum to fill the sump for nominal operating conditions. This machine has an open sump, i.e. there is no ball valve like Bosch and the rest of 'em, nor motorised actuator like previous Panasonics.

Clothes were added. Then, I ignored the Powergems instructions about placing directly in the drum.

I measured half a cap of Powergems (suitable for standard 5kg loads) and poured them into the machine's dry dispenser drawer.

They have a pungent floral type smell. No fabric conditioner was added.

The machine weighed the load (1hr 18 mins), filled with cold water (it's a cold fill machine), then mixed the detergent in the tub by revolving the drum at distribution speed for about a minute. Then it topped up the water, and increased time to 1:21. This is in line with a moderate load of laundry, and ice cold water. Time then went down by the minute.

The gems seemed to be flushed totally clear of the drawer. Suds were next to minimal. No gems detected by me initially, but the recirculation jets pulled a couple up from the sump and dribbled them down the glass. They soon dissolved away. A slight increase in suds when recirculation jets were on; disappeared as soon as the jets ceased.

It got to 0:36 and drained. The interim spin was achieved okay; first rinse had hardly any suds. The first rinse interim spin achieved okay, it then hopped to final rinse. Similarly, hardly any suds in the water. Final spin achieved on time.

I then tried a second load (lightweight, polycotton bed sheets), same dose of gems, and just used the machine 'as is'. The gems stuck to the water droplets in the drawer from the previous cycle. I had to dislodge them with my finger, and flush them away with a little warm water.

The second load seems to be of similar programme length as the previous load, but slightly less weight, so it shaved a couple of minutes off the time.

Thus, the machine seems to see these gems as being similar to light fluffy powders (e.g. Daz), and/or liquids (Ariel, Persil).

The first load was put in the dryer. I am not really liking the smell. It's a rose type smell but it seems artificial, like a cross between Turkish Delight and air-fresheners - i.e. cheap 'n' nasty.

I won't buy again, and I'm not convinced that these have any advantages over powders and liquids. There's no bleach for one thing, and with 'greater than 30%' anionic surfactants, they seem to be just like a liquid detergent which as been freeze-dried (perhaps that is the way this product was made? - like instant coffee?

rolls_rapide-2018031810135400854_1.jpg
 
Rolls_rapide - thank you for the very informative post, from what you’ve said I won’t even try it in my TL washer.. I’ll stick to my Ariel liquid and powder :) (maybe some daz powder as well)
 
Thanks.

After the clothes and sheets were tumble-dried, there seemed to be virtually no fragrance from the items. I'll give it a day or two, and see if wearing the clothes produces a fragrance of any kind (I don't like Ariel powder for this particular reason).

I found a photo from ETM-Testmagazin.de, of a similar model to my machine.
The photo is taken from within the drum, looking upwards and out of the machine, but at a slight angle.

The larger white nozzle, shown on the left here, is the steam nozzle (not fitted to my model).

The other three nozzles are part of the recirculation jet system, fed from a single hose and common manifold.

Of the three smaller nozzles, the centre nozzle sits precisely at 12 o'clock, and the others flank it on either side.

rolls_rapide-2018031814233505118_1.jpg
 
Rolls_rapide - Ariel powder was recently updated, I have zero scent left after the dryer :)

I like the recirculation on your machine!
 
Cheers!

My mum uses Ariel powder and I like the smell in the box and during washing.

I cannot stand the fragrance on the dried articles, ie towels and clothes.

I bought a small box last year to try, and washed some clothes in it. I had reason to rush down the town to get to a couple of shops before they closed at 5pm. Slightly later, I was in Tesco getting a couple of items, and I kept getting a strange odour - much to my horror!

I realised that my body heat and associated moisture - i.e. sweat - had released whatever perfumes are in Ariel. It put me right off Ariel.
 
Persil Powergems

The fragrance (read, 'smell') left in the machine after the loads of laundry were washed with Persil Powergems is odd.

The main fragrance is 'rose', but it has a lingering undertone similar to Persil powder - I would say of 'mushrooms'. It's almost like a hybrid of perfumes from Ariel powder and Persil powder.

I don't get that with Daz, Formil, Almat, Acdo and Tesco.
 
An update...

Persil Powergems:
Synthetic articles of laundry which were left to hang dry, have a scent of roses, but it smells like a cheap perfume that a 'lady of the night' might use use.

Cottons and polycottons which were tumble dried have a slightly different, mustier fragrance. It is much diminished, but seems to have a 'rub and release' action. I think it smells vaguely similar to Ariel - which I'm not fond of.

I still don't know what benefits these gems are supposed to have over other formats.

Liquids work better on the quick washes, powders whiten more effectively, and pods just get flung in.
 
Suds... with Powergems!

I have done several loads with Persil Powergems, and I have become 'accustomed' to the stench, er, fragrance. Yesterday, I did the bed sheets in them, and surprisingly - not least to myself - I rather liked the fresh smell from the bedding.

Usually, with Powergems, any foam is virtually non-existent until the water heats up and the recirculation jets activate. Then, there are soft suds to a moderate degree.

I have just washed a medium load of darks - and the suds were right up the door. The only difference to the usual load of darks, was that this load had a few brand-new garments (4 undies, 1 pair pyjamas).

Adding fabric conditioner through the dispenser drawer, during the wash, temporarily diminished the foam. But it increased again when the jets reactivated a few minutes later. Rinsing quickly shifted the remaining suds - the machine managed to only do it with two rinses.

I was wondering if the new clothes were perhaps coated with some kind of foaming or detergent agent during the production process? Would fire-retardants (eg. on pyjamas) cause such an effect?
 

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