THE GREATEST DETERGENT EVER SOLD

[doityrselfguy]

Punch and Drive

Hi Mrcleanjeans, my Mom used Punch regularly during the '70s. I remember the big green and blue box, and red letters. It had a rather mild scent to it, and the powder was all white. I brought it up years later, and she said it was a really good bargain - about $1 for a regular sized box. She used Drive a few times. I remember the scent being very strong and soapy.

Pete

 

[david]

Just thought of one..

Who remembers Bonus? I believe they contained free towels and washcloths. Wasn't it a Proctor and Gamble product? I can't remember using it. I saw it in some peoples laundry rooms.

 

[spiralactivator]

My mom is also one of those "sensible, thrifty" people--and also a liquid freak. She uses either Purex or Dynamo, depending on which is cheaper. Both my aunt and my cousin's wife lust after Tide, even though it's out of their price range. I remember my aunt having a box of "Snap-Top" Tide in the '80s.

When I was a kid I harped at Mom to experiment with detergents. We used Instant Fels and McCrory's Kleen powder a couple of times (both discontinued now). As a starving college student, my brand is 1-cup formula Sun. I've used both Xtra and Fresh Start with good results. The Fresh Start bottle is very convenient and keeps the powder from lumping up.

 

[retromom]

Am I dreaming this up or what.....

When I was a kid, there was a product called LaFrance. Was this a detergent, starch, or booster. It seems like it came in a dark green box, and may have even had a flower on it somewhere. Surely I didn't imagine this. Did it really exist?

 

[veg-o-matic]

You didn't imagine it. LaFrance was powdered bluing. It came in a dark blue box, but I don't remember the flower. Maybe you're thinking of the daisy that used to pop out of the Final Touch bottle?

We always had a box of LaFrance in the house. It may have had detergent mixed in with it, can't remember.

It was made by, like, General Foods? Some non-detergent company anyway.

veg

 

[hoovermatic]

When I was a kid my Mum used to use Omo which used to smell gorgeous and then they stopped making it. I used to love Bold but they have messed about with the fragrances so many times they have ruined it. The most consistantly reliable detergent that requires virtually no pre-treatment of any kind and smells good too, the award has to go to Ariel, liquid or powder. I don't do gel caps or tablets as the dosage is too high and with a mains softener I use so little any way. As for the dishwasher, I always use Sainsbury's own and it is better that Finish/Sun/Glist and all the other brands (plus it is recommended by Wedgwood)

 

[doityrselfguy]

La France

This was available in Michigan until about two years ago - dark blue box with white and pink accents. I never used it, but know from seeing boxes at a laundromat that it was a very fine blue powder (like the consistency of baking soda).

 

[cehalstead]

anyone remember Dolly Parton hawking Breeze detergent with its premium of a towel...different size towel for each size box of detergent? As Dolly would say:..."and you can only git them in boxes of Breeze". And of course, Duz detergent with its free dishes....."DUZ does everything". Most detergents used to give instructions for washing floors and dishes with them. My grandmother NEVER used anything but Tide for her dishes....after all, her UniMatic was right next to the sink(and drained into the sink with frequent hose accidents giving her the cleanest floor in town), so why have two boxes cluttering up the kitchen...????

 

[spiralactivator]

Dolly Parton sold detergent?!?!

Was this early in her career (when she sang with Porter Waggoner and wore her real hair)? Dolly is a goddess, but I never knew this bit of trivia.

 

[geoffdelp]

I was always a fan of vintage Oxydol - only on the white clothes. Tide has been my stand-by for years. Vintage Blue Cheer was also a great product and it's what my mother used to use. It always smelled so good.

I used to use Whisk - used to be a great pre-treater.

BTW ... LaFrance used to be a super product. It was a bluing that you added at the start of the wash with your detergent. I liked it because it smelled good and it didn't "spot" like liquid bluings can if they are not mixed right.

 

[cehalstead]

real Dolly hair

Spiralactivator: Yes, Dolly sold detergent and it was at the same time she sang with Porter.....her hair was real, and so was everything else...before the nip and tuck....

 

[lightedcontrols]

OXYDOL'S MY CHOICE!

Love Oxydol!....and it's still available at Restoration Hardware even though it's on the E X P E N S I V E side. Tried to use Tide HE with the new Maytag Neptune Top Loader, but it's still too sudsy ( as the washer tells me after EVERY load!)... so I usually end up using All/Surf with a little hit of BIZ. Never use chlorine bleach. I really don't like using Tide as they are STILL TESTING ON ANIMALS! Doggies and kitties are MUCH too precious to support this kind of testing for laundry detergent. Mark

 

[DADoES]

I can't stay definitively which is best, but Tide was king when I was a kid @ home. Breeze and Duz were sometimes in the picture, I remember the towels and glasses. My dad used Tide as a general-purpose detergent at his business as well. When I got to the point of having enough clout (LOL!), I managed to convince Mom to try various other detergents. I can recall Punch, Bold, Fab, Bold II (was that it, with built-in softener?), Dash, All, Cold Power (whoo-wheee, that stuff was high-sudsing, maybe a psychological thing related to the cold-water washing?), Salvo, Gain, Cheer, Yes, Wisk, Dreft, Era, Oxydol, Fresh Start, Surf. Also FM, which was the house brand of FedMart, a discount store in the area back in the day, they had both regular and concentrated/low-suds. Amway SA8 (that one wasn't my idea, LOL). Clorox 2, Biz, Borateem. Downy, and gallons and gallons of SweetHeart! Rain Barrel (didn't last long on the market). Probably am forgetting some. What was that sponge softener sheet, ClingFree? And what was the one in the form of a pad that adhered to the dryer drum?

For myself, I used Fab for many years. Have now been stuck on Ariel for a while. Haven't used Tide or Surf in years . . but some really nice people bought a box of Tide to me yesterday, so . . ..

 

[geoffdelp]

Which Oxydol?

Mark ... Is Restoration Hardware a website? They still sell classic Oxydol? Wow ...

Geoff

 

[gansky1]

Vintage LaFrance

I find boxes of LaFrance at estate sales constantly, I wish I found as much vintage Downy! One sale netted a ton of vintage finds including LaFrance. It is a bluing you add to the wash water and does have some surfacants in it to aid cleaning and make lots of frothy blue suds!

 

[westytoploader]

YAY! Great find/Convention gear! ;-)

 

[geoffdelp]

Great Collection, Greg!

Hi Greg ... wow ... those look like a lot of fun!! I still have a box of Dash just like those; haven't used it yet. After watching Robert use Dash freely at our wash-in a week ago, I'm "itching" to try it!!

I was bummed when LaFrance quit production a few years ago. I loved using it; especially on my white sheets in the summer time. Fun product. There is another one out there that is in liquid form it's called "Blueite" (I think that's the name). You use it at the start of the wash; it smells very clean, also. You have to make sure that it is mixed thoroughly in the wash water first, however; I've accidentally put blue streaks on sheets because I didn't mix it well first!!

I'm still able to pick-up Soilax at our local hardware store.

Have not run across any vintage Downy yet ... love the smell of it AND vintage Final Touch ... my two favs.

Geoff

 

[retromom]

Great Collection

Greg:

This is super! I knew that I remembered LaFrance. I guess the "yellow flower" was really the yellow circle or starburst.

Are these items still "powdery" after all these years? Will we get a chance to see how they suds in June?;-)

Venus

 

[kenmore1978]

Death Valley Days

Anybody still using 20 Mule Team Borax in their wash?

 

[retromom]

Laundry Boosters

I was using Borax until I started buying Biz about six months ago. I thought it did a great job. I would alternate between the Borax and Arm and Hammer washing soda. Our water is very hard here, so I need all the help I can get.