Tide "Cold Water" Nd "HE Free" Question

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Glad I'm not the only one who was pleasantly surprised by Tide CW, especially in its powdered form. Until you try it, it's easy to be very skeptical of it. I know I was. The powder really kicks ass. It's better than Tide HE and I have no sudsing problems as long as I use the 'medium load' dosage.

Launderess---I'm not surprised you're finding stores who aren't going to reorder CW; Cold water washing is a hard sell. I only want to use the powdered form and am afraid it's going to be phased out, so I bought all four 63-use boxes I found at Wal-Mart. You mentioned using only a teaspoon of detergent in your test load which leads me to believe you use a FL machine. What brand of machine do you use?

DADoES---thanks for the F&P 'deep wash' explanation. I'm familiar with the Catalyst system; didn't realize F&P machines had that option, too.
 
cold water washing

I don't think cold water washing is such a "hard sell" these days. They've been pushing the "energy aving" aspect of it for many years now, so people are used to it. BUT, also the detergent makers have been touting how their detergents work in ALL temperatures for years now, so I'm surprised they suddenly feel (again) that they need a special "cold water" detergent. Normally I would chalk up this as just another marketing ploy, but in this case, it actually DOES work better. And the fact it workds REALLY well in warm or hot water is an plus
 
Friglux

Have a old Miele 1918, and only used one teaspoon since the wash load was so small.

Did another load yesterday, full size with mainly bath linens,t-shirts and other things. All came out quite clean, though more scented than am used to. Used a cold pre-wash and hot wash. Sorry, just cannot bring myself yet to just run a warm wash. As before the suds were totally gone by the second rinse and the final rinse water was clear.

What bugs me is every single other variety of Tide are very highly sudsing, even HE versions. So WHY all of sudden does Tide have a clean rinsing/low sudsing(at least to me), version for only cold water? Methinks we have been had!

Overall do like Tide coldwater, but really prefer unscented detergent. Perfume scent is mostly gone after line drying, but still there if only faint.

Launderess
 
Tide Coldwater -- Tried it!

Picked up a small box of Tide Coldwater in Glacier scent. Used it on a full load of grungy whites last night. Warm water (115°F) for EcoActive (standard cold fill rest of the way for deep wash), highest soil level for maximum agitation time (but not Stained, that thows in some soaking periods). Usage directions say 7/8 cup for a full/heavy-soil load. That would be 7 oz. and I use a 1 oz. scoop for measuring. I was leery of oversudsing. Used 2 scoops at first for EcoActive, then added one more after sudsing was minimal. The water was plenty slippery. Added four more scoops for the deep wash. I can't really make a judgment after just one load, but it seems to have come out quite well.
 
More Tide CW Info

Follow the bouncing link to an interesting article on Tide cold water, including a chemcial content break down.

As for moi, won't purchase another box of Tide CW as the scent is just too much, and really do prefer unscented laundry detergent. Now that weather is getting cooler and many items will be line dried indoors, the thought of all that Tide perfume wafting throughout the house is too daunting.

Tide CW does clean very well, just wish it came in an unscented version.

Launderess

 
I just picked up two bottles of Tide Free HE at my local Target. That's all that they had on the shelf. I let you know how I like it. Unfortunately, I don't think that Tide makes it anymore! :-(

When I first saw on Tide Free HE on Tide's website, I sent them an e-mail asking if any stores in my area carried it. They responded by suggesting that I contact my local retailers and ask them to carry it. I immediately sent e-mails to every store that I could think of. (My list included: A&P, Shop Rite, Pathmark, Stop and Shop, Associated Supermarkets, Fairway, Dagostino and Kings.) Kings (an upscale NJ based supermarket chain) was the only one who took me seriously and I exchanged several e-mails with one of their customer service reps. Several weeks later, she informed me that Tide had informed her that they did not offer a "free" version of Tide HE. Sure enough, Tide's website now only lists two versions of Tide HE -- regular scent and Tide HE Clean Breeze Liquid.

I know that I once saw Tide Free HE listed on Tide's website and I know that I didn't hallucinate about that getting that e-mail from Tide. The fact that I was able to find two bottles of Tide Free HE at Target (the first time that I had ever seen them there) proves that Tide did indeed offer a "free" version of Tide HE. To say that I'm more then a little annoyed that it was apparently a short lived product offering would be an understatement!

Mike
 
Have only seen Tide HE Free liquid in one shop!

As for your message from P&G regarding Tide HE Free, shortly after being launched, P&G did announce it was being pulled from the market. Lots of people besides yourself received the same message when contacting P&G about the product.

Almost used my coupons to get two bottles, but my laundry stash is really becoming obscene. Also really do not like liquid detergents. The only brand I trust is Cheer Free and Gentle. Most other liquid detergents contain powerful degreasers which can cause allergic reactions. Finally, never seem to get a clean rinse with most liquid detergents. There is always some foaming in the final rinse water. According to Tide's consumer response board, this is a normal result of the surfactants used in liquid detergents. Still, do not fancy rinse water that is not clear.

Launderess
 
We have tried Tide Free HE liquid in our Frigidaire FL. I seemed to work the same are regular Tide HE. We found it at Wegman's here in Easton PA. Right now we are using Cheer HE (was on sale ) and I think it sudses more than TIde.

If we decide to try Tide Coldwater would you recomend using about half as much for a regular load? Also what would you use the regular cold/cold or the Precision Temp Cold/Cold. We generally used the Presision Temps during the winter when the cold water is really cold when the weather gets below 50 outside. The book says that detergents work best when the water is above 65 degrees F. Precision Temp regulates warm/warm and warm/cold so that warm is 100 degrees F and cold/cold is 70 degrees F.

When we first got the washer all we had was regular Tide and used a half capful and it sudsed so much we ran the load through a second time.
 
Tide HE Free in Florida

Our grocery chain Publix has Tide HE Free. In fact the nearby store that we shop at; stocks Clean Breeze & Original Tide HE, liquids and the HE powder. Recently, they added the 300oz pump bottle as well. They also display Wisk HE, All HE and Cheer HE.

I suspect this is so, because there are new neighborhoods sprouting like dandelions that include HE top and front loading washers with the builders appliance package.
 
launderess mentioned: "As for your message from P&G regarding Tide HE Free, shortly after being launched, P&G did announce it was being pulled from the market."

That's interesting, Launderess. Did P&G's announcement mention why Tide Free HE was being pulled off the market?

magic clean mentioned: "I suspect this is so, because there are new neighborhoods sprouting like dandelions that include HE top and front loading washers with the builders appliance package."

I suspect that you suspicion is correct. Here in the New York area, a lot of the newer Condo's and luxury rentals are starting to include washers and dryers in the unit. Many of those washers are the newer HE front loaders. The common laundry rooms for some older apartment buildings (such as the one that I live in) are being retrofitted with HE coin operated machines. (My building has installed coin operated
Neptunes.) Surely, I can't be the ONLY HE user that HAS to use "Free and Clear" detergents. (One of the problems with Neptunes is that the lack of a window prevents users from monitoring suds levels, so use of an HE detergent is crucial.) I've been able to SPECIAL ORDER the "Free and Clear" version of Sears HE detergent. (I've been using the powder.) I'm glad that Sears at least offers a "Free and Clear" HE detergent, but the fact that I just can't walk into Sears (or one of my many local supermarkets) and just pick up a bottle or box of Free and Clear HE detergent got real old real fast.

Just my $0.02.

Mike
 
cold water washing

i find cold water washing to be a little bit pointless, i mean, we might as well walk down to the stream and wsh our clothes there the amount of good it does. But some people argue against, like 98% of the population of Australia, everyone i know washes in cold water cept my parents. And apparently it gets things clean, i am yet to be impressed, how can bacteria and germs be killed in stone cold water??? On the new front loaders with the tempreture gauge i see people using the no heat option, for gods sake turn it to 30* at least. The standard temp in England is 40* which doesn't take much energy to heat up. However, the detergents they make like Cold Power do have a fairly good effect, if only they had time to work, once again peple are obsessed with laundry being quick, always using the quickest cycle. On the new front loaders there is always a 30 min quick wash, once again every person i know who owns a front loader uses this cycle in cold water, absolutely pointless. But hey what do i know, i'm only 18.
 
If one were counting on water temp alone to kill the most common germ found on laundry, E Coli; it would require wash temps of at least 160F held for 20 minutes.

However there are many chemicals which sanitise laundry at temps well below boiling or 160F, and even work in cold water. Liquid chlorine bleach is of course one such chemical, but there are also quats, phenols, and even pine cleaners (must be at least 80% pine oil). Activated oxygen bleaches will sanitise as well as or even better than chlorine bleaches if held at 120F or 140F for 20 minutes.

Enzymes can probably kill many germs if they are targeted to destroy protien (which makes up bacteria cell walls).

Bacteria are also removed by the simple mechanical process of laundering. True, they might not be "dead" but just the same are removed from laundry and flushed out with the wash/rinse water.

Normal laundering is merely to reduce bacteria count, to totally disenfect would require a much different process. It would pay however to launder items from the sick room, diapers, hankies and other items with human waste and or from a person known to be ill on their own in very hot water.

Would tend to think modern "cold water" laundry detergents have address the "germ" issue, at least those sold in the United States given that country's "maina" for clean and germ killing.

Yes, there probably are germs on some freshly laundered items, but am here to tell you there are far worse things to worry about. Long as one is healthy, intact skin is the best barrier to disease caused by contact. One common assignment in nursing school/microbiology classes is to swab and culture common items around the home/person and so on. If you saw what was growing on your hands (even those claimed to be "freshly washed"), computer keyboard, light switches and so on, you might not eat ever again.

Launderess
 
The simple act of adding detergent to the wash kills most bacteria by changing the pH of the water. What does survive the wash is destroyed in the dry heat of the dryer. I believe the standard is that 99% of all cooties are destroyed in everyday washing methods.
 
Funny thing though, I have recently noticed that Tide HE free is now available in all of my local markets. Up until two months ago only Shaw's supermarket carried it - now Stop&Shop as well as the local IGA carry it.
 
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