Tide Ultra Oxy pods; opinions?

[justjunque]

Hi all,

I've already purchased a small package of these to try, but won't be doing laundry again until the weekend. In the meantime, I thought I'd check in and see if any of you have tried these. And, if so, to get your thoughts; good, bad, or indifferent.
I have used regular Tide powder or liquid over the years, but I've never tried any version of pods.
I use an early 2000s top load washer. I'm thinking of trying these for a small batch of whites, consisting of towels, wash cloths, and underwear, in hot water.
Possibly also the lights/colors batch in warm.
If anyone has any experience with them, I'd like to hear your opinions/advice! Thanks!

Barry

 

[mattl]

In my FL I've been using Tide Pods exclusively for 3 years or so, various formulations. Usually I use 1 pack, large loads 2. Have been very happy with the results or I wouldn't keep using them. Price is good on sale, got some at Krogers last week for $3.50. I'm curious to try some of the new heavy duty pods but really have nothing that dirty that would warrant using them.

 

[yogitunes]

Oxi products work best in higher temps, and extended soaks to be most effective...

even Oxi-Clean mentions on their packaging that soaking upwards of 6 hours to gain best effects....

probably best effects would be achieved if a soak cycle is added to a normal cycle...

note in the commercial, soaking first in a separate bucket before washing....

 

[justjunque]

Hmmm. I often let a wash load agitate for a couple of minutes, then stop it and let it soak for a while, then resume agitation. But, I'm talking maybe twenty minutes/half an hour. I wonder if that's long enough to let the oxygen thing do its thing.
When I think of trying to get whites their whitest, and keep them that way, the first thing I think of is chlorine bleach. But, I've read some posts here from people who say it's really not the best whitener, and can do damage to fabric as well.
Since I use Tide anyway, and had never tried pods, I'm hoping I'll get satisfactory results from these; for both whites and colors.

Barry

 

[bradfordwhite]

They look delicious

Wait, you can wash with these too?

Put a little cool-whip on there and serve it on a graham cracker.

Call it a Tide S'more.

-----

So, apparently we have plastic that is completely degradable?

I guess the problem of plastic grocery bags is a thing of the past?

 

[bradfordwhite]

Interesting

Not really good for those on septic.

It's weird that the plastic bag these are in holds up against concentrated detergent
but
if it comes in contact with just water it dissolves like a group of Jan 6th criminal insurrectionists erasing all their social media posts.

https://www.greenlivingdetective.com/how-green-is-it-to-use-detergent-pods/

 

[launderess]

Only thing "oxi" about those Tide pods is their name, you won't find a trace of oxygen bleaching agent listed in ingredients.

Word "oxi" in of itself means nothing and isn't any sort of registered trademark. Nor legally must mean a product contains any sort oxygen bleach or stain remover.

It's nothing more than clever marketing and advertising taking advantage of fact most consumers will associate "oxi" with OxiClean type products.

 

[justjunque]

Launderess,

Hmmm.
Thank you. Another interesting little nugget.
Oh well. Glad I bought the smallest bag I could find. If I end up liking them, great. If not, it was a small price to pay.
If I don't like how they work, I can always take Keith's advice and make s'mores out of them!

Barry

 

[thomasortega]

Well, I have several real bags of that stuff

Laundry bags, made to transport highly contaminated laundry.

You toss them in the washer, no manual contact to any gross stuff, and the bag dissolves "instantly".

Now the real life scenario.

That bag is a PAIN to use because it's sticky. Opening it is already a chore.

Then you finally manage to make it work and you toss it in the washer.

That thing takes FOREVER to dissolve.

You end up with a giant snot sticking to the clothes, the washer, your hands (because you tried to help the washer) and you'll never again want to use that s**t.

 

[launderess]

Those water soluble laundry bags took off (IIRC) as outgrowth of regulations from OSHA and similar bodies in Europe and elsewhere as HIV/AIDS epidemic grew.

In may days in hospital linen fouled by body fluids and soils (urine, faeces, blood, vomit, etc...) was simply all placed in one laundry bag and sent to wash. It was job of laundry workers to sort or otherwise deal with such linen.

Things from infections wards/rooms were double bagged (cloth) and coded, but still went to laundry for them to deal with in terms of sorting.

HIV/AIDs changed all that; laundry workers and others demanded protections against the unknown, so protocols were developed.

Linen soiled by bodily fluids or whatever must go into separate bags and labeled "bio hazard" or such. This alerts laundry staff to take necessary precautions.

Those laundry bags will dissolve properly in wash if machine isn't packed tightly, thus giving things adequate room to move about, and also if high water temps are used.

Healthcare linen will have several wash baths at temps of at least 150F or 160F maybe higher. These are followed by one or more hot or warm rinses. All that along with strong chemicals and aggressive agitation should ensure bags totally break down during wash.

Water soluble laundry bags walk a fine line. You want them to break down in the wash, but also must cope with wet or damp fouled laundry. If used to say contain used diapers, there's going to be liquids and moisture there.



http://ronsenterprises.com/src/medical/water-soluble-bag-laundry.php

 

[justjunque]

First impression

Well, I used the Tide Ultra Oxy pods on on batch of whites so far.
I don't think it was enough for me to form a strong opinion on how well they work. That might take time.
But, two observations that I made were:
I didn't mind the scent. It seemed like a clean scent. To me, the laundry room kind of smelled like someone was taking a shower.
The other thing that struck me was the suds. Using a conventional top-load washer, I'd say it was a medium sized batch, about a half fill water level. The package suggested one pod for a small to medium load. Being my first experience with pods, I was struck by how small they are. Because of that, I almost used two. But, I decided to go with the recommendation of the manufacturer for the first try. I can't even imagine the amount of suds I would have had if I had used two!

Barry