UK detergent prices

[zanussi_lover]

It is me whenever you go your monthly food shop, its time to buy more detergent and you find that your usual brand has rocketed. I use Persil powder alot as i like the smell and the cleaning performance, and it doesn't irritate my skin.

I usually buy the small 10 wash boxes as they last me longer than 10 washes as i use half of the recommended amount and still get good results =]

the last box i bought was £3.00 but now its £3.59 even more so

a 25 wash box is £7.15 :O and a 50 wash box is £12 and a 70 wash box is £16.39 (Asda)

I remember back in 2004/05 I was paying £2.50 for a 15 wash box of persil and about £4 for a 45 wash box and about £8 for a 50 wash box

Lidls formil washing powder is only £6.59 for 60 washes, much better value I think and equally good results, and best of all, no heavy perfume

when your on a budget like me, i wouldn't mind swopping my usual brand for one that gives equal results at a cheaper price.

 

[arbilab]

Here's an adjacent thread about detergent pricefixing in Euro....

France Fines Detergent Makers For Anti-Trust Violations

Well it's true all things come out in the wash.... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/french-competition-authority-issues-484-million-in-cartel-fines.html

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[gorenje]

Hi zanussi_lover

it's not only in the UK. Here in Slovenia the prices of detergents are absurdly high.

By the way - yes Formil powders are indeed good!

Ingemar

 

[seamusuk]

The simple answer.....

Stock up when you see an offer. Morrisons were doing 50 wash Persil for £6 a month or so ago. Think 25 wash Surf is £3 and 23? wash Persil with Comfort is £4 at the mo.

Seamus

 

[spoodles]

P&G have just shrunk all their pack sizes but the prices haven't changed. Ariel powder and gel have gone from 28 washes to 25. The smaller 18 wash gel bottles have shrunk to 16 washes. All the other formats and P&G brands have shrunk as well. Lenor has shrunk but, like Ariel gel, it's still in the same size bottles.

Unilever are also at it, their Comfort Exhilarations softeners have shrunk from 42 to 34 washes and the big bottles of Surf Small & Mighty are down from 54 washes to 42. The price is lower but now works out more expensive per wash. Persil will probably be next.

 

[glenfieldmathk1]

Persil have done this. I have noticed my Persil Tablets, in 2008 were 40g each tablet, they then went down to 36.8g and remained like this until a few months ago when they decreased to just 30g each tablet.
They have improved the strength though, two tablets still does the same job the old 40g ones do, and smell much better. Though quite often I put 3 in now, as I don't feel 2 is enough for the hard water in our area.
Bold also decreased there size of the liquid tabs, I used to use the orange ones, and the orange powder tabs, but they started decreasing, so I stopped using them.

 

[ronhic]

A capful of Calgon gel is cheaper than a third tablet....

 

[glenfieldmathk1]

@rohnic

OK,
But I wasn't saying that, the whole purpose of the thread was to discuss the price of detergent, and later they were discussing how brands are conning you, and I simply joined in, and said that Persil is getting smaller, and yet charging same amount.

Anyway, I could just add Calgon, but that would mean buying yet another expensive product, which probably doesn't really do much in my machine, My Hotpoint WM31 was designed with Persil Automatic, that's the non-bio stuff these days, so they never said anything about using Calgon then, so why should I now?

I only put three in when the load is really dirty or a big load. Only occasionally. Its not enough times to need Calgon!

 

[hoover1100]

Hmmmm...

"My Hotpoint WM31 was designed with Persil Automatic, that's the non-bio stuff these days."

Biological Persil was inctroduced years before the WM series Hotpoints were on sale in the mid-late 90s, infact the non-bio version wasn't reintroduced until the late 80s as far as I'm aware. Detergent formulations were certainly more effective years ago though, hence people these days being conned into washing at 30 with vanish at £8 a tub!

I doubt that calgon is cheaper than adding a third tablet though, I hate the stuff myself.

We do as others have said, stock up on large boxes when they are on offer and stick to powders rather than overpriced tablets or pointless and ineffective liquids, gels, liquitabs and what have you.

I've tried pretty much every brand on the market and none of them even compare to the cleaning power of persil or ariel, so no matter how much they cost I'll still buy them and use as much of them as I need to get the cleanest clothes I can, I just go about it in the most cost effective way possible!

Matt

 

[zanussi_lover]

Formil

Ive been using Formil Biological Powder and Ive been happy with the cleaning performance, I even use it on dark clothes and they haven't faded, which is more cost effective as i dont have to use colour powder.

My clothes are clean and fresh with next to no fragrance, it rinses out well. I washed my towels in it, and they felt soft, and best of all, no irritation and no itching, and no headache inducing smell.

Persil is great, but its very expensive and will only buy it on offer, and Formil will be my new everyday powder

 

[ronhic]

Actually, it is about costs - reducing them longer term

....and getting the best performance out of your detergent

 

If you have hard water, a capful of Calgon will prevent accumulation on your heating element and soften the water by binding with the calcium. Now, because the water is soft, it also boosts the cleaning power of the detergent.

 

I used to use slightly more than the minimum dose of Persil for light soil/soft water and about 2/3 measure of calgon in my machine in London - where kettles fur after a couple of weeks of use as the water is so hard - and had nothing but good results.

 

Additionally, because the actual detergent load is lower, it rinses out better AND you never have flecks of calc on your clothes....

 

From my perspective 8 years ago - it reduced costs (washing machine maintenance and detergent), reduced environmental impact (reduced detergent load and less need for additional rinses) and increased the elements performance (less power used for a given temperature)...

 

So, in my books, thats a win-win-win.....

 

[zanussi_lover]

ronhic

Calgon is very expensive, and there are other ways you can soften water

Soda Crystals - Mix it with your detergent and use the dose for soft water, this can soften water and remove stains

Use a generic water softener tablet/powder - cheaper and does the same job

Descale your washing machine regularly by running a boil wash with a bottle of white vinegar every so often, can also clean out the machines drum and pipes.

you can even descale a kettle with vinegar.

 

[pierreandreply4]

Detergent price here in canada are high as well if you look at this i bought some arm and hammer liquid he detergent with oxy clean stain remover the regular price is 5.99$, lucky for me it had a 1.00$ rebate. So in away if i see a detergent in specal even if its not my regular brand i will buy it but the trouble is for me i am limited to high efficency detergent.

 

[nickuk]

detergents

Hi all

Coming from someone who does 20-30 loads a week (or at least it feels like it!)

In my opinion Lidl's Formil bio powder is the way to go. It isn't quite as good on whites and stains as Persil or Ariel, but better than Surf and Bold (and FAR better than current Tesco own brand powder which I think is cr*#p) and about the same performance as Daz, but Daz rinses horribly so I would choose Formil every time.

However, the advantages of Formil go beyond performance on whites.... A scent one can live with (and easy to match any FS with), great rinsing, and about half the price of the others even before these outrageous price increases. Thing is, the fact it's less good on whites is because it has either a lower bleach content or less TAED, which means (as someone else posted) is does very little harm to darks and colours especially on a cool quick wash. If you want the best whites, I don't think you can beat Ariel or Persil. However, Formil works for me as an excellent compromise detergent.

Formil has been my driver for about a year now. I don't love any of the LIDL fabric softeners, however, and have yet to convert to these!

Oh, and if you're in LIDL, be sure to pick up some green and red chillies stuffed with greek cheese from the chiller - DIVINE!!

Love to all

Nick

 

[ronhic]

Calgon is very expensive, and there are other ways you can s

Oh, I agree that there are other ways to soften water, and I used several of them when I lived in London. BUT, Calgon gel is several things that other products are not...

 

- no mess

- easily used

- instantly disolves

- and, at GBP3.50 a bottle for at least 15 loads, more likely 20....not that expensive as far as I'm concerned when I can pretty much halve the detergent usage for a hard water area such as London

 

...and I do know how to descale a kettle....

 

[mrwash]

High detergent prices? Not in...

...Germany. Ithink it has to do with the fact that the German grocery market is one with the hardest competition.

Ariel, 18 loads --> 3,75€ when on offer
Persil, 18 loads --> 3,95€ when on offer

Vernel softener, 1 liter --> 1,11 € when on offer (sometimes even 0,99€}

I could go on like this for hours.

 

[zanussi_lover]

Nick

I like the fact that I can use Formil on Dark clothes and they dont fade at all, and because it has oxygen bleach in it, i know its been properly washed, as the bleach kills bacteria, and ive noticed when i use colour detergents, my clothes smell mouldy afterwards.

As for whites as good as it is you can put in some soda crystals to give it a boost which is what i do with great results, or add some cheap oxygen bleach to boost the whiteness power

The perfume is next to none which i like as I find Ariel very stinky where as formil is a very mild fragrance.

Kyle

 

[lavamat_jon]

There's always a special offer on detergent somewhere, so I just stock up on the normal brands when they have an offer on - don't think I have paid full price for branded detergent for ages now; and often it is cheaper than own brand at offer price.  Last time I was in Sainsbury's they had 80 washes of Ariel for £10, and Asda sell bulk packs of P&G detergents for around £14-15, Tesco currently have P&G gels for £5 (if they're your thing) so good deals can be had...

 

Clubcard vouchers are always good to check too - my last set of vouchers included one for a pack of 22 Bold liquitabs for £3.  Yes, there are better detergent choices, but for the price you just can't grumble.  A set I had a few weeks ago entitled me to a big bottle of Lenor for £2 or so, so if you're a Tesco regular (unfortunately I am, one of their Metro stores is only 5 minutes from my house, and there is a Tesco Express on campus at uni), they're worth keeping an eye out for.

 

Saying that I do prefer to buy detergent from a cash and carry when possible... the professional 90 load boxes always work out more cost effective than even shop's own brand powder.  It's a shame Netto doesn't exist anymore, as they always had decent deals on professional boxes of powder with the added bonus of not having to be a member of a cash and carry.

 

I agree with the standard prices of detergents increasing though - 25 washes of Ariel is now over £7 at regular price!

 

Jon

 

[aquarius8000]

I brought a tub of 30 simply sensitive powder-tabs and they were £2.02 in waitrose!