What is the deal with Persil?

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If you have "well worn" clothing Persil does a very good job at getting clothes clean, and for most people doesn't smell offensive and/or cause allergic reactions. Clothes that are clean will often look cleaner after a wash or two in Persil. The surfactants and enzymes are gentle and don't cause much damage to clothing. The 2-in-1 (or Stainfighter, whatever they're calling it) is one of the best detergents out there as well.

You can usually find it on sale throughout the month bringing the cost down to under what Tide is, and often to what the cost of A&H is.

I used ERA for a while, it worked okay. I liked the scent profile, I honestly wish P&G would move that to Tide it was so pleasant. Left a few things that I know Persil would get out, and it got incredibly foamy if i didn't wait until the tub filled up and added it mid cycle. If i added it at the start I would need to use two rinses, and the 2nd rinse would still look like a regular wash cycle.

Regardless, it works very well and isn't terribly expensive.
 
I think the scent varies to the version of Persil. I don't fuss with detergents and for decades have always bought whatever was on sale cheap,, like ERA , or Arm & Hammer etc, you know the big jug for $3 and have been pretty much satisfied.. In a weak moment a couple of years ago I thought what the heck I'll try the Persil 2 in 1 since Consumer Reports had top rated it. Turns out it did clean a bit better than the cheap stuff and I liked the light scent.. I don't like stinky detergents. Think is often I'll go into a store and can't find the 2 in 1 , just another version which I don't want. Persil gets about a foot of shelf space in most stores and tide products get about 50 feet.
 
When Persil first arrived on US scene

That is Henkel released their "American" version it beat Tide in tests done by Consumer Reports and others. P&G was *NOT* thrilled and quite frankly must have been shocked at being knocked off their #1 pedestal, and promptly got busy reformulating certain versions of Tide.

About one year later Tide "ultra" Stain Release beat Persil in CR testing by a hair; and things have been back and forth since. Will be interesting to see how this new Persil "10 Dimension of Clean" or whatever new formulas stack up against Tide in CR testing.

If anything Henkel has forced P&G to up their game in the true "HE" detergent market. Yes, P&G like Henkel has long experience in making such detergents for the European market, but Tide's offerings for North America weren't exactly always great. Stain removal, froth issues and other things caused some to search out Persil and other detergents from Europe.

Notice Tide is slowly getting to be easier rinsing, less frothing, and in general behaving like a true "HE" or whatever detergent.

Also few if any other North American detergent makers could match P&G in terms of size and financial power to pour into R&D. As have mentioned previously many times P&G has various patents locked down, and has done so for decades. That gives their laundry detergents especially Tide an edge. Henkel has the resources to go toe to toe with P&G and believe you me they must now be looking over their shoulders.
 
>Persil gets about a foot of shelf space in most stores and tide products get about 50 feet.

I've noticed that, too. But, of course, Tide has more varieties. I wonder if there aren't even people working directly with Tide at P&G who may not remember all the variants...
 
As for whether Persil (and Tide) is worth buying vs. something cheaper...

I think this is very much a "your mileage varies" deal. Some people probably would find cheapest detergent good enough. Other people could get by on nothing less than a top tier detergent.

I have to admit...I was pretty cynical once about Tide, thinking that other brands were just fine. BUT my laundry needs were (and are) simple: more freshening than anything. My attitude back then might have been considerably different had I had severely stained/dirty laundry.

In recent history, I've been using Tide more often than not. I only generally need freshening, but I think Tide may work better for even that. That said...I theorize I could happily get by on some cheaper detergent if I had a different washer.

A few months back, I was using some variety of unscented All. It seemed to work OK, but I noticed a difference when I switched to Tide purclean. The difference isn't enough to make me say I'll never buy All again, but it is enough to make me say that if I can get a good deal on Tide, that's what I'll get.

I have used A&H only once in recent memory. I can't remember it very well, but I can remember not being terribly impressed. That said, I was using a sensitive skin formula. A regular variety might work better.

I've used Persil, and it worked well. I can't say if it was better than Tide. But I can say, no matter which brand has the best absolute cleaning power, that one thing I like about Tide is that it is available in unscented varieties.
 
Tide gets more shelf space

Well it would, wouldn't it?

P&G has a dozen or more versions of Tide liquid and pods alone. Persil has just about four or five if you count pods and the new discs remaining on shelves instead of one replacing the other.

P&G also has Gain, Downy and host of other laundry products that give it claims to more shelf space.
 
Persil 2in1 has changed again!

I noticed at the store that Persil’s labels have changed again. The 10 dimensions are now listed on the back of the bottle. I assume that the 2in1 is now called “+ Stain Fighter.”

 
Noticed that last night when stopped into RiteAid

Needed distilled water for my steam iron and since detergents were in aisle on other side....

Just wanted to take a peek as to what local RA had on offer for the sale. No discs but did notice the "2in1" bottle labels had changed slightly.

Still stuck to my guns and didn't purchase, though will have to see if bottle bought a few months ago is different than what is on offer currently.
 
Just checked; bottle of Persil gifted from laundromat is "Persil ProClean - Pro 10 Premium Clean".

Among other benefits listed on bottle is "cold water cleaning".

Peeked my older bottle of Persil "2in1 Pro Clean/ Pro Lift Technology" and it makes no reference at all to any water temperatures.

OTOH all of my German Persil liquid and powder detergents have something mentioning they work at 20 degrees Celsius.

Last time one checked Tide Coldwater liquid when tested by CR (years ago now) worked best at temps near 90F to 100F, but gave acceptable results at 86F. CR made a point of saying Tide liquid detergent (regular) also cleaned well in warm or coldish water, so there you are then.

Know there has been a huge push in many parts of Europe to get people to turn down the dial to warm or cold water. Since machines there largely self heat wash water tap water temp is irrelevant to some households.
 
Henkel sells a Cold Water version of Persil in Canada. Tide just introduced a new cold water Pods recently.

I haven't seen power packs of Persil in a while, I picked up a 16 pack of regular Persil as part of the Rite Aid sale last week, and the scent is much weaker than it was the last time I used it.
 
It is still sold at Target, and the cold water Pods are new. There seems to be a renewed push for cold water laundry. I remember seeing an ad from GE (?) about using the speed wash setting and changing it to cold water -- which seems like a fantastic way of not getting clean clothes -- as a way to reduce energy and water consumption.
 
Cold water and Tide: the line on their website is that Tide Coldwater is rated down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Other versions are apparently rated only to 60 degrees Faherenheit. So...the person routinely using cold water would still (in theory) be better off using Tide Coldwater.
 

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