What is your Favorate Laundry Soap and Softener?

[sudsmaster]

HA!! We've all fallen for Launderess's trick questio

Oh, I don't know about that. Launderess seems to like to use old timey (perhaps due to her Anglophile background) terms for modern items. So she may have meant "Laundry detergents" when she wrote "Laundry Soaps". Backing up that idea is that there are precious few actual laundry soaps on the market these days. Since the demise of Ivory Snow soap flakes (which turned into just another synthetic, albeit mild, detergent), all that's left are various laundry soap bars like Fels or the Mexican import Zote. Although I did pick up a big blue bar of "Island" soap at a south seas market a couple of years ago. It's made in Samoa or Tahiti or some place like that. Smells a lot of tallow, with no other fragrance, and I imagine the deep blue dye helps to drive away the yellowing.

If I were to try a laundry soap, I'd probably pre-dose the wash water with STPP, and then grate some Zote or Island, or even Ivory bath bar soap, into a small container and add enough until the Neptune starts to look like it's getting too sudsy. I would most likely use the grating attachment for my 6 qt 475 watt Kitchenaid Epicurean mixer. It would be a first ;-).

Then again I'm working a lot of overtime these days and I'm just happy to be able to get through a week's worth of laundry on a Sunday (with line-drying thrown in for good measure) with my usual assortment of laundry gasp detergents and boosters.

 

[launderess]

Actually "soap" is a detergent when one gets right down to it, only made from "natural" ingredients. But guess it is rather old fashioned to say "laundry soap" for modern detergents.

There are a few other pure soap or soap based laundry detergents around,but all suffer from the same drawbacks of using soap for general laundry.

Only laundry soap I'd consider using is vintage Fels, along with a healthy dose of STPP. Even then would only launder items not heavily soiled with bio stains, such as cotton blankets and maybe towels. Don't want to do it too often as it would lead to build up like using too much fabric softener.

Grated Fels is great for suds control! But if the wash is hot to very hot and or long the suds will come back eventually it seems.

Speaking of busy, am doing almost two weeks worth of laundry today has have been very occupied myself. Though it is a nice day out, and perfect for line drying, am using Tide Coldwater, thus everything goes into the dryer for a bit to help remove some of the strong scent. Thing about using TCW is one can shave off some time by skipping my Miele's water heating portion of the wash cycle. Merely advance the dial past the heating portion and get on with things.

L.

 

[frigilux]

It's good stuff, isn't it (Tide CW)? Too bad there isn't a lighter-scented version for you, Launderess. I'm back to using it (and my frontloader) for heavily stained white loads. Nothing else I tried did a better job using no pre-wash or second rinse. With a little liquid chlorine bleach, I think it's the best-cleaning combo around.

I'm using Ariel (whose scent would drive you up a wall if you think Tide CW is potent) and occasionally Persil on other loads and Cheer for Darks for my big weekly load of black/dark colors. On truly special occasions, I pull out my Chinese Tide, which has the most wonderful almond scent.

And I knew what you were using the term soap in a catholic sense, I was just goofing around, as is my tendency, LOL.

 

[polkanut]

I would have to say for detergents it would have to be Ace, Foca, and Ariel OxiAzul. For softeners it would have to Suavitel in the yellow bottle

 

[oxydolfan1]

I tried the Persil "Sensitive" powder on a load of whites tonight in my TL and must say I was impressed with its performance.

 

[irishwashguy]

I love the Persil.

 

[washertalk]

That is a difficult answer.
Gain, I have a 200 oz liquid of that.
But have special memories of Woolite powder from 1982, always liked the smell and the feeling of sophistication I felt using a cold water wash detergent.
Original Tide for it's smell. I remember in 1980 going to the grocery store and buying the smallest box they sold I think it was 79 cents. I was 13 and that was all I could afford. It was concentrated so you had to use like a cup maybe a cup and half for a typical load.
I liked ERA when it came in that large bottle with the large pump dispenser. That was the only reason.
A special friend used to use Fresh Start I think it was. It came in clear bottles even though it was a powder. And you didn't need as much as you would if it were other detergents
Dreft- I always liked the smell and the picture on the box.
Original fragrance Downey- I remember the commercials from the 1970's when it came in that pointed top bottle with the sloppy all drip cap. It looked good but it was messy if you didn't rinse the cap after using it as a measuring device. Also, it wasn't concentrated then. I remember the commercials where a camera mounted under water was played in slow motion showing the dispensing of the softner into the water in a Whirlpool washer. And the blue would mix into the water.
I have to admit though I also liked the cheapo pink liguid fabric softner sold in the generic round gallon bottle with built-in handle. It was thin as paper but it smelled good.
I don't think you can get that anymore.
I also remember the Oxydol from the early 1980's commercials. "So get Oxydol, and you won't get ashamed to show it,,, WHITES!"

 

[launderer]

Hello

Tide HE Original Scent powder/liquid
Ultra Downy April Fresh liquid
Downy April Fresh sheets