What laundry additives do you use on a consistent basis? We use ammonia, bluing, and 20 Mule Team Borax regularly. Used to be a dedicated Blu-White and La France user until it was suddenly discontinued by Dial. :-(
Some oxygen bleach on whites and very lights, and prespotting for the stains that need some help. Very occasionally when something pee-soaked gets lost/hidden at the bottom of the laundry and ends up going sour I'll use some Biokleen Bac-out, but that's about it. The Vaska detergent I'm using gets everything pretty darn clean all by itself otherwise... I haven't felt the need to dip into the STPP since I started using it.
my most used additives would be:
20 Mule Team Borax
Mrs. Stewarts Bluing, since I cant get LaFrance any longer
Murphy Oil Soap
Fels-Naptha for pre treating
Forgot to mention it in my first post that my wife loves Sears detergent in the orange box, Ariel Oxi-Azul, and Viva. She has also developed a liking for Ace, Roma, and Foca. I can't find Foca around here lately, is it because of the phosphate ban being tightened up?
I love that Tide H.E. powder or Sears Ultra Plus Detergent powder.Shout in the spray can or the shout concentrated or spray-n-wash ultra.Clorox for colors powder.clorox regular bleach for whites.Tide stain release powder.I liked Lafrance.Are there any of the Hispanic detergents safe for H.E. washers?
Have been using Sears Ultra Plus the last couple years. It's a lot less expensive than the Tide I was using, and cleans well. Sometime do use Tide Stain Release on whites such as socks. Have quit using softener, as it was making me itch.
First and foremost is Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing. Next would be BIZ Bleach. And DEFINATELY Suavitel Fabric Softener. I love the lasting fragrances. UU, OO, I need go and add the bluing. Bye!!
Since our Vollwaschmittel do kill germs at normal temperatures - 40°C - I only need disinfectant (Sagrotan is a common one here) when I have to go below 40°C.
I don't know whether the new 20°C detergents really disinfect. They don't specifically make that claim, something the 40°C detergents did do when they first came out - and for which our version of consumer reports still tests.
Phosphates are going to be taken away from us here, too. Then we'll have the same gutless trash the Americans are stuck with and we'll be adding STTP to our washloads, too.
Probably the biggest difference to American detergents apart from the fact that we (for now) have phosphates so they actually clean, is that we embraced and increased our use of enzymes over the years. Americans are only just now returning to them on a larger scale.
Pretty hard aquifer water here in Waterloo - so STPP goes in every load to soften the wash water. Bleach for whites, otherwise use TWB in the vintage machines, and Tide HE in the Neptune. For food or blood stains I scrub a bar of Fels Naptha in to pre-treat. Gets it out every time!