What laundry products do you use and why?

[oliger]

What laundry products do you use and WHY?
(Please mention powder or liquid detergent)
I would like to compare detergents, softeners, etc. without buying all of them myself.
I use borax with everything to soften my very hard water.
For heavily stained items: Powdered Tide and borax
For everyday clothes: Powdered Foca, and borax.
For whites: Powdered Tide, borax, and chlorine bleach.
For anything shrinkable washed in cold water, I use liquid tide.
Most things unless heavy duty clothes like overalls, I use snuggle fabric softener.
I prefer to line dry as it always smells nicer, and it makes whites even whiter. Fresh sheets from a clothesline are one of life's pleasures.

 

[wayupnorth]

I cant be bothered with this detergent for this and that for that detergent, etc.. Cheap ERA detergent, bleach in the hot stuff, Oxyclean in the dark stuff. I do not put any load in to wash until its full and all laundry is treated the same way. Fill Maytag, add soap only use fabric softener on the whites And always hang out in the warmer weather when its not crappy outside.

 

[iowabear]

Tide Powder with Bleach for everything.  I add liquid chlorine bleach on white loads only.

 

I do now have 3 small bottles (40 oz) of liquid Tide that I bought cheap at Dollar General after using their digital coupons.  A good bargain is hard for me to resist.

 

However I don't care for strong scent it leaves compared to the powder.  I will use it, but grudgingly.

 

I've never used fabric softener of any kind.

 

 

 

[mrsalvo]

HEB house brand Bravo for most loads, cleans amazingly well and not high sudsing.
Tide with Bleach powder for whites, cutting the chorine bleach due to the septic / gray water system. Woolite for Darks, cool wash, for really dark items, low sudsing as well.

I'm not opposed to using Free & Clear detergents. Winter months I sometimes switch to All Free & Clear as it's gentler on my dry skin.

Am not a fan of really strong scented detergents. I thought Persil cleaned well, but to strong scent for my liking. The scent lingered in the house for days.

Very limited use of fabric softener, due to septic system.

Try to line dry everything outside. Love sheets that are hung outside.

Barry[this post was last edited: 8/14/2019-00:16]

 

[thomasortega]

Tide with bleach powder for whites until the box ends, maybe 5 loads more, then migrating to Persil Discs because of the far superior brightening power>
Kirkland pods for colors. I'm not a fan of pods, I actually hate them, but I had a ton of guests a few months ago, then I decided to try something cheaper to do their mountains of laundry (10 Jiu-Jitsu kimonos that had to be washed twice a day) and I kinda liked it.
Cheer powder for blacks.
Tide 20x for rags (I bought it and I didn't like it)

Also:
White King detergent booster for everything
Purex 2 powder detergent booster (Honestly IDK why I'm using it. Maybe because it's super cheap but I don't really see an absurd difference.
Washing soda sometimes on whites for the same reason above.

Oxy Bleach (Until i finish the jar) I purhcased sodium percabonate that i'll start using instead.

Depending on the load, none of the above. I use just 2 scoops of Rosalie's Zero Suds. I LOVE that thing.

Downy fabric softener (the pink one) for everything, tons of it. never less than a full cap. 2 or 3 capfuls for loads of towels.

matching downy dryer sheet. 2 sheets for clothes, up to 5 sheets if it's a load of towels or bed sheets just because I love strong scents. (and I clean my dryers very often because of that)

 

[askolover]

Bold powder or Mexican Ariel powder with a little Clorox for whites and Tide turbo botanical rain pods for everything else.

Walmart's Great Value blue fabric softener for colors and Yellow Suavitel for whites.

Occasionally a splash of ammonia for really dirty colors.

Shout or Dawn for stains.

 

[DADoES]

 
Persil ProClean Power-Pearls (until I run out of it) for whites, usually with powder Biz added, and chlorine bleach.  Yeah, I know chlorine bleach contras with O₂ bleach and enzymes but my HE toploader has a timed bleach dispenser so the enzymes get sufficient time to work first.

Persil ProClean 2-in-1 liquid or Cheer powder or Wisk liquid, with Biz sometimes added, for everything else.

Once in a while Foca powder in my non-HE toploaders.

Snuggle Lavender and White Orchid softener on some loads.

STPP on all loads.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Tide, Gain and sometimes Persil liquid for regular wash.  Clorox for cotton whites. Oxy spray for spot cleaning. Gain fabric softener sheets.

 

[ea56]

Tide liquid/bleach and Oxi Clean for whites, and Gain original liquid for everything else. Sometimes I'll use bleach, like when I wash the rubber tub mat and nylon shower curtain liner. Once in a while I will buy a bottle of Persil Intense Fresh for a change. Never use liquid fab softener, but do use Gain Dryer sheets, which leave no build up like the LFS does. I usually just use some of the liquid detergent to pre treat stains.

Eddie[this post was last edited: 8/14/2019-10:03]

 

[48bencix]

Lazy and practical

Our municipal water is mostly from wells and has some hardness. My only whites are my towels and socks. At this point I do not sort and just dump in what I have into my Speed Queen 2017 model, hot wash with one cold rinse. I use Liquid Tide Original Scent HE with bleach. I use the manufacturers recommendation which is a pretty small amount. Everything gets clean, although not really dirty to start with. All the colors have been washed so much they do not run. I used to do separate loads and used to use chlorine bleach, but now I have simplified everything. If the load has some extra dirty items I will turn off the machine for about a half of an hour and let it soak in the hot wash water. I get the newspaper and there is always a coupon for 2 to 3 dollars off at the beginning of the month, so the Tide is not expensive overall. I really think it does clean the best, has optical brighteners which make the colors and whites look brighter.

 

[lotsosudz]

SIMPLE METHOD FOR ME

I use liquid All with OXI on everything. Liquid bleach on whites, with White King detergent Booster and Water Softner on everything. Downy liquid on all loads. I swear by the White King on all the loads. Sacramento has fairly hard water, and it makes a night and day difference on final results.
Hugs,
David

 

[dermacie]

I use Tide powder no bleach with a scoop of BIZ for whites and towels. I use Persil liguid for my Sunday best and work attire and I use All liquid for everything else. I use Liguid Fabric softeners.

 

[launderess]

You mean right now?

Vintage Cold Power powder with a scoop of Tide In Wash stain remover (basically oxygen bleach with enzymes).

Have a huge stash of laundry day supplies but am attempting to use up some of the vintage powders before they totally go off. More so Cold Power and others that are loaded with phosphates.

Have to say am quite loving CP. Even at 1/4 cup it doesn't cause froth issues in the Miele, AEG, Hoover TT or even washing in tubs. Cleans very well and leaves a light fresh fragrance. What laundry once smelled like before some clever chops decided we all wanted to smell like a cheap knocking shop.

What one does love is how cleanly this stuff rinses. Water is clear by second or third rinse (Miele or AEG) which indicates to one at least a heavy reliance upon phosphates instead of washing soda. And of course zero Zeolites.

Did a load of whites the other night and things came out luminously bright.

 

[oliger]

Launderess

Please tell me more about old fashioned laundry smell.
Have you found anything modern that comes close to it?

 

[directdrive]

I try and stick with powder as much as possible... still cleans the best imo overall. I detest laundry pods, too many cases of them not dissolving properly.

For most loads of clothes Original Tide powder. For Whites I add a scoop of Resolve Oxi. Regular coloured clothes get Tide Original powder too. I use Downy Cool Cotton liquid fabric softener on clothes and sheets. I generally find the scents of softeners to be overpowering for me, this is about the only scent I can stand. I used the Downy Free & Gentle for a long time before discovering this scent. For towels and anything else I don't use softener on I use Gain Original powder... I love the lasting scent!

I don't use dryer sheets at all, I find them annoying and usually end up balled up stuck in the door glass of my dryer. I actually only machine dry towels (only way I can consistently keep them soft and fluffy), everything else is line dried outdoors in good weather and indoors over winter. I have never noticed any build up at all from liquid softener, but did from dryer sheets.

I recently picked up a bottle of the Tide Studio Darks & Colours which I use on my jeans, and also have a bottle of Woolite for delicate things.

I also do not use any softener on pet stuff or towels ... for these I use white vinegar and wool dryer balls in the dryer with the towels.

I never have used bleach, I don't like what it does to fabrics. But I do also have 2 Euro style front loaders (machines that actually heat the water, not the excuse for what passes as hot or warm in North America now!), and wash the "European Way" ... whites, sheets, towels and underwear are all washed at 60°C (140°F). Coloured and delicate things are washed at 40°C (104°F). I don't believe in cold washes being as effective. Occasionally for anything extremely soiled, I will select the 90°C (194°F) temp, but rarely. I have no issues with fading, shrinking or fabric damage.

 

[iej]

Miele Ultraphase 1 & 2 autodosed component detergents

I’ve been using Miele’s auto dosing Ultraphase 1 & 2 detergents for a good while and I’m finding no real reason to change. They’re not that astronomically expensive and seem to last ages and the results seem pretty good to me.

I’m finding my t shirts and jeans and other highly coloured items are lasting much, much better than with the typical Persil and Ariel products I might have used previously. Whites and light clothes come out very well for a liquid system when it adds a shot of bleach and I’m seeing no pilling and excellent stain removal. I do almost all my normal laundry on a 1 hour cycle at 30 or 40 C and towels etc get washed at 75C.

I stuck with it largely because because it works, it’s extremely convenient and not messy and I really like the scent compared to main stream detergents.

Basically, I’m lazy when it comes to these things and I find I prefer a nice neat and tidy laundry room without splashes of detergent gloop or powder spilling.

 

[frigilux]

Tide Plus Stain Release HE (liquid) for general loads
Persil Proclean Power 2-in-1 (liquid) for general loads
Perwoll Renew Black 3D (liquid) for loads of black clothes
Rosalie's Zero Suds mainly for bath linens

Rationale: The Tide and Persil detergents are top-rated for cleaning/stain removal by Consumer Reports. Perwoll keeps black clothes looking black through multiple washings (I wear a lot of black clothes for gigs.)

Rosalie's Zero Suds is awesome for heavy bath towels, which love to hang on to suds. Unfortunately, it's out of stock right now at the website, so I'm being very parsimonious with it. Absolutely love it, especially when using the Normal Eco cycle on the Speed Queen, which uses spray rinses rather than a deep rinse.

Am phasing out the Persil detergent, as the recently reformulated Tide removes tough stains in non-HE conditions (SQ top-loader) and rinses out better than Persil, especially when using Normal Eco cycle.

NOTE: I always fill the washer with true warm or hot water, then switch over the to the Normal Eco cycle whenever I use it. If you choose warm or hot water with that cycle, you get a couple of inches of warm water and then the tub continues filling with cold.

 

[appnut]

I bought a bottle of Tide HE Heavy Duty 10x last spring.  And was more than pleasantly surprised.  Began phasing out my Cheer and Tide w/Bleach alternative powders.  I just recently bought Persil ProClean +Stain Fighter and another bottle of aid Tide, each with a $2.00 off coupon.  With the Tide, I have discovered I won't have to use Biz much, maybe for kitchen cleaning cloths and meal napkins.  I also use Snuggle Azur Blue fabric softener for all loads.  Wash only in 104, 127-130, 132, and 158 F water temps.  

 

I am enjoying the use of my Precision Dispenser on my Duet, only took me 7.5 years to use it and liquids.  

 

[frigilux]

Bob— I agree that the auto-dosing system Whirlpool uses (cartridges on my 2015 Maytag) is very precise and, obviously, very convenient.

It always seemed to use just the right amount depending on the cycle, load size and soil level selected. I noticed the jugs of detergent lasted longer than when I dosed it myself.

 

[launderess]

"Please tell me more about old fashioned laundry smell.

Not much to tell really, just scent one recalls from youth. Laundry has a fresh soft and clean scent, again not over powering and cloy as with what you get today from most detergents. More to the point things don't smell like cheap perfume weeks after laundering either.

 

[volsboy1]

I use Persil powder from Germany , I get it on Amazon, It goes very far a table spoon and everything is clean, I also use Persil Liquid for stain treatment. I use Biz and TSP mixed up for whites.
I tried to save money with detergents and it did not work out.
I started to break out bad and my yard clothes would still smell of sweat and body odor.
I would have to put in double what is called for just to get them passable clean.
My Mom gave me a box of Miele detergent to try .
Well I loved it, it cleaned great but was too pricey for me. Persil costs me 25 bucks for a box of 44 washes and I get more than that out of it.

 

[chachp]

Laundry

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">A couple of things I have to keep in mind in what products I use and how much I use:</span>

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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">- We have a water softener, so I have to be careful how much product I use in each load</span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt;">-   </span></span></span>I have psoriasis so heavily scented products generally cause issues for me.</span>

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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">Colors: Permanent Press cycle using Warm water and the Miele Ultra Color Powder</span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">Whites that I don’t want to shrink: Warm water, Oxi Clean and the Miele Ultra White powder.</span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">Whites like towels, etc: Sanitary cycle using Oxi clean and Miele Ultra White powder.</span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;"> </span>

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">Bedding: I use hot water and Miele Ultra Color Powder.  This is the only load type where I use any kind of scent.  I use those beads you put in the wash cycle and avoid the second rinse.  Hubby likes sheets to have a scent and for whatever reason using this on my sheets doesn't bother my skin.</span>

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<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">I used Persil for a long time but I got tired of it fading all my colors.  I had to use the Sensitive product due to my skin issues so I moved away from that on to Miele and have had pretty good luck with no skin issues.  I will add on most loads I choose the extra rinse cycle because any trace of product left behind could be problematic for me.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">I hang dry my casual shirts that I wear daily.  Jeans, Underwear, etc. I dry on very low heat.</span>

 

[iej]

When it comes to any kind of body odour issues in clothes, or mildew odour problems the key ingredient for breaking them down is the correct cocktail of enzymes. There’s a lot of R&D, particularly by Novozymes into getting maximum effect on fungal and other persistent organisms that can live on textile fibers and survive a simple chemical detergent.

Bleach will obviously get rid of most of them too, but you can’t reasonably bleach most clothes without causing fading and weakening fibers.

Those enzyme cocktails are expensive and the tend to be used in the top of the line brands only.
Miele seem to be using a 6-enzyme Novozymes cocktail in the European versions of their Ultraphase detergents and I would assume the US version is identical.

Interesting, their skin sensitive detergents are also enzyme based.

I got a pack of he Miele Cotton restoring enzyme cap dose product that is supposed to work wonders on tired looking cottons. I haven’t had a chance to try it out but I might run a wash with some old T-shirts and see how it works. It’s the first product I’ve seen with Novozymes branding on the packaging.

 

[chachp]

Miele Ultra Color

 

<span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier;">This is the ingredient list from the Miele Ultra Color box.  There isn't much else on the box.  There may have been a card inside with additional information but it was likely thrown out.</span>

 

[gusherb]

2-3 years ago I became mildly obsessed with buying and trying different detergents so I built up a small stockpile of Tide & Gain products, and stopped once my space for them in the closet became full. Out of everything I’ve used I haven’t really been able to tell any big difference in performance and can’t settle on anything in particular. Right now I’m onto a box of unscented Tide powder and next time I’m at Target I’ll get whatever appeals to me at the time. I’m thinking about trying some Persil next (although the scent has always been a bit strong to me), or maybe I’ll buy Gain or Tide again...who knows.

Not a big user of fabric softener but with the unscented Tide I was wanting some scent in my clothes so I bought softener in one of my all time favorite scents - Gain Original to use with that. If I go back with a scented detergent I’ll just stop using the softener, and perhaps buy some unscented Downy to use in the winter to cut down on static.

The one thing that does remain constant in my repertoire is OxyClean, and that gets used on the whites. Might even try some Tide with Bleach next.

Everything gets washed in warm water, towels and sheets get washed on hot. Only time I used cold was when I was using a bottle of Tide Coldwater, but I would only do that during the summer when our tap water is 70° or so.

 

[electradeluxe]

I like the detergent from the Co-Op store (UK)
Cleans well and I like the fragrance, and a stain remover spray to pre treat and I like to use Comfort Intense fabric conditioner, I use Woolite liquid for delicate items

Neil

 

[kd12]

All Tempa-Cheer

Cheer colorguard liquid. Why? For starters, we always had Cheer powder at home growning up. I tried Tide liqud years ago, but it didn't seem to get clothes as clean as Cheer.

 

[jerrod6]

For most regular loads, I use the auto-dosing system on the machine which uses Miele Ultra phase 1 which is detergent, along with Miele Ultraphase 2 which is hydrogen Peroxide. I also run a few loads with Persil liquid stain fighter. For fleece and wool, I use Miele liquid for Delicates and Wool, because it cleans well and leaves a nice scent to the fleece. For gym clothes, I use Power Wash Performance Detergent that is designed only for workout clothes. It cleans and removes odors very well. I don't use detergent additives but I occasionally use Zout or Shout stain pre-treater. For fabric softener, I alternate between Snuggle, Miele Softener, and Laundress.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Current detergent

I have started washing loads a little more carelessly. Almost all of my colored clothes go in one load. They all are washed in Old Tide Coldwater HE (the good scent) using hot water. After the washer is done adding water, I will add one cup of ammonia. Sheets and Permanent Press items are washed the same way.
For the non-colorfast items I use Tide PurClean in cold and will use 1C of ammonia with it as well.
Whites receive either Tide Mountain Spring powder or Tide Ultra Stain Release and are washed in hot with 1C of ammonia as well.
I always add 1T of STPP with a full load, and recently have been using the new Downy WrinkleGuard. It actually has been quite enjoyable. Wrinkles really aren't much of an issue anymore.

 

[lordkenmore]

I have poor--no, terrible loyalty to any product. I almost always buy different detergent each time. It may be something I've had in the past, but almost never the same stuff two times in a row.

I'm influenced by price, and also (sometimes) curiosity about a product.

I tend to prefer powder--it was good enough for my mother's Kenmore, it's good enough for my BOL Shredmore--but in recent history I've mostly bought liquids (more choices, and better sales). I also tend to prefer unscented--I hate how strong scents can be.

Currently, my daily driver is Tide purclean.

I can't say I notice huge differences, but then my laundry is mostly freshening, not nightmare dirt. That said, I do notice a difference between cheap brands and better brands. It's not immediately noticeable, but after using, say, All for a while and then switching to Tide, I notice slightly better freshness. But part of that might be the washer.

I'm not a regular user of products other than detergent (e.g., bleach, color safe bleach, softener, etc).