whats everyone favorite detergent

[maytagbear]

Oh, it varies...

However, I will always get enzyme detergents over non-enzyme ones. The difference is that great.

I currently have SA8, and Wisk. I prefer the SA8, though the Wisk is pretty good.

I used to be a Tide guy all the way, but.....for a while, I was using the Arm & Hammer powder with bleach, but it seems to have disappeared.

There was a year, around 2003, when I had no choice economically but to use Xtra, a dreadful thing. Very cheap detergents are no bargain, especially when you wind up having to add Clorox, Clorox2, Oxy, Borateem......... Not all in the same load, of course!

I do miss Dash. "Controlled Sudsing for Automatic Washers."

I also miss Bold...1967's Bold. It worked well, and had a nice scent.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[tuthill]

gyrafoam

I was 5 a mere 14 years ago.

 

[sudsmaster]

The biggest advantage of Persil powder over American detergents is that it doesn't increase sudsing as temperature rises above 130F. Most American detergents I've tried tend to oversuds over 130F, which can be a real problem in a front loader. Persil also seems to leave fabrics softer than other powders. In general I only use Persil in the Miele, which does one load of whites a week, so the big box, although expensive, will last a very long time. For the Neptune, it's American detergents, which do ok since its top temp is 130F.

I understand the reason why Persil doesn't oversuds at higher temps is because it has an antifoam agent that is more active at higher temps. Sort of ingenious, but not something the American detergent mfg's seem interested in.

 

[thomasortega]

I like to use Skip Intelligent powder for whites, Skip Color Block for black and darks, Skip Intense liquid for the coloureds (all of them are argentinian) and Ariel Ecomax powder (this one is brazilian) on jeans, mops and kitchen cloths.

Softener I like the Comfort concentrated (the pink one) or Baby Soft (a brazilian cheap brand)

 

[alanlendaro]

Persil all the way here

Can't stand the way Tide HE makes the clothes smell. My Partner's step mom used Tide HE in her Asko. When we got some of dad's clothes, it took 2 or 3 washings with Persil in the Miele to get rid of the stinky smell. I had tried it myself a few years ago and had to give it away as I couldn't stand the smell and the smell lingered like bad fish. Also found it made the clothes rougher feeling then the Persil. Tried all the powder form Persil detergents (don't much care for liquids) and finally settled on the Megaperls regular and Mega perls color. No additives and everything comes out perfect. Tried the Miele branded detergents and found them to be lacking in every way compared to Persil (needed a lot more to get whites clean, clothes didn't feel as soft, smell was ok though)

 

[jeffg]

We keep our water heater at its hottest temp (160F) and have discovered a fix for oversudsing: add STPP and Charlie's Powder as the machine is filling, let it agitate with the clothing for a few minutes, then add the Tide. Something about the STPP and/or Charlie's keeps the Tide from producing a lot of suds, and it also makes the Tide perform like magic. We haven't used LCB in years.

 

[syndets2000]

I use Instant Fels, or the Bar soap - or
Anything that is free of perfumes for laundry - Clorox 2
Calgonite in the DW-
Zote for scrubbing, or octagon-
Sponge Bob bubble bath- ( for me..) : )
oh yeah- CRAZY FOAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[polkanut]

Lawrence,

FYI, I bought a 1/2 full 5lb. vintage box of Bold at an estate sale this spring. The scent has diminshed somwhat being opened, but it still does a great job of cleaning, and controlled-sudsing to boot. Love the graphics on the box. Also included were unopened 42oz. boxes of Rinso and Purex, a 49oz. box of Burst from Colgate-Palmolive, and a 1/2 full 42oz. box of Miracle White. Each one was marked $1 apiece.

 

[peterh770]

I have pretty much settled in on Wisk 3X HE...

I still have a bunch of UK Persil tabs and only use them for big loads.

I just got a bucket of STPP, so I intend to start using up my stock of ground Fels Naptha bars.

For boosting, I have OxiClean and Amway TriZyme.

 

[brisnat81]

DriveMatic for almost everything
Omo S&M Colour for Colours
Martha Gardeners Woolmix for woolens and delicates.

I rarely use additives, occaisionally half a lidfull of Nappisan Oxygen bleach.

Drive was rated by Choice as a fantastic performer, but very expensive and terrible on the environment. That must be why it works so well.

 

[fluffnfold]

Recently I began using a “green” liquid detergent called Sun & Earth. I’m really pleased with it. It cleans very well, rinses well, and doesn’t leave a scent on the laundry. I haven’t had any challenging stains to test yet, but then I seldom do. I can get it at one of my local supermarkets, and it’s reasonably priced—a dollar less than the Seventh Generation detergent at the same store.

Previously I was using the Sears Ultra Plus With OxiClean powder. I was pleased with that too but learned that it contains nonylphenol ethoxylates. Because of that, I decided that I shouldn’t continue to use it and also decided to stop using petroleum-based detergents completely, so I made the switch. So far, so good.

 

[MrX]

Henkel making a fortune on Persil in the US? I think not.

Quote: Post# 290103-7/12/2008-04:04 ||| JeffG (Boulder Creek, CA)

I tried Persil and it didn't clean any better than Tide.

So why (at least in the U.S.) does Persil cost six or seven times as much as Tide?

Henkel must be making a killing on this stuff."
End quote

Persil sold in the US is imported unofficially, I'm sure the product's being sourced in Germany (if Henkel) or the UK/Ireland (if Unilever) at normal retail or wholesale prices and then shipped to the US and re-sold at enormously inflated prices.

The Euro-US$ exchange rate at present isn't making it any cheaper either.

It's not Henkel or Uninlever making the money, it's the re-distributor in the US.

 

[launderess]

No, That is Not True

Miele North America either through it's parent company Miele KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany; or some other arrangement obtains product directly from Henkel.

This is obvious for several reasons:

First, until Miele recently started selling new boxes of Persil with directions printed in Spanish and English, all directions were in German on the box, with key areas such as product contents and dosages translated on labels that were pasted over the German writing. Why and how would a second party unshrink wrap/uncase/unpackaged tons of product, slap labels on said boxes and bottles, then repackage? Have seen Persil sold in both stores and when purchased my case, and while the outer shipping boxes are "Miele", the contents are shrink wrapped sets of a certain number in original as left the factory.

Next, by international treaty and laws one cannot import/export consumer products from one country to another (in this case from the EU to the United States), without the maker's expressed consent. Many tried, and all were sued in the courts by such companies as Lever Brothers, Proctor and Gamble and others. One big reason has to do with product liability and testing. Another has to do with product support. Reselling items is another story. If one purchases a P&G detergent from say the UK via "BritishExpat.com" or whatever, that is fine as far as it goes,but if you experience any problems or injury, don't expect P&G in the United States to render you any assistance. You will have to contact P&G in the UK, and they may or may not help, since they did not directly send or offer the product for sale in the United States.

Yes, while it is true in the US and EU, and probably elsewhere as well, that like most other consumer products, items are sold in bulk to regional sales reps or distributors; however Miele is purchasing not only a large volume of Henkel products, (laundry detergents, rinse aids, dishwasher salts, etc..), they also require special labelling and exporting. While some of Henkel's EU distributors might be exporters, why would Miele go that route (which increases costs as it adds more middlemen), when Miele in Germany is perfectly able and set up to export their products on their own?

While Persil boxes do say "exported by Henkel...." one assumes this means for out of EU sales going to shops and dealers not associated with Miele.

If the above were not true, one would find other dealers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that sell Henkel products such as Persil, when to my knowledge the only major source is Miele and it's affiliated dealers. There are one or two small places,such as Germandeli.com, but not sure how they come upon their products. Miele North America has exclusive contractual sales of Henkel products such as Persil and the rest. That sort of deal does not come through exporters or other middlemen.

L.

 

[jeffg]

>Miele North America has exclusive contractual sales of Henkel products such as Persil and the rest.

What I don't understand is, I routinely order Perwoll (another Henkel product, also made/imported from Germany) from Amazon, ABT.com etc. and it's just $12. Same thing with Vernel, etc: I haven't seen price gouging with any Henkel product except Persil (and Miele-branded items).

 

[launderess]

Methinks since general laundry detergent is where the most sales are, some dealers charge more. Afterall it is an easy sale after someone drops several thousand dollars for a washing machine, to sell them the "proper" detergent to get the best results. However not everyone has and or launders fine laundry at home, so Perwoll may not be required in all instances, hence no matter what a salesman says, it won't move that much. Have several bottles of Perwoll (came as a job lot case), and hardly touch the stuff. Indeed the lone opened bottle is barely used after about two years.

L.

 

[vintagekenmore]

In the ole laundry cabinet:

Gain Lavender Comfort detergent (the clothes smell fresh for days) or good ole Tide

Clorox for whites: My mother and sister swore by it, and I dont use anything else.

Fabric Softener: We dont have Final Touch or Sta-Puf here so its either April Fresh Downy or Gain in the regular scent and Gain or Bounce sheets for the dryer

 

[angus]

Hmm... a couple of things I like to use.

- Fab Powder - I keep buying up boxes of the Colgate Fab at any dollar stores I can find - of course they are all the Rain Forest scent. I think it does an overall fine job and is LOW sudsing.
- Wisk tablets and Surf tablets. I only use those sparingly since I have a limited supply
- Tide with bleach powder, mountain spring. The fragrance can be a bit overpowering if I use it all the time, so I just change off every other month and crack open a box.

Other items:
- Clorox liquid bleach for whites.
- Sun all fabric bleach - occasional use. Since Huish makes Clorox 2 anyway, no point spending the extra $$ on the same thing.
- Bluette liquid bluing - much better than Mrs. Stewart's. You have to mix it with a quart of water first, so it will mix evenly and not streak.
- Of course, there is always a supply of STPP, phosphated Calgon and several King Size boxes of phosphated Rinso Detergent with Color Bleach, circa 1969-1972 (found at an estate sale and miraculously not affected by northeast humidity)
- Spray & Wash Stick for stains
- Oxi Clean - generally I don't think it is the miracle product for everyday use that everyone else does, but when used as a paste, it has moved some unusual stains that nothing else could (tree juice on a shirt that was hung out on the line)
- NO fabric softeners of any kind. Sorry- they are way over the top in the scent department for me. The only one I could ever tolerate and I used it on woolens only was NuSoft and that is long gone.
- FINALLY, I keep a stash of "Vel Rosita" for woolens. It does a fine job and has a light scent.

 

[andrewinorlando]

Tried Tide, Persil, Gain, and many of the rest, depending on what's on sale. And they're good. But none of them can clean better than Mexican Ariel. And I can get Ariel for 99 cents at the Spanish grocery store. So if they're not better, than what's the point of spending all that money on them?? That little 2.5 pound bag lasts me 4 - 6 weeks since I only need 2 or 3 tablespoons full to do a full load. Whites get a 1/3 cup of bleach. Yes, I'm cheap.

 

[launderess]

Nu-Soft

Angus, last time I checked, a local shop still stocked Nu-Soft. Can't imagine they stopped, so it is still out there.

L.

 

[variomatic]

My favorite detergent is Ariel still of the fact that I come from Europe where I can get Persil everywhere. In my point of view, Ariel even does a better job at cleaning, rinsing and it has a far better scent than Persil.