Which? Detergent Tests 30°C Jan 2009

[launderess]

That's what I'm saying about detergents designed for markets they will be sold.

For instance any self respecting detergent in GB, must deal with curry stains. A proper curry is almost like peanut butter and jelly to many in the UK,and not only those of Indian descent. Beetroots and other foods not often eaten in the US are common as well.

Also consider you are what you eat. Thus your waste (sweat, urine, and the lot), are going to reflect this. Americans on average tend to eat diets high in read meat and fats. This is going to effect the body oils which one excretes,which will end up on clothing just as sure as eating a diet heavy in garlic will make one smell like a Indian restaurant.

L.

 

[2drumsallergy]

Machine and Water Quality

Hi Nick,
I do not mean to suggest that people are using inferior washers, but as an Engineer I can tell you wash performance varies enormously between A rated machines. There is a huge difference between a machine that just meets A grade and one at the top of the A scale.
Another thing that greatly effects performance is water quality again this varies enormously depending on your location. I live in a very soft water area but the quality of the underground pipes effect the water greatly; before our mains were replaced there was a black buildup in the kettle. It was not scale and was easily brushed away but it proves that the old Cast Iron mains were contaminating the water within them.

By the way how did you get on with the Daisy Bio? I do find the Daisy Bio to be a good performer but I think it is quite harsh on the laundry and lacks the protection ingredients of Formil Aktive, Ariel or Persil. The Daisy Softener seems very good but quite thick and gloopy and I found it necessary to add a little water to help it flush out of the dispenser.

David

 

[MrX]

2DrumsAllergy,

The water quality in my area is absolutely excellent, it's extremely soft to the level that I get zero limescale build up in kettles etc.

I find the Aqualtis performs fantastically well on all of its cycles, however, I just don't like Ariel Excel Gel, I'm not a big fan of Persil S&M either. It's not a bad machine and it's not that I have a vendetta against P&G. I just find that powdered detergents do a MUCH better job because they contain various ingredients that can't be put in liquids at present.

I quite like Ariel, I just found their new scent was repulsive. It seems to have been toned down quite a lot. In general I find Ariel and Persil tend to perform pretty similarly, which is uneurprising given that they're both targeting the same market segment.

I tend to use colour powder detergents quite a lot and alternate between Ariel Colour and Persil Colour, but tend to stick to powder or tablet formats.

My main problem with the Ariel Excel Gel format is that I find the packaging 'cool' but totally impractical. It's trying to solve problems that don't exist.

1) The cap is hard and bangs around the drum. It's also slim enough to become wedged between the door seal and the glass porthole on my machine. I think it's quite a poor design.

2) The upside down nature of the package means that when you flick open the lid, there's often 'goo' all over the place. I end up storing the bottle 'upside down' to avoid this.

3) Why couldn't they just have a dosing pump like hand soap ? Just squeeze 2 squirts into the drum and start the cycle? I would find that handy!

I prefer the ability to just throw liquid straight into the drum or into the drawer and I feel Unilever got it right with Persil S&M in that regard. It's concentrated, yet it's free-flowing.

I am not a fan of dosing devices generally.

 

[dyson2drums]

Hey everyone, just went to my grans house yesterday to wash jeans because the Dyson is going mad now as it spins fine sometimes and sometimes goes mental and shkes the whole kitchen like mad! So took about 10 jeans to grans to wash in LG WM12220FD and experimented with ariel excel gel and used the quick 30 program with full 1200 spin and rinse+ and guess wat not over sudsing like in the dyson and clear rinsing and even though the smaller jeans were dirty with obvious stains they cleaned 100% on the quick 30 with 1200 spin and rinse+!
So powder is going o be used in Dyson and gel in LG!

Well, having to use the LG more often due to the Dyson going mad lately, however not planning to repair it as Dyson will charge about £95 or more!

Maybe, i might get an old hoover ecologic 1300 to go in the place of the Dyson as my mother wants an old simple reliable washer for a while then thinking of getting the LG 9kg steam about 2 years later!

Thanks every1!

 

[spoodles]

mrx

When it first came out the Excel Gel bottles just had a hole in the lid for dispensing, so drips were pretty normal, but they now have a squeezy ketchup bottle style valve on them which stops any leaks and drips.

I have to say that for me the dosing device is the quietest there has ever been. No clanging about whatsoever, unlike the old plastic balls or those old P&G rollerball things which were deafening! I've never found it trapped in the door in our Bosch. It tends to work its way inside the load after a while and so doesn't cause any problems or noise as a result. Even when it's 'loose', in a small load of t-shirts for example, it doesn't make any loud banging in the drum. Zips, metal fasteners etc. are the only things that seem to make any sort of noise in the drum for me.

Simon