White King

[strongenough78]

After many years of having to use laundromat washers most of which give warm water on the hot setting and all of which give only a 9 minute wash time, I noticed my whites were looking quite dingy. I've tried different detergents with and without oxygen bleach and even used Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. There was slight improvements but not drastic. A couple years back I did laundry at a friends house equipped with a water softener and noticed a major improvement. So recently I've been curious to try White King so I finally bought a box. Washed some whites in the hottest water possible and followed the directions on the box. I must say I'm in love with this stuff. My socks came out completely clean and much whiter than before. I can't wait to try it in a regular washer with a full wash cycle. I highly recommend it!

 

[launderess]

IIRC White King Water Softener

Contains phosphates.

Easy test is to take a teaspoon or less and dissolve in a glass of warm water. If the water remains clear more than likely the stuff has phosphates.

Or you simply could just read the label. *LOL*

 

[strongenough78]

Lol Laundress! Actually it contains no phosphates. Which is weird cause a couple of years ago I bought a bucket of stpp which helped but never produced results like this stuff. Maybe I wasn't using enough of it.

 

[launderess]

Really?

How very odd.

http://housekeeping.answers.com/cleaning-products/white-king-water-softener-review

 

[mich]

Packaged Water Softners...

Available in Supermarkets (Rain Drops, Calgon, White King) don't contain Phosphates, and haven't in Years.

Calgon is Sodium Sesquicarbonate, a variant of Sodium Carbonate, and supposedly complexes just like STPP or Sodium Hexmopolyphosphate would.

Even in the Late 70's Calgon had special formulas, that were Phosphate Free for areas "limiting" phosphates. Although, Thanks to the 1980's & 90's bans, and the Automatic Dishwashing Phosphate Bans, there are no more phosphate laden Booster products on store shelves. Even in states without any bans, whatsoever.

Unless of Course, were talking about NOS

 

[mich]

Vern

I'm going to assume that there's a decent sized Mexican Population somewhere close to you, and with that, you probably have some Mexican Markets or Bodegas arround.

Look for Some Phosphate'd Ariel or Foca. I think you'll be shocked on how well they work, even in California'n Hard Water

 

[whirlcool]

I wonder if this stuff is sold in Texas? I've never seen it here.

 

[stan]

We had

a thread about White King water softener a while back.
Somehow I got the impression that it had phosphates in it? Think it was due to the MSDS. However what's listed on the box
(washing soda) and the weight of the box, make me think it dose not contain phosphates.
I called the Company, and explained that the MSDS said one thing, but the label on the box said another! (Think it was made by Sun)
I never did get a straight answer from them.

One of those things that I left as a mystery!

 

[danemodsandy]

Yep!

Yes, White King is made by the same manufacturer that makes Sun detergents - Huish.

This probably positions it as a "value" alternative to Calgon - which, trust me, they ain't givin' away.

Every Huish product I've ever used was excellent value for money. I currently use their Cuddle Soft liquid fabric softener (gotta keep that Maytag softener dispenser useful!) and their Sun oxy powder.

Another virtue of Huish products is that they still make products in quieter scents, without the P & G stinky-poo fruit salad smells.

 

[supersuds]

Vintage (1960s?) box of White King I'm using.

 

[supersuds]

Back of the box indicates it is non-precipitating.

 

[supersuds]

And on the side, it says sodium sesquicarbonate. I'm not surprised, because it looks just like the old Calgon did. You have to be careful how much you use, too, because it softens do effectively any detergent with a tendency to foam up will really build up a head o' suds.

 

[whirlcool]

Another virtue of Huish products is that they still make products in quieter scents, without the P & G stinky-poo fruit salad smells.

You must be referring to the wango-tango-mango scents P&G loves so much.

 

[stan]

John

Is the box heavy? Like washing soda?
Sodium sesquicarbonate is a mix of baking soda, and washing soda.. I think? If so, it would form a precipitate.
Wonder if back then, they used this, and STPP in the mix, and only mentioned the SS on the box?

 

[supersuds]

Stan, yes, it is heavy for its size...much like All or Dash were at the time.

I suspect you're right about it being a mix with STPP, because SS is definitely precipitating by itself. How else could they claim White King was non-precipitating?

Wikipedia says SS forms crystals, and you can see crystalline forms in the WK powder. That reminded me of the older Calgon that was available up to ten or so years ago, that was clearly marked as having phosphates. But Mich says it had SS, so the two ingredients must not be incompatible.

 

[stan]

Hi John

I had the same question a while back (if they interfered with each other)
From the answers I received, they don't! provided that their balanced by some type of percentage of one vs the other in the same mix.
Noticed your All Free/Clear powder in the photo. I've never tried it. How do you like it?

 

[mrboilwash]

Current Ingredients:

Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Chloride
Sodium Silicate
Sodium Polycarboxylate
Sodium Gluconate

http://sunproductsmsdsbrand.thewercs.com/private/document.aspx?prd=100159516%7E%7EPDF%7E%7EMTR%7E%7EINDS%7E%7EEN%7E%7E2013-08-05%2018%3A16%3A12%7E%7EWHITE%20KING%208/77Z%20WS%20CH%7E%7E&subformat=d__INDS&language=d__EN&CUSTOM5=white%20king&hidRequiredList

 

[launderess]

Have Some Vintage Amway Water Softener

That also contains phosphates and Sodium sesquicarbonate so the mixture must be or was fairly common.

 

[mrboilwash]

The combination of Phosphates and Sodium Sesquicarbonate was also found in Calgon Bath Beads. Don`t know if it`s still in production.
Have brought a package from a trip to the States some years ago, but never understood the idea of putting something alkaline into bath water.
My skin wasn`t fond of it either.