Wisk, Tide top new Consumer Reports detergent ratings

[supersuds]

The November Consumer Reports has the latest laundry detergent ratings. As customary these days, it is maddeningly short of details and doesn't list everything, but FWIW ---

The top rated brand for conventional top-loaders is Wisk "New Stain Spectrum Technology Deep Clean" liquid. In fact, it is the only check- rated top loader detergent. Rounding out the top 5 are more liquids:

Tide Plus Bleach Alternative
Tide for Cold Water
Cheer Bright Clean with Bleach Alternative
Tide Total Care

Ariel USA Concentrado is the highest rated top loader powder, though in a virtual tie with All New Oxi Active and Sears 9879 Fresh Scent.

Eight HE brands are check rated, in order (all liquids except as noted):

Tide HE Plus Bleach Alternative
Tide Ultra HE powder
Wisk New Stain Spectrum Technology Deep Clean
Tide Plus Febreze
All with Oxi Active HE
Tide HE
Up & Up HE Fresh Breeze (Target)
Kirkland Signature Ultra HE (Costco)
Seventh Generation Natural Superconcentrated powder

Up & Up is the only one said to be a best buy, at 11 cents per load.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

How did Purex liquid with Zout stain removers do ? I am blown away at its performance,much better than regular Purex liquids which are only OK.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Sorry for my ignorance, but is the top choice for top loaders Wisk "New Stain Spectrum Technology Deep Clean" the same as the Wisk "New Stain Spectrum Technology Deep Clean" for HE machines or are there are two formulas (which would be stupid).
Thank you.

 

[supersuds]

How did Purex liquid with Zout stain removers do ?

Purex Complete with Zout is ranked a little more than halfway down the list of HE detergents. It got a 48 overall -- the first place detergent in this category got a 72, and the bottom (Martha Stewart Clean) only 27.

I'm surprised because I also had good results with the Purex + Zout. CR did indicate it works well on grass stains, but not on blood. Not my experience.

 

[supersuds]

are there are two [Wisk] formulas (which would be stupid).

Apparently there are two formulas! I haven't tried them, but I've seen regular and HE Wisk on the shelves. This was true even before Lever sold the brand to Sun.

 

[dirtybuck]

A friend of mine in Dallas told me he found trial size bottles (selling at a dollar each) of Wisk at a grocery store he goes to. He picked up a few and said that it was REALLY GOOD STUFF!

I'll definitely have to try it when I use up the rest of my All Oxi liquid.

 

[bosch2460]

FWIW...

I have used the new Wisk. I found that it stinks to high heaven...like rancid sweet tarts or something. I also find that dosing is hard to regulate, and it is hard to rinse. Some family members actually broke out in an itchy rash after having their sheets washed in it. The cleaning was just average...Tide does better. I was NOT impressed at all. It is now for washing rugs and rags.

Joel

 

[laundryshark]

Did the Amway laundry products even place on that list?

I hear the Amway laundry products have fallen on the CR list. Is this true? I have long since discontinued using Amway products.--Laundry Shark

 

[supersuds]

Amway

Amway's Legacy of Clean SA8 + Bioquest HE (who makes up these names?) did pretty well. It was 10th on the list of HE detergents, albeit not check-rated, and scored a 58 overall (the highest rated powder, Tide HE, got a 71). It rates a little above Gain HE powder, at 56.

They also tested something called Dropps 6X concentrated "pods," which look like a Cascade Action Pac, but they finished near the bottom of the ratings.

 

[volvoguy87]

Kirkland.

I have a box of Kirkland HE powder and although the cleaning performance is okay, it is hard as the devil to rinse out. It also makes way too much foam for an HE detergent.

I recently tried Tide Ultra Mountain Spring powder for the 1st time since its reformulation and I must say I'm pleased. The rinsing is worlds better than it was before. As expected, the cleaning capabilities are very good.

Interesting,
Dave

 

[mixfinder]

Wisky Business

I tried Wisk and have been buying for it mom.  It cleans well and I haven't noticed a smell or rinsing issue but we are still using top loading Maytags in an area with super hard water.  Its nearly impossible to find liquid detergents in regular not HE formularies so it means using more of the HE product to comprensate for 10 times more water in the wash. It is expensive compared to Arm&Hammer or All.

On my shelf at the moment is Wisk, Arm&Hammer, All and Tide Cold Water along with Ariel and STPP.  I use better detergents for whites and clothes with food and grease stains and the lessor for towels, jeans and coloreds.  I am using STPP in the dishwasher as well and it has double the clean ability of the newer detergents.

 

[DADoES]

I have a bottle of Wisk HE Stain Spectrum which is used on occasion (not as the main /daily product). Seems to clean OK. The scent does linger. No obvious trouble rinsing, but Calypsos rinse pretty well.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

A SIMPLICITY vacuum franchise (a competitor of the ORECK franchises) reportedly had a number of bagless vacs in the back needing repair, too...

(& supposedly the store seemed to make more money fixin' vacs than it did sellin' 'em...) --Though at this point, maybe I might have been better off buying the SIMPLICITY upright there that I tried out, when I was shopping for something to replace my EUREKA...

-- Dave

 

[angus]

I noticed that the CR detergent tests didn't include results for Tide with Bleach powder (neither regular of HE) nor did they include Cheer powder or any of the Surf or Fab products. Not sure why they insist on excluding certain products. And they don't provide any guidance as to whether one can extrapolate results of similar procucts- like Tide HE performing similarly to Tide w/bleach HE.

Also, has anyone noticed that Tide w/bleach HE powder is becoming nearly impossible to find? When first introduced, it was available in most Wal Marts and Targets. Went shopping yesterday and two Targets and three WalMarts later, nothing. In fact all of those stores had mostly empty shelves where the Tide powders (except for Tide HE, Tide Lavender and Tide Clean Breeze,

And forget the supermarkets. None of my stores ever carried the Tide w/bleach HE. Is it possible that it has already been discontinued???

 

[DADoES]

 
CR always claims that they buy the products they test at retail as does any consumer ... so maybe they don't test what isn't available at whichever stores they shop.

 

[powerfin64]

Tide

I just got a small box of Tide ultra HE powder, and am very impressed with it. It smells just like the old original Tide powder(I have a old box on hand, Non-HE)and I I do recommend trying it out, if you have not.
Im surprised they didn't test the Tide ultra HE with Bleach powder, which is a very good detergent, also I like it for washing whites with. All the Tide varieties that I use, I do like all of them and get the results that I expect from Tide. the powders do better than liquids in my view, and are getting harder to find.

 

[supersuds]

Tide w/bleach

That was one of glaring omissions I was thinking about.

Fortunately it is still widely available here, even at Target. I wonder if there are big regional variations in sales that account for it being hard to get in the northeast?

 

[angus]

That's possible as people here in the Northeast (with the exception of a few die hard "laundroholics" like me) tend to like liquids. However, when the latest and most concentrated versions of Tide and other brands were first introduced, all the WalMarts and Targets in my area had a fairly extensive selection. Now it seems like they all have gone back to where we were just before the new powders came out - that is, almost no powders on the shelves. Even my local supermarkets where powders have dwindled down in the past year have almost nothing on the shelves except for regular Tide, Arm & Hammer and some errant boxes of Gain. Everything else is liquid.

 

[mrsalvo]

I like this thread. Angus, you are right that they should have tested Fab or Surf. Fab actually does a pretty good job. My Grandmother used it as her daily driver, rarely used anything else. I've used it many times.

 

[launderess]

Powdered Laundry Detergent? What's That?

One would have to look long and hard in most NYC, or at least Manhattan shops to find powdered laundry detergent. Nothing but rows and shelves full of liquids with perhaps a few boxes of Tide, Cheer or Dreft scattered about. Even K-Sears at Astor Place has mainly shifted over to liquid detergents.

The only shop one knows that still has any decent selection of powdered detergents is the Key Food up in the East 90's. Well at least last time one was there last summer. Will have to take a peep again soon.

 

[launderess]

And Another Thing

Far as liquid versus powder debate goes P&G seems to have saved most of it's major advances for the former, leaving the latter as the red headed step-child.

All Tide liquid laundry detergents contain far superiour enzyme complexes than the powdered versions. IIRC the latter only has one (protease) while liquids have several more besides.

In terms of cleaning am that well pleased with both Tide "Free and Clear" and Tide Cold Water of the same.

 

[supersuds]

The Tide powders have both protease and cellulase (these are also in Total Care Liquid). Interestingly, sodium percarbonate is listed in both the regular and "with bleach" formularies. The main difference seems to be that the "bleach" version has "B62 agglomerate" as a bleach activator -- so maybe it works in cooler water? Still, I bet a lot of people add oxygen bleach additives without knowing its already in there!

The enzymes in Liquid Tide are amylase, mannanase, pectinase, and protease.

You might think that the more enzymes a detergent has the better it would be, but at least according to CR, the Ultra Tide HE powder outcleans everything but the HE Plus Bleach liquid. Perhaps the percarbonate is responsible.

I've tried switching between Ultra Tide top loading powder and liquid and can't see much difference; if anything, the powder does better on the kind of stains I have problems with. If if were spilling fruits/jams or salad dressing on my shirts I suppose the liquid would have an advantage based on the enzyme package.

 

[gorenje]

@ Supersuds

Hi, I think you are right. Sodium percarbonate is very effective, but it needs higher temperature to do its job. It whitens and it removes stains and in addition with enzymes it does even a better job on removing stains.

Liquid is better for greasy dirt but it has to have enzymes to be good also on removing organic stains.

Here is a composition of an Italian detergent:

less than 5% -

non-ionic surfactants
anionic surfactants
soap, polycarboxylates, sodium silicate,
XXX (I'm not able to translate)
phosphonate (less than 0,5%)

between 5 and 15% - oxygen-based bleaching agents (sodium perborate)

between 15 and 30% - zeolite, sodium carbonate

more than 30% - sodium sulphate

other components - enzymes (usually protease & amilase), optical brighteners, antifoam agents, dyes, perfumes

Tis is a quite typical composition of one of our detergent, but on some others the percentage can slightly vary.

Ingemar

 

[launderess]

Sodium Percarbonate Is Also Known As The "Cold Water&#34

As it works in warm, cool and even cold water though contact time may have to be increased with temps >100F to remove certain stains.

OTOH sodium perborate requires temperatures at or >120F to really get going, with 140F to 180F the sweet spot. This is why European/UK laundry was often done at boil wash temperatures. Ever since Persil (silicate and perborate) housewives and anyone else doing the wash needed those high temperatures to activate the whitening and stain removal power of perborates.

To counter the high temperature requirement bleach activators were invented (TAED and NOBS)which allowed perborate bleaches to sanitise,destain and whiten starting more at 100F and topping off at about 150F.

Because percarbonate will bleach in warm to cold water detergents containing the stuff such as Persil were advised not for use on colours or darks as there was a good chance of color loss.

Perborate bleaches OTHO were and still are advertised as "colour safe" bleaches because absent activators (and even with them) their power is less in warm to cold water, the exact temps recommended for laundering such items.

Perborates have been put on the EU's chemical hit list as borates have been found to build up in aquatic soils and such. Indeed on both sides of the pond percarbonate bleaching systems have replaced perborates. Also perborates are harder to rinse out of fabrics than percarbonates. Finally sodium percarbonate supplies it's own alkaline conditions in solution for proper function. Sodium perborate often must be combined with a base substance (such as washing soda).

P&G has several patents on activated bleaches systems built upon perborates, but all the latest crop of detergents and laundry additives "with bleach" now contain percarbonate.

 

[gorenje]

Launderess thank you very much for all the explanations

So sodium perborate is the one that requires higher temperature.

 

[pierreandreply4]

me in my case i will always use liquid detergents as i find that liquid detergents clean much better than any powder type detergent and for anyone that use powder detergent what would you do if detergent companys decided literaly to stop making powder type detergents to only focus on making and selling liquid detergents because you need to takin into consideration that newer washers in the near future might only take liquid detergent? Or detetergent tablettes the detergent in the picture for anyone info is the brand i use most of the time

 

[Jsneaker]

Purex with Zout Liquid Mrcleanjeans reply #1

Hi David,

I bought a bottle of the new Purex with Zout liquid at "Tarzhay". It was on sale for 4.99 and I had a 1.00-off coupon, so I couldn't resist. I find it doesn't clean white laundry so well even in hot water, in my Samsung WA448AAW. Stain removal is not up to my standards. I don't like using optical brighteners on colors, so I don't use this. I still prefer powders-Miele Ultra Color(for colors), Seventh Generation Natural(both with NO optical brighteners), and Legacy of Clean(Amway) SA8 with Bioquest for whites and lights.

Jason

 

[Jsneaker]

Reply #22 by gorenje

Ingemar,

The one ingredient "tetraacetildiammina..." is TAED, it is a mineral-harnessing(chelating) compound which keeps the hard water minerals in solution away from laundry. The "carboxymetylcellulosi..." is Carboxymethylcellulose-this is a soil-suspender used in many kinds and types of detergents. It keeps the dirt removed off the clothes and suspended in the washwater until drain. I hope this helps you!

Jason

 

[launderess]

Tetraacetylethylenediamine (aka TAED)

Is an activator for oxygen(perborate or percarbonate) based bleaching systems.

"Hydrogen peroxide and water react with tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) to form consecutively triacetylethylenediamine and diacetylethylenediamine with the release of two molecules of peracetic acid or acetic acid. The effect of pH, specific buffers and temperature on the rates of hydrolysis and perhydrolysis are compared. Peracetic acid reacts with TAED very slowly. The ratio of the second-order rate constants for the reaction of TAED with hydroperoxide and peracetate anions is exceptionally large after taking into account the difference in pKa values of their conjugate acids. The relative reactivity of various nucleophiles with TAED is discussed in terms of its performance as a bleach activator."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraacetylethylenediamine

 

[Jsneaker]

Laundress' Reply to me...

Hi "Big Apple"!

Je parle francais aussi! I stand corrected by your explanation of the way EDTA works, and appreciate it. I am by no means a chemist, but pride myself on years of experience with laundry detergents. I have to wonder why, then, do many soap bars contain the EDTA, when there is never peroxide/bleach to deal with? I also wonder why detergent manufacturers don't tell us it's EDTA that is a "bleach activator" in their detergents? It is apparently actual and factual, that sadly the majority of US detergent manufacturers try to be "politically correct" by listing whatever pitifully a short list of ingredients both in English & Spanish! This bugs me to no end! If everything were as it used to be, they might just have the space to list most of the ingredients.

Jason, near the "Big Apple"