Laundry detergent suggestions

PushPurrCatPaws said:

I use Oxyclean for these instances as well, the only powder I use... it's the Oxyclean with the green lid (supposedly "Chlorine-free, color safe" Free of Dyes and Perfumes).

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I use that one or the regular; just as a laundry booster.  I do buy their spray for stains.  It's saved quite a few kids things.  I haven't tried their regular detergent. All Free & Clear does have a variety that comes with oxyclean in it.  I get that one on occasion.

Winchester said:

 
Remember when P & G bragged about how they were able to reduce the ounces of detergents, but you still got a clean wash? That was their excuse for the smaller containers (at the same price, of course). P & G started it, then the other manufacturers followed along. You were able to use less, but still get the same amount of wash loads from a container. And the detergent seemed to be a little thicker? Well, I have noticed (and maybe it's just me) that Tide is a lot more liquid-y than it used to be. And I find myself having to use more detergent to get the clothes cleaner now. I don't know why.

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I noticed that with this last bottle of fabric softener I bought!  It's working fine; but its definitely more watery!  We use the Downy Free & Gentle.  I don't use it on my kid's clothing; just DH's and my own and the towels. 

I like Downy!! I grew up on it...it reminds me of 'home"... a really nice scent with such good memories....

I also grew up on Wisk...I do not know why I changed to Tide...I may go back to Wisk...Tide is really expensive, even on sale....

My mom never used the dryer...things were line dried..so not much shrinking....now I am stuck with a dryer, so knits shrink. That is why I was looking for cold water laundry detergent. I am now using cold water for my knits...my mom and I used Woolite ( old forumila) for delicates. We were also able to line dry down the cellar in bad weather...now it is just dryer dry....sigh...or a few hang ups around the apartment...

I only use Tide, the kind without scent.  I usually wait for a sale or use coupons. It's still a bit pricey, but works, so I stick with it.

Willowy said:

I think the Kirkland pods work great but I don't like the scent. Since I don't do a lot of laundry I'll splurge for the ones I like . But yeah, if I had a pack of kids or another reason for doing a ton of laundry I'd definitely use them. I think they're only something like 10 cents a pod? I'd have to look at the price/size the next time I'm there. A good value, for sure.

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They are 16-20 cents each here. I do quite a bit of laundry. I have 2 young kids and a husband that wears dressier clothes at work and then changes in the evening. Between the clothes, bedding and towels...it feels like it never ends.

Misty8723 said:

 
I only use Tide, the kind without scent.  I usually wait for a sale or use coupons. It's still a bit pricey, but works, so I stick with it.

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I stopped washing my clothes at home in well water, and found a laundry with high end HE washers. I use the tide pods. Clothes I was ready to pitch look totally different. I've sure tried to find something cheaper that works as well but haven't. Gain is pretty much the same.

PushPurrCatPaws said:

 

MoochNNoodles said:

...  I do add a small scoop of oxyclean to some loads if I know there are some particularly dirty/stained items.  ...

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I use Oxyclean for these instances as well, the only powder I use... it's the Oxyclean with the green lid (supposedly "Chlorine-free, color safe" Free of Dyes and Perfumes).

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Oxyclean is oxygen bleach, so it doesn't fade clothes like chorine bleach.  Oxygen bleach is simply powdered hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, it also works great on bathroom grout and mold and won't bleach out your clothes or towels.

If anyone is interested in trying Seventh Generation products (or already uses them), I just got this in my email
Link to epantry. I guess they are teaming up with each other //www.epantry.com/home

What is the advantage of pods? I've never used them.

I have allergies, so I use unscented and it is normally All Free and Clear.

AbbysMom said:

What is the advantage of pods? I've never used them.

I have allergies, so I use unscented and it is normally All Free and Clear.

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Very convenient- just toss one into the washer

No mess from a drippy bottle

The package is lighter and not as bulky as a bottle of liquid or box of powder (I hate powder detergents)

The might be a little more expensive but go on sale at Target a lot and I always use a coupon when I get them from Wal Mart. They are worth it IMO. I've tried the Purex ones and the Tide ones. I prefer the Tide ones. I bought a big container of the All ones at Wal Mart, I think a 72 count (they do come in the free and clear). They were on sale for about $8 and I had a $2.50 off coupon. I haven't tried them yet though. 

Product labeling used to be a problem. Now they make the labels understandable. I buy Suavitel but I only buy the flower scented ones.

I want to use the flower scented ones.

CowAndChicken3 said:

 
Product labeling used to be a problem. Now they make the labels understandable. I buy Suavitel but I only buy the flower scented ones.

I want to use the flower scented ones.

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does Suavitel make laundry detergent? I've used their fabric softeners in the past. My DH liked the one in the blue bottle. 

I love Downy fabric softener. They have a lot of floral scented ones. 

I use Purex detergent - it seems to clean the best with my water.  The fabric softener - Snuggle white lavender and sandalwood.  I also use lavender bubble bath. The ladies love the smell of lavender, and they matter the most. It smells better than most of the perfumes and colognes I smell people wearing in the stores I go into.

Oh WHITE lavender I know.

The biggest advantage to pods (at least for me) is knowing that with the pack of 120 pods, I will get 120 loads of laundry. Now that I have a new washing machine, I dont use as much liquid as I used to but still nowhere near as many loads as the bottle says.

AbbysMom said:

What is the advantage of pods? I've never used them.

I have allergies, so I use unscented and it is normally All Free and Clear.

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Yep, pods are awesome. Just chuck one in the washer, no muss no fuss . I think it would be especially convenient for people who have to go to a laundromat---carrying a big container of liquid or powder would be a pain. But even at home, no drips, no spills, no measuring. . .I'm so glad someone invented the pods. I use dishwasher pods too.

I looked at the Kirkland pod prices yesterday, and they're 13.8 cents each, not on sale. Not bad! Costco also has the price per load for all the other detergents, and I was kind of surprised that most of the liquid detergents were around that much per load too (12-17 cents, depending on brand). Tide pods at Costco are 19.7 cents each.

Dunno if you can get it across the pond but i swear by Ariel, while super broke I used some supermarket own brands but they just didn't measure up.

I HATE pods. I used some while staying at someone else's house and they ruined my clothes. And smelled wayyyyyy too much. Plus, you can't put a little less in if you're clothes aren't that dirty or a little more if they're gross.

I recently started making my own laundry soap with regular bar soap (just plain, real soap, no moisturizers or anything), with a little baking soda and washing soda. That plus a little oxygen bleach and then a glug of white vinegar instead of fabric softener works great. There's plenty of recipes online, I make a powder but there are blogs that talk about making liquid too. Still haven't found a good way of washing greasy kitchen rags and getting them white again without using hot water and bleach though. But I don't really care if my rags are stained, they're rags....

Willowy said:

Yep, pods are awesome. Just chuck one in the washer, no muss no fuss

. I think it would be especially convenient for people who have to go to a laundromat---carrying a big container of liquid or powder would be a pain. But even at home, no drips, no spills, no measuring. . .I'm so glad someone invented the pods. I use dishwasher pods too.

I looked at the Kirkland pod prices yesterday, and they're 13.8 cents each, not on sale. Not bad! Costco also has the price per load for all the other detergents, and I was kind of surprised that most of the liquid detergents were around that much per load too (12-17 cents, depending on brand). Tide pods at Costco are 19.7 cents each.

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Consumer Reports tends to really like theCostco/Kirkland brand for a lot of items. They tend to always rank fairly high. Too bad the closest Costco is about 60 miles away from us because I'd shop there in a heartbeat versus any Sam's Club,

Winchester said:

 
Consumer Reports tends to really like theCostco/Kirkland brand for a lot of items. They tend to always rank fairly high. Too bad the closest Costco is about 60 miles away from us because I'd shop there in a heartbeat versus any Sam's Club,

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Same here. We only have Sam's close by. It's right next door to Wal Mart. It is convenient but their deals are rarely better than what you can get at WM. I did buy a 5 cubic foot  chest freezer for DD at Sam''s right before she went back to school though. It was $163.00 at WM. Sam's had it for $149.00. After using the money I get from doing online surveys, the money I got back from the WM savings catcher and a $20 gift card I got for renewing (and upgrading) my Sam's membership early, I ended up getting it for $0 out of pocket. 

I told DD that when she was done with school, that baby is MINE. It is really nice and super quiet. She can have the mini fridge I got her freshman year. The freezer part is separate. It's pretty cute.

Back to laundry detergent though. I'm hooked on the pods. So is DD. She hated lugging the bottles of detergent down to the laundry room at school. We both like the Tide ones best. I bought her a bucket of 72 All pods because I got a great deal on them and they would have lasted her a LONG time. She "accidentally" left them home and grabbed a bag of the Tide ones instead.    Oh well. I'll use them.