I developed laundry detergents AMA

[LapinR0se]

For many years I was responsible for innovation for one of the biggest laundry brands in the UK.
Any questions you have on stains, wash cycles, laundry products etc you can ask me.

It is a science Lynne.

Eucalyptus essential oil is a brilliant stain remover

Detergent advertising is very stringently regulated by Clearcast and the Advertising Standards Authority.
No manufacturer can claim “improved cleaning” unless there is a perceivable new benefit from the product and formulation.
So new & improved will mean that a breakthrough technology such as a new enzyme has been discovered. It will be the result of a lot of hard work and is not just advertising bluff.

Glaciermints the fact that the colour is on the sheet and not on the other clothes tells me they work.

Great thread.
Would you say that supermarket own brands are as good as say Persil?

Supermarket own brands are included in lab testing as benchmarks. You can see the results published in Which? Reports.

Are the laundry cleansers such as the dettOl one (can’t think of the name) any good and do they actually do what they say?

Has anyone asked about those funny little laundry beads, I think they call them Power Gems? I'm intruiged as to whether they're genuinely good or just another gimmick. Also, the fab con beads. And what's with the insanely expensive perfumed fabric conditioners atm? I saw one in tesco for £8 the other day

I love this thread! You sound very pro-tumble dryer, my husband is horrified to see washing drying on the line in this weather. It definitely doesn't dry clothes to be soft and fluffy. Why is that?

I have OCD (diagnosed) and my laundry is separated differently to others, not just darks lights etc but how dirty my warped mind thinks it is. Some are washed once, some twice some thrice. I also use twice as much detergent as supposed to and would never wash anything under 40*. It probably won't help but I know you'll say I'm being ridiculous and once they're washed they're washed right?

I use non-bio as both dd and I are allergic to anything else - even fairy and Lux set us off! As does fabric conditioner. So I beg to differ on your non damage point. Have you seen that episode of TBBT where Leonard had to wear an itchy jumper to prove a point to Sheldon? And his skin was red raw? I accidentally tried a new brand of detergent thinking it was non bio - within 15 minutes of wearing the clothes that's how I was head to foot! Weals at my wrists from the cuffs!

I actually DREAD seeing 'new & improved' on anything that's going to affect my skin as it usually means having to hunt yet again for a product that DOESN'T make me itchy, sore, red and bleeding! I actually wish manufacturers would adhere to "if it ain't broke..." But I know it's due to capitalist pressure.

Fabric conditioner - even if someone else is wearing a really strong one it sets me off sneezing terribly.

Can I ask how trends in detergents are predicted/created? I prefer to use gel, powder tends to also irritate our skin I've found, liquid seems too dilute to me due to the OCD. I'm not convinced they kill all the germs.

I thought persil was like the first powdered brand invented?

Clothes that are black and white, navy & cream - I never know what wash to put them in!

"For stripy or multicoloured clothes it’s best to treat them as colours." Thanks - that's what I'd been doing so as to protect the 'true' whites but still wasn't sure..

"If any detergent damaged clothes it would be withdrawn from the market with immediate effect" I remember in the early 90's there was a new one brought out which did indeed wreck clothes, I remember seeing it on watchdog and twigging, I had been blaming landladies washing machine! (OCD wasn't in full swing then)

I have to say though I'm pretty good at making clothes last. I've always been careful with my things.

I used to use powder for whites, liquid for darks/colours but my bosch machine and washing started to smell. Did maintenance washes with vinegar, soda crystals, bleach (not all together) to eventually shift the stench, but it kept coming back after about 2-3 washes.
I switched to bio and non bio powders and the smell has not returned since. I've heard this is to do with machines having a plastic internal drum (not visible) where they used to have a metal one.

Graphista I wouldn't want to belittle your OCD as it's clearly a problem for you, but hasn't it occurred to you that using twice as much powder as recommended is going to affect your skin. I use about 2/3 of what is recommended & still it sometimes doesn't get rinsed out. Isn't your machine full of soap suds?

Gulsink, my Bosch machine is clogged with black gunk. I have taken the drawer out and cleaned that but above the drawer is full of smelly black gunk. Impossible to clean. Very annoying for such an expensive brand.

@graphista I will answer each of your points in turn
Firstly if you use twice as much detergent as directed then you may have residues on your clothes and you will not necessarily get a better clean. The dosage indicated is precise and should be respected if you want the best results.
Washing your clothes twice or three times in a row will be expensive in terms of energy and products and will lead to more bobbling and fading.
In terms of trends, there is an industry wide and global drive to concentration for sustainability reasons. This is where the new Persil gems have come from and also gels and concentrated liquids.
The incident you refer to where Persil damaged clothes in the 1990s is the one which led to a bio/non-bio split. Persil discovered a new cleaning technology which was extremely efficacious and launched it under Persil Power with a huge advertising campaign. Competitors ran lab tests and found that certain fabrics began to degrade when washed repeatedly with Persil Power at high temperatures. This was highly publicised, the product was immediately withdrawn but Persil suffered negative PR as you can imagine. So non-bio was launched as a gentle alternative and became very successful.

I LOVE this thread. OP, can we go back to the laundry egg? I don’t understand them, how do they not continue to release detergent in the rinse cycle? (I’m an obsessive rinser). Thanks!

I have conducted studies where we looked at all of the detergent alternatives on the market such as soap nuts, laundry balls etc and they consistently underperform on stain removal and pathogenic bacteria removal.
I personally would not use them.

Thanks Lapin quite possibly my favourite thread ever. Oh dear!

2 questions please OP. (you have my dream job!)

• Do you have a preference for a certain brand of washing machine? i'd love a Miele but they start at £900 so i have a Bosch.

I love it but i am also not really sure why it has 4 million settings.
(for example - I am currently using the Quick wash very regularly because i want as much drying outside during this heatwave as i can hang out.)
so my 2nd qustion is:-

• are the diff settings worth actually using? Is it rubbish setting and

I'd forgotten it was persil but remember losing a few well loved t-shirts to that incident.

I'm aware what I'm doing with my laundry isn't correct but my warped mind can't cope with changing it yet (I am working with mht on OCD generally of course and this is one aspect).

Thanks for answering my questions.

You can ask anything you like @graphista. More than happy to provide some facts or evidence as I know it can be helpful in challenging your own behaviours. Wish you all the best for your management of the OCD.

Did you ever develop any other type of product, or did you just work on laundry products?

Was there any other product you would have liked to work on?

I did a little bit of haircare and a little bit of skincare but vast majority in fabric conditioners and detergents.
Then, strangely, ethnic cuisine but for a different company!
Now I work in sustainability.

What is the best thing for removing mould on clothes?

"Mould stains after a wash"

What kind of mound stains are they?