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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be annoyed about the new Dettol ad?

68 replies

Ilovexmastime · 01/10/2014 12:36

If you haven't seen it, it's for Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleaner. It's basically another scare-mongering ad, implying that if you don't use it in your wash then your clothes will be crawling with bacteria.

It's annoyed me because we are heading into an age where antibiotics don't work properly and in my view we should not be trying to kill 99.9% of bacteria as we need most of them.

Is there any genuine reason why anyone would need to use this? I'm sure most of the population don't.

OP posts:
LangenFlugelHappleHoff · 01/10/2014 12:40

Makes me want to roll in mud tbh Grin

ArabellaTarantella · 01/10/2014 12:43

It's annoyed me because we are heading into an age where antibiotics don't work properly and in my view we should not be trying to kill 99.9% of bacteria as we need most of them

And you seriously seriously think that Reckitt Benckiser CARE?

HeffalumpsnWoozles · 01/10/2014 12:45

YANBU No wonder kids have so many bloody allergies these days, it seems everything has to be sterilised/bleached to within an inch of its life....won't be long before every house has a sheep dipper on the doorstep so we don't bring any germs home with us!

deakymom · 01/10/2014 12:46

i was contacted to do a panel about it the questions were very leading and you could only answer one way about it (you answer a,yes b,double yes c, triple yes! if you see what i mean) i ducked out of it im sorry im just not that scared of "invisible biting demons" that are going to get me if it don't buy this product

i bet my MIL will though she probably won't be able to sleep without it but she does have a disorder (allegedly) which means she must clean this advert must be her worst nightmare

its playing on fear and i don't buy it

wanderingcloud · 01/10/2014 12:47

guilty I thought it would be quite good considering the volume of poo/wee/sick accidents that seem to happen on our bed sheets. In general though, I agree. The human race seems to have gotten this far with bacteria infested clothes and bed linen. It's definitely a money spinner for the company.

picnicbasketcase · 01/10/2014 12:48

Washing clothes gets them clean. This is just preying on the fears of paranoid parents. You know all those cases of people getting gastroenteritis from their own clothes? Nope, me neither.

Blamenargles · 01/10/2014 12:51

iv got some only because it was on offer and I had a money off voucher so cost me £1, but I only use it on DS2 clothes if hes has a poo explosion 8 weeks or if DS1 has wet the bed doesnt happen often only if dp lets him have a huge drink before bed

won't buy it again tho its expensive and you dont need it.

saying that if we were ill d&v would use it

LarrytheCucumber · 01/10/2014 12:52

It will play on the fears of vulnerable people.
Most of us do not need to spend extra money on this product.

Morrigu · 01/10/2014 12:52

YANBU and don't start me on the no-touch soap dispenser. You are washing your hands after touching it!!

littlehayleyc · 01/10/2014 12:52

YANBU I also hate this advert. They have to invent a new problem so that people will buy something totally pointless! If you have washing like towels or sheets that have been soiled etc then you can easily just wash those at a higher temp. Normal everyday clothes do not need to be sterile!! Arggh It really annoys me too.

BarbarianMum · 01/10/2014 12:52

Oh F*ck the Hell off with your judgy attitude.

The only proven link b/w allergies and dirt are to do with infection by certain parasites such as hookworm. Nothing to do with Dettol or bacteria.

I don't know why my son has allergies, any more than I know why I have them, or my sister, or my mother or my grandfather (one might almost think it was genetic). But it wasn't caused by anything more than the basic cleanliness needed to keep people alive and even then he certainly encountered plenty of dirt and had lots of colds and tummy bugs. And I don't use antibacterial sprays or rinses either.

littlehayleyc · 01/10/2014 12:53

Morrigu Yes! I get annoyed at that one too. Totally ridiculous and pointless product

MegMogandOwlToo · 01/10/2014 12:54

I buy it, and use it when one of us is ill, or when potty training DS has an accident.

Ilovexmastime · 01/10/2014 12:54

"It's annoyed me because we are heading into an age where antibiotics don't work properly and in my view we should not be trying to kill 99.9% of bacteria as we need most of them

And you seriously seriously think that Reckitt Benckiser CARE?"

No! But I think someone should care and that they shouldn't be allowed to make or promote this sort of product as it's dangerous, imo.

OP posts:
Missunreasonable · 01/10/2014 12:55

I actually like dettol laundry cleanser for gym wear. It leaves it smelling much nicer because it kills off all the sweat bacteria which my usual non bio doesn't get rid of (I buy non bio due to DS eczema).

seasavage · 01/10/2014 12:56

I used nappy sanitizer for the reusable s when I had them. That's basically what this is right? I try to reduce the chemicals I'm flushing down the drain but I'll pass. My mum will probably be pushing this on me as she's a 'it's only clean if it's bleached / boil washed' kind of woman. She is frequenyly stunned my kids are still breathing when I can go a whole week without cleaning taps/ door handles.

Ilovexmastime · 01/10/2014 12:59

*MegMogand OwlToo", and the others who use it, but why? I mean, people have survived forever without it, it's obviously not needed, so why waste your money (bad for you) and kill 99.9% of bacteria (bad for us all)?

I just don't understand, so please explain it to me if you'd be so kind Smile.

OP posts:
RiceBurner · 01/10/2014 13:00

Haven't seen the ad, but YANBU.

Fear is obviously the best way to shift their (unnecessary) product.

In general, there are so many things we just don't need, and which are often bad for us/ruining our planet. And so much waste of the earth's precious resources. Depressing.

But guess I don't really want to live in a society/era where there's nothing to buy/no choice ... or where the state too tighly controls what can be bought & sold.

And I suppose it's better to educate/persuade people not to buy these (unnecessary) things than to have choice taken away from all of us? (Unless products are VERY toxic and/or dangerous?)

There are so many things I would personally LOVE to ban, (eg junk food, tobacco, chewing gum, cheap plastic rubbish), but in the interests of living in a free society I will have to put up with some people thinking these things are useful and required?!

GoodboyBindleFeatherstone · 01/10/2014 13:00

If things are really dirty I just wash them at 60 instead of 40. Does the job.

Missunreasonable · 01/10/2014 13:01

I just don't understand, so please explain it to me if you'd be so kind

Because I don't like smelly gym clothes and non bio isn't enough to kill the bacteria in the sweat.
I don't use it in all wash loads, just my gym clothes.

Floggingmolly · 01/10/2014 13:04

How come we have been washing our clothes in washing powder for decades and not a single soul to date has been diagnosed with dirty clothes lurgy?
Is that not enough to convince people that washing your clothes is enough to get them clean???

If our washing machines are really full of dangerous bacteria; we all need to go back to bringing the washing down to the river.

LarrytheCucumber · 01/10/2014 13:04

Line drying was always regarded as the answer by my mother's generation. My mother put things out on the line all year round unless it was actually raining or snowing.

Hmmmwhatnow · 01/10/2014 13:06

YANBU irritates me too. Though I would say I spent my youth covered in horseshit and I still have adult onset asthma and allergies. It's a genetic predisposition triggered by pregnancy NOT over cleanliness.

Really really not if you could see my house Wink

brainwashed · 01/10/2014 13:09

Like missunreasonable I use it for my running stuff..its the only way to get rid of the odour that develops after a while. Don't use it for anything else.

RachelWatts · 01/10/2014 13:09

I don't use Dettol, but I use Napisan which I think does the same. I was at 30 degrees, as that's better for the environment, and use non-biological washing stuff, as both DCs have sensitive skin. Stuff smells nicer if I've put a scoop of Napisan in.

The Dettol advert annoys me though. It makes it look like the family have a 'bacteria' dial on their washing machine. Why would you have one of those, and if you did, why would you turn it up?

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