Washing powder better than liquid?

[Behoove]

Recently I've had to put my washing through 2 cycles as it just didn't smell clean (using recommended dose of liquid)
I bought Daz to do my white towels and what a difference.

Is it the powder effect or am I just not using enough of the liquid or is it just rubbish?

Yes, and it contains bleaching agents.

You do need hotter water though.

Could it be that the Daz has stronger perfume than the liquid you were using?

Liquids can gunge up your machine (technical term ). Lots of folk on here recommend a periodic maintenance wash to clean out the machine.

We used liquid for a while and our machine ended up stinking. Took several hot rinses with bicarbonate and vinegar to shift the smell. No such problems with powder.

I think I read a Which review that concluded that powders are better than liquid.
I use a sensitive liquid for DDs clothes but have to pre wash anything that's too dirty or it ends up stained.

When I saw this on tv they said that liquid detergent was basically powdered detergent with water added and as MrsGSR said, powdered was better in performance and value in a CHOICE review.

I read on here a while ago that powder is more effective than liquid. Plus it's cheaper.
I now buy own brand or Aldi non bio powder and it works as it should.
No more wasting money on expensive brands or liquids.

Second that - I switched to Aldi's own brand "Almat" powder. Very good value at £2.49 a box. It tends to last me a very long time. I also have a Kinetico water softener which means I can use a very sparing amount of washing powder. Good stuff.

Powder has an abrasive action which liquids don't have. That's why things come up cleaner with pwder

Aldi powder is amazing!

A Meile engineer recommended always using a powder.

powder better than liquid
bio better than non-bio

if you tend to wash at lower temperatures (40 and below) then don't forget to do an occassional boil wash-/maintenance wash.

I'll be switching to powder for sure.
Is there a powder that doesn't have the bleaching agent so doesn't fade coloured clothes?

I have used Persil non bio powder for years as it's always given me good results, it's the only powder that DH doesn't have a reaction to and because it's a powder rather than tablets I can dose appropriately for the wash. I usually use a small scoop (we have lovely soft water) for a regular wash and a large box lasts me ages.

behoove
yes look for the 'colour' bit on the pack.

I have always bought pricey aerial liquid until friend suggested almat powder from aldi

Honestly, it's brilliant! I can't believe it (for the price too)

It definitely seems to make clothes cleaner, and keep the machine smelling better, but it really exacerbates my and dd2's eczema, so we stick to liquid.

We use Persil non-bio which always used to be recommended for skin, but recent thinking is that it is the perfumes and formula in different brands that triggers irritation, so sometimes just changing brand will help.

Good rinsing in a clean machine gets more of the soap out. Hot washes and adding Washing Soda Crystals help it dissolve better.

I read that using 'in drum' liquids was a common cause of powder drawers getting stinky. I've gone back to powder, cheaper and prevents smelly washing machine syndrome.

I also do a monthly bleach/hot wash.

I agree with PigletJohn. DD's eczema disappeared almost overnight when I switched from non bio liquid to Arial bio. My washing machine was starting to smell because of using laundry liquid and I think it was the mould spores in the washer that caused the eczema. Once those were killed off the eczema disappeared.

For coloureds I use Fairy non bio.

I use powder and yet its always the comfort (liquid) drawer that needs de-gunking

I use Aldi's Almat washing powder for whites and bright colour clothes and Persil liquid for dark colour clothes.

In both cases, I put the washing powder or liquid in the tub rather than in the drawer.

I only wash at 40C.

I have not been impressed by Aldi's washing powder. I often find some white traces on the clothing post wash.

It looks as if the washing powder was not totally dissolved or not properly rinsed out. It might be due to the low-ish temperature or the fact that I put it in the tub, I am not sure...

I was thinking about switching to Formil washing liquid when I have finished my box of Almat washing powder.

Rattitude You do need to wash at 60 degrees occasionally. It lengthens the life of the washing machine.

Using washing liquid all the time isn't good for it either. Read the above posts.

I switched back to powder. It is cheaper and my clothes are cleaner and the washing machine has stopped being full of black mould.

I think people generally use too much - if you have a white residue left over try using 2/3 the amount perhaps.

white streaks come from either/or

• too much powder
• overfilled mashine
• crap rinsing (esp short cycles often compromise on rinsing proprly)

I might have been guilty of overfilling my washing machine in the past but I have not done so recently and I have still spotted some white streaks.

Even though I put less washing powder than the maximum specified on the guidelines, I may still reduce it a bit and see if that makes a difference.

I throw in a cup of hot water over the powder so it dissolves quicker.

Just rediscovered powder.