Washing powder - which was it?

[gwenj]

Hello all,

Long time lurker, first time poster

Bit of an odd query, but please bear with me. I use a communal laundry and when I went to do my towels the other day, there was already some powder in the machine drawer so rather than make a mess trying to get it out, I used it alongside the gel I had already put in. I've been amazed at the results - the towels came out so much cleaner and fresher smelling and lighter feeling (if that makes sense) than they ever do with the gel I usually use on its own. I'd love to get some of this powder to wash my towels with in future, but obviously I don't know which one it was. It had large red and blue specks in and smelled fresh but not heavily scented - I don't think it was standard Persil as I've used that before, but I'm clueless apart from that! Does this sound like a powder anyone here uses or has used? I would be so grateful for any responses! Thank you

It might be Daz. Hopefully someone can confirm

sounds like Daz. Persil has blue/green. I don't know about surf.

I've got the tropical Surf powder which has red and blue flecks in (I think).

Or it could be Bold - I remember that having blue flecks in when I was a kid as my mum used to use it.

To be honest, you would achieve these results with any powder, as unlike gels/liquids/pods, powders contain oxygen bleaching agents.

Gels etc are brilliant for coloured clothes (due to the lack of bleach); but they’re nowhere near the cleaning and freshness a powder will give.

If it was that particular powder you liked, can try and help (as I know way more than I should about detergent)

Definitely not going to be any of the non bios; (Persil or Fairy) as these are plain white powder (Fairy may have blue specs only).

If it didn’t really have a “floral” smell it could very likely be Ariel or Persil bio. Daz is also possibly a contender, but Daz powder no longer contains bleaching agents.

If the specs were very brightly coloured, it could be Surf or Bold (Surf more likely).

Or last option, could a store brand, in which case, that would be a very long game of trial and error as every single supermarket chain have an own brand detergent (from M&S to Sainsbury’s to Wilko’s to Home Bargains).

Thank you so much for all your really helpful responses! And especially to e1y1 (sorry, not sure how to tag you) - your expertise is really appreciated . I did suspect that bio powder might have better cleaning power than gel, but I had no idea just how much better it would be until this chance encounter - my mum never used it when I was growing up, and I've only used Persil bio when staying with a friend - I mainly stick to gels and liquids. I do have a lot of dark clothes, which is why I've tended to avoid powders, and so probably won't switch over for those (although interesting that Daz doesn't contain bleaching agents - is that a recent change and would it still clean better than Ariel Excel gel , do you think?), but, based on the above responses, the fact that any powder will give good results, and also as Surf is my favourite liquid by a long way, I will buy some of the Surf tropical powder to try on the towels and see how I get on! Thank you again.

Just another quick question while you're here e1y1, if you don't mind - how much powder would you suggest using for a towel wash in a hard water area? I know there are guidelines, but I've heard that it's sometimes possible (and even better) to use less than recommended...

Hi @gwenj

Yes Daz changing is recent. In an aim to make it suitable for “all” wash loads, they have taken bleaching agents out and it now says “for whites and colours” on the box, so they are trying to sell it as a 1 for all product,

But unfortunately when using just one product for all wash loads, there will always be a trade off somewhere; for example, if you use just a powder with bleach, you’ll get lovely bright whites and a cleaner machine, but colours will fade quicker.. Use just a liquid/gel (or anything that doesn’t contain a bleach), you’ll have vibrant colours for longer, but your whites won’t be as white as they could be.

Daz will do a good enough job, the reason why Daz has always been sold as the “whites” powder is because it contains a good amount of blue whitener (our Grandmothers would have known it as dolly blue whitener), it gives whites a very slight blue hue/bluey-white, so our eyes perceive it as whiter. In terms if better than Ariel, hard to say as a definite, as all products have advantages and disadvantages and what works for one person (clothes, water type, machine type etc) may work better (or not) for another. That’s why you may love one product and a friend may not be keen and vice-versa. But Ariel is a top grade product (it is the premium product from P&G who make it (as well as making Daz, Bold and Fairy and Lenor too)

Yes, you can usually always use less detergent than is stated, sometimes we just don’t need as much as is said on the box, and especially with towels as if you get a detergent build up in the towels from using too much, it will cause them to become stiff and possibly start to smell fusty.

Only thing I would say, is to ensure there is enough detergent used to soften your hard water in the wash, as if the water isn’t softened sufficiently, then you will then get a calcium/mineral build up, not only in the machine , but in your clothing/towels too, which again will cause them to become stiff and scratchy. All good detergents contain water softening agents, so you won’t need anything like calgon etc unless you want to seriously reduce your detergent dose (eg using doses prescribed for soft water areas) you will then need to use a separate water softener.

Sorry that’s really long , but I hope it helps :)

That is so helpful @e1y1, thank you so much - lots of stuff I didn't know! When I get the powder I'll probably start off with a bit less than the recommended dose, and see how I get on.

No worries @gwenj. Happy washing :)

Yes it is helpful e1y1. Did you work for a washing powder company?

Deffo Daz

Sounds like I might need to get some Daz as well!

I use Aldi's own brand - they do a powder for colours which has pink and blue flecks in it.

Oh no, not another one to try!! Thank you @wowfudge, that does sound like it could be it - I will have to have a look.

I swear by Ariel original but it does have blue and red dots scattered in. My family have eczema and we have no problems.

I used a gel capsule on holiday and everything came out dirty but smelling nice but it may have been the machine in the camp laundrette.

I bought some Daz and it's blue flecks only. Surf lavender is red and blue and possibly the other scents too

Thank you! That rules out Daz then. I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ariel as it didn't smell as strongly as I remember that smelling...all the signs are pointing to Surf. I should be by a Poundland this week and I know they do the tiny boxes there so I will pick some up to try!

Oh, and I've used liquitabs before and didn't find them very good at all for cleaning - and I also found they didn't dissolve well enough on low temperature washes.

Morrisons had a Surf called Classic fresh that smelled nice. Not tried it yet as tesco online don't sell it

I use Daz powder and it definitely has blue and red bits in it, all be it more blue than red....

I have Ariel at home, red and blue flecks and doesn't smell overly strong to me

My Persil bio has blue and red flecks in it. I think it's fresh smelling. I use about half the recommended amount in hard water and it's fine. Use it on coloureds too.