Washing powder v gel

[Crwban]

What's better for the machine? Powder or gel? I'm wanting to reduce plastics in my home and we get through a lot of gel bottles. Maybe 1 large cardboard box a month is better? Does the scent linger? Will my washing machine clog?

I think powder gets everything cleaner, and smells better.

I prefer powders, think they work out cheaper than gels.

Hard water area and I find the powder doesn’t all dissolve. I got fed up of powder bits stuck on hemlines etc. I was sure it was going to clog up my pipes.

Maybe try it with a handwash?

Powder but don't use too much or it doesn't dissolve properly ^^
I use about 3/4 of the recommended amount and don't overfill your machine that stops it dissolving properly too.

I put the lowest recommended dose in with my laundry instead of the drawer unless something is really dirty then I up it as required.

No idea if it's true but the washing machine maintenance guy who came into my work told us that putting the powder in the drum stops it from sticking to the pipes as it is generally dissolved within the laundry whereas gels and liquids tend to flow through and over time residue build up and clogs pipes.

Bio and non-bio powder contains oxygen based bleaching agents to help with stain removal and hygiene. Also keeps your washing machine cleaner.

Liquids and gels don’t, so over time they tend to leave a nasty build up inside the machine that attracts bacteria and causes the door seal to go mouldy.

Powder is better in my experience, less gunk in the pipes. Our water is very soft so the liquids and gels don't rinse out properly. I put about half the dose of powder in and stuff is still soapy. I use a bit of napisan in with towels and really dirty clothes.

Most powders usually have bleach and are meant for whites/light coloured clothes. therefore you'll find that your dark clothes will lose their colour quicker if you use powder.

Liquids are for coloured clothing but the expensive ones are strong enough to handle whites.

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Google it and study more about detergent ingredients as they all make a difference in keeping certain clothes/fabrics pristine for longer.

I use powder for whites and dark colours, liquid (I'm into Tesco Non Bio at the moment) for light coloured delicates.
Black washing gets colour wash liquid .

Straight in the drum for powders or a dosing ball for liquids.

Hot wash every month, I might throw the dishtowels in too.

We had a new engineer come to sort ours out recently. He said def use powder over liquid....

Powder, always.

Can anyone recommend a powder? Something nicely scented because I don't like fabric softeners.

It depends if you want Bio or non bio. Lidl bio regularly comes top or best buy in Which! tests, with Ariel usually the other top performer.

(I don't like strongly scented and use non bio so Tesco non bio which I like might not suit you although I really like the scent)

For best cleaning Which! say a powder for whites and lights and a liquid for brights and darks.

Persia colour (powder) is great. I get a massive box from costco and it lasts me ages. I don’t use the full dose either.

Recently started using Lidl Bio liquid (Formil). It's amazing at cleaning and smells great!

Pink surf. I bought it based on a recommendation here and the clothes are always clean and smell gorgeous!

Where / how do you store a huge box of powder? I’m concerned about it getting knocked over / wet under the kitchen sink (near the washer) but would like to move away from liquid purely because of the plastic container.

Powder for sheets and towels for the ultra clean smell

Gel for my clothes otherwise I get eczema

I'm going back to powder for same reasons as OP. Moved to liquids because black tops had white streaks when we moved to hard water area. I add a scoop of soda crystals to every load and am using Aldi powder. So far, so good.

For storage, I have a tin and plastic drums. TKMaxx always have big plastic containers. I'm still using plastic that is going to be used for years rather than hours, days or weeks.

I store my powder in one of the "high" kitchen cabinets? I.e one that is on the wall as opposed to under the sink etc

I'm not sure what water type is in this area. Off to buy powder today - ridiculously excited about it

If you look on your water suppliers website you can input your postcode to find out the water hardness.

Aldi powder is very strong smelling. Think its called alma.

I don't find the Aldi powder strong - you get used to the scents of things you use regularly, but ime the perfume in supermarket own brands is nowhere near as strong as the big brands. I tumble dry most things and there's very little residual scent once things are dry, which is how I like it.

You can bulk buy some liquids. I don't like powder as it stays behind in the dispenser and it leaves marks on dark clothes (we have soft water so it's not that).

Not the cheapest but I use
www.traidcraftshop.co.uk/clean-fair-lavender-breeze-fair-trade-laundry-liquid-5-litre-single
As it's fairtrade and has sustainable palm oil. Yes, still a plastic bottle, but less plastic than 5 single bottles.

If you have a local health shop they might also do refills, ecover is the most well known but not as ethical as they used to be, I think I've also seen Suma or Faith in Nature locally.