Pods vs washing powder

[octopuseyes]

I’ve been washing towels/ bedclothes at 60 degrees with powder and vinegar to rinse
And all other clothes sorted by colour and washed at 40 degrees in powder. . I’ve been really happy with the results ( clean fresh smelling laundry) However in a bid to ‘move with the times’ and lower electricity bills I’ve started using pods on a 20/30 degree wash. So far I’m not impressed. The pods seem highly perfumed and I’m worried that they’re not really cleaning much, just masking any smells?? Am I making savings or better to stick with the ( cheaper) powder and pay more for the electricity. Ariel tell me that they’ve discontinued their powder permanently so I’m going to have to find something else anyway…. Any thoughts or experiences welcome!!

Powder here. Sainsburys own.
No plastic packaging and no plastic pod to melt in the wash and into the water system.

@octopuseyes

Smol seems to work fine on low temperatures but then I only wash worn but not stained things on low temps !

Ariel have discontinued colour tabs the packed puck things and the colour powder but not the bio (green box) powder.

I'd try that instead -- I use Ariel powder for pretty much everything (except sports kit, use Halo for that) and it's the best IMO.

I don't like the plastic packaging you get with pods. And it frustrates me that you can't adjust how much you use. P&G keep trying to get me to try them but every time I have they've either gunged up my machine or just haven't done the job nearly as well as bio powder.

I always have a box of bio powder (usually Lidl's) in for sheets, towels and light clothes, and a colour liquid for the rest of the clothes. It's enough to keep the machine clean as I'm using powder regularly, but I'm not risking fading my dark clothes.

I can't stand pods, both powder and liquid are much better.

Does no one use liquid? I stopped pped using pods when my DC were young for safety reasons and because it's such a PITA on the occasions when they don't quite dissolve.

I use liquid for 30 degree coloured washes, and power for whites and occasional hot washes to flush out the pipes. Also dettol antibac for sports kit.

I use powder, we use Ariel or persil depending on what’s available. They both seem the same so I suggest persil if you can’t get Ariel. We use bio as that’s all that’s available here.

I only wash wools on 30. Otherwise day to day clothing 40, nappies, bedding and towels on 60.

We run a holiday let with all white bedding and it’s still super white using just the powder and 60. Babies nappies washed same way also still white with no stains

Just spent 2 weeks in uk, and used non bio liquid pods at families home. Our clothes stunk ultra perfumed, Ds ended up with a rash and the whites and nappies started to discolour. Back home now, re washed as usual with powder and back to normal

For underarm smells just spray with white vinegar before putting in the machine, for stubborn stains pre-treat with Marseille soap rubbed over it (or washing up liquid for oil stains). Everything still comes out clean at 30 degrees.

I also use powder, although for darks I use a black wash detergent that is only available as a liquid. I put this directly in the drum to avoid the rest of the machine getting clogged up. I hadn’t thought of also putting the powder directly in the drum, I will try this!

I also hate overly perfumed detergents. Mind you I can’t bear air freshers either, chemical smells give me a headache. I’ve always used vinegar as a fabric softener, it keeps my machine limescale free too.

Also the powder is far cheaper and lasts longer. We buy the big 130 wash boxes. Only around €15 on offer. No plastic

I think only one poster has mentioned hard / soft water. Makes a huge difference to performance of soaps and detergents.
Where i live the kettle scales up in 2 or 3 days.You need much less of whatever you use if the water is soft.

We've used Aldi non-bio washing powder tabs for years. But often I have to do an extra rinse to get rid of white marks on black clothes - am I using too much powder in the first place? Usually 2 tabs for a 7kg load at 40 degrees (what's recommended on the box I believe).

I use an ecover egg some times, depending on whether I'm washing normal stuff but not for sportswear.

Also, can someone please tell me exactly which vinegar to buy for washing? I'm really intrigued but never know which one to get in the supermarket Thanks.

Bio D liquid is great, and hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly

We were using pods before and will not be going back.

Also don't need to use fabric softener with Bio D!
When washed with pods and softener the clothes still came out crispy.

Try smol, they are much better for the environment and I have never had a problem with them in the 3 years I have used them - not overly perfumed and they have always desolved. They are a subscription service and you get a pack delivered through your door.

@PineappleCakes I always found that those powder tabs never dissolved properly. Also you probably don't need two of them, especially if you have soft water. Regular powder is much better.

You could also try crumbling up the tablets before putting them in.

I used smol for a while but noticed they werent dissolving properly and I kept finding bits of plastic on my clothes. They told me that I needed to ensure they were at the back of the drum which was where I was putting them so I stopped using them. I also found I needed 2 capsules to feel the clothes were clean. Now use liquid but am going to try powder. Thanks for the recommendations.

Use the gel instead?

Just distilled white vinegar. About 45 cent per bottle..

Why discontinue a good thing

Putting up prices to make more profits can make people a bit cross so that they switch brand. When something is discontinued, people are usually glad to find a replacement so they buy even if the price is higher.

Why? To minimise fall out when prices go up.

White vinegar's much cheaper if you can buy it in bulk; I usually get the 5 litre bottles. Ocado sell it in this size, or if you can hold your nose you can get it from Amazon. You can also buy it on some of the 'green' sites (Big Green Smile etc) but I find they charge a lot for relatively obscure brands when cheapo Sarsons would do the same job.

I've switched over to laundry sheets. They're more expensive (over €0.50 per wash) but they clean well and don't make a mess or have any smell. I use Tru Earth which I get from either Faerly or Ode to Earth which are both in Ireland. I know Ode to Earth is having supply issues for Tru Earth at the moment because although the company is in Canada the distributor is in the UK so there are Brexit issues. Faerly still had stock the last time I ordered.

I use pods. 40 quick wash for everything apart from bedding and towels which go on a 60 quick wash

Ecover still do powder and it doesn't have any smell to it. I was at 30° with it and it's always fine.

I use Ariel powder at all temps and lengths of wash and it works fine . I did use pods for a while but I had a couple of instances where residue from the pod stuck on a duvet cover / king size sheet so I was having to re wash .

I never use pods.
a washing machine engineer told me you are better served with powder than pods or liquid and it works out cheaper

Hi OP, also in Ireland. I used to use the ALDI compressed powder (ie the tablets) as it was easier to store in my tiny utility. But it has disappeared. I now use either the ALDI powder ( there is a bio white, bio colour and non bio - they are brilliant and we are a family with sensitive skin!!). and if I miss a run to AlDI I use DAZ colour and white powder - again really great.

I stopped using all gels and liquids as my machine started to smell.

I also use vinegar to stop colours running.

I've gone back to powder. After years of pods I have realised powder gives a much better clean. For example sweat that seems to be trapped in clothes is removed with powder. I chuck it straight in the drum though. It keeps your drawers clean and muck free.