Washing powder or something that actually works

[StopInhalingRevels]

I'm finding that all my washing is coming out unclean. Stains don't seem to be coming out. It's not the machine. I've been working my way through various powders after being told powders are better than pods or liquids. None seem to be any good anymore.

What do you use to get your laundry clean on a normal wash? Don't care about "lovely smells" etc, I just want things to come out clean and not have to scrub with vanish every time just to get marks out.

What sort of stains?

Are you overfilling the machine? If it's too full the clothes can't move about properly to get clean.

What sort of stains
Is it bio powder?

I use basic supermarkets own. But you may need to wash hotter if stuff not clean? Surf etc not much good.

Bio powder/hotter wash/enough powder for the load size.

Use non bio powder. The bio stuff just doesn't cut it imo.

Tbh non bio isn't really an available option where I live, it's just used as washing powder for babies.

Everything.

Grass stains. Orange juice. Food. Paints. General stains from pre school (we have 4yo twins)

And everything comes out like it's had a cursory wet wipe, not like it's been washed.

Makes no difference at 40 or 60.

I've discovered ace bleach which is now what I'm using on whites, but I never used to have to do this.

Yes it's bio powder. And makes no odds whether I stuff the machine full or run it half full.

Are you using fabric softener? If so, stop! It's basically oil that lays over your clothes and stops the soap getting in. Also gunks up the machine.

Regardless, to clean the machine it should be done at least monthly. Run a couple of towels through on cotton wash at 90 and you should notice the difference in the next load immediately.

Soda crystals and run on a 90 degree maintenance wash
Once a month

I do this. Exactly this.

https://www.tiktok.com/@melissadilkespateras/video/7161581612445076742

I use Fairy non bio pods or powder for most washes with a scoop or two of napisan.

For whites, gym kit, PE kit I use Ariel bio powder and a capful of either Zoroflora or dettol laundry sanitizer.

i wash at 40 generally, whites at 60

Have you tried cleaning your machine ? Once a month I do a hot 90 wash on cotton with old towels. Every other week I wipe the seals , door and drawer with hot water and a dot of bleach.

i do not use softener

Powder is crap unless you're doing whites because it has bleach in it. It's basic, outdated tech.

Bio pods are the best, especially the ones with extra stain remover. The compartments each do different things and dissolve at different rates to act one after another.

Modern washing machines try to save so much water these days that the clothes are basically slapping around in a damp drum, which is not much use for anything. So little use that you end up having to wash things more than once, which defeats the 'eco-friendly' object entirely.

We never had problems like this when the drum used to fill with water to about a third of the way up the glass in the door, so the clothes had a good splash about in hot bubbly water for a couple of hours. That's what clothes need in order to get clean. Agitation in the soapy water washes the dirt off properly.

I now sometimes use the 'wool' wash because it seems to be the only one that actually uses enough water in the drum.

I swear by hanging clothes out in the sunshine to dry .
Especially white things -they come up lovely and stains disappear.
I know it sounds mad but it works 😁

Fairy liquid and sunshine on food stains.

Are you doing a long enough wash, modern machines are designed to wash for a lot longer with less agitation. 2 or 3 hours is usual.

I agree with this. Mine is much, much better since I did longer, cooler washes.

I run the standard 1hr "daily wash" with 30 min "bubble soak" added on, which seems to get quite a lot of water in the drum..

It's one of those Samsung's with the mini door you can open to pop things in part way through. Less than a year old.

Maybe I need to run longer washes. I don't really have the time for that though. Plus, I never used to have this problem so evidently 6mths ago.

Read the instruction manual for the machine. It may well say the "daily wash" is meant to freshen up a couple of items, NOT actually clean a full load. Use the cycle where the manual says full load, thorough cleaning. You probably need either the cotton or synthetics cycle.

I think the daily wash is just a quick refresh was for things that aren't stained!

I use the daily wash all the time on my Samsung machine. I do increase the rinses to 4 and that makes it 1h 24mins I think

You might need to separate your wash so you use daily wash for lightly soiled, non stained washing then do a long wash of the stained dirty stuff in between

Do you pre test grass drains / paint / tomato stains? My normal wash wouldn't get those out without.