My experince with Charlie's soap was not the best. And you cant even compare Charlie's soap to Persil, or any other detergent for that matter. I just cant see how it can out perform Tide. To me it was like washing with plain water.

There are a few here that swear by Charlie's soap, but sometimes I wonder if they just dont hold stock in the company.

I'd say try the Persil.

Good luck!
Bobby

This HE compatible detergent came in right behind Tide in the latest Consumer Reports tests and it's half price this week.

I'm going to pick up a bucket and try it. Many of the forum posters here like the Sears detergent products.

The detergents that didn't have enzymes (Trader Joes, Ecover) scored the worst in the CR ratings. I imagine that Charlies would fall in with this group.

I did buy a $25 bucket (with shipping) of STPP from ChemistryStore.com but I'm drawing the line at a $50 box of Persil.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ultra Plus with OxiClean

Hi lola, I'm the first one here to try CS and I love it. I had tried every HE detergent I could find when I got my FL and nothing was working for me. I was ready to send my washer and dryer back until I found the CS. Some of us have had good results with CS and some haven't. I think your water is a very big variable in what detergents work for you and what won't. I do know many here swear by Tide and it was the worst detergent I tried. The only thing you can do is keep trying different detergents and stain treatments till you find what works well for you. If you haven't tried the CS general cleaner as a stain treatment you may want to give that a try too, plus it's a great cleaner on other things.
I will say I never tried the Persil or Ari. I quit trying different detergents once I found one that worked for me.

I haven't tried CS yet. I have used Ariel and Persil in my LG. I liked the cleaning results of both, but I prefer the milder scent of Persil.

I like Charlie's soap a lot. When my "allergic to every detergent" daughter was living with me, she had no problems with her clothes, and everything is clean and soft, there was no residue and no scent. It's inconvenient to have to order, but it's not very expensive, so it's no big deal. It's certainly worth a try.

Charlie's Soap (liquid version) is NOT the same as Sport Wash. It is similar. Where did you get the idea they were the same??
--Andrea

I found Charlie's Soap to be an interesting detergent. It did not remove stains well for me(no pretreating), and left my whites looking a bit dingy. Perhaps it is because it does not have the optical brightners that make whites appear bright. But I like to use it on lightly soiled colored clothing, and delicate items. It rinses very cleanly. I would compare it to the detergent verson of Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo.

It also seems to remove unseen reside from the washing machine. If I use it after not having used it for a while, there is a lot of suds created. If I then run another cycle with it, there are practically no suds.

Joe

--Andrea">>>

I called Charlie's Soap customer service line to ask some questions and I asked if Sport Wash that is sold at Wal-Mart and Sportsman's Wharehouse is the same thing as Charlie's Soap liquid since it makes very similar claims on its label and he said he would have to plead the 5th on that, so I took that as a yes! I have also read on various websites that Charlie's, Sports Wash, Sensi-Clean and Wonder Wash are all the same product.

I've used Charlie's soap for about a year now with my HE3, and I really like it. It's the only soap I've used that leaves absolutely NO scent in my clothes. I love to pull out my wet laundry & smell it--it just smells like fresh water. Somehow that just smells so clean to me.

As far as I can tell, it cleans as well as anything else I've used--but then I don't have kids, and I don't ever get all that dirty so I never have any really tough grime to deal with. So I can't speak to that issue.

For me, though, it's perfect. Even after a year, I still enjoy pulling those clothes out & smelling NOTHING. Up till I started using CS, I wouldn't have thought it possible.

--pony

I have to second Sears detergent. Ariel, while very good IMHO, just isn't economical for me. I did get a bucket of STPP. The Sears and the STPP come in such large containers that I won't need detergent for years. Hopefully, by keeping them tightly closed, they won't deteriorate over time.

Lola3816,

I had just called Charlie's Soap myself, right before postint, and THAT guy said that they were not the same but similar. And that CS was sold under many different labels, and listed a bunch in other countries. But said that Sportwash was not one of them.

Maybe it depends who you talk to. So now I believe YOU are right.
Sorry!!!

Andrea

OK, I have verified that Charlie's Soap is NOT THE SAME as Sportwash. They have emailed me about it, so I have it in writing.

One of the things that alerted me to the Charlie's-Sport Wash connection was when I initially called Charlie's to order the soap. I think I talked to the older guy that is on the website because he said he usually doesn't take orders. He was real talkative and kept me on the phone for about 30 minutes! He was telling me about the soap and how he had just completed some new research with a prominate university. I asked him what the differances were between the powder and the liquid. He said the liquid was more for sports and performance fabrics like waterproof garments and fabrics that wick away moisture. He said it is also excellent for hunters because it leaves no scent. He said the powder is more for everyday laundry and that it contains washing soda. My father wanted to know if the made a hypoallergenic body wash also and the Charlie's guy said they didn't sell one but that he developed one for a company called ATSKO and the product is called "Sport Wash hair and body gel"! He sid they sell it at Wal-Mart and Sportsman's Warehouse. When I went Wal-Mart to find it I also found the Sport Wah laundry detergent next to it. After I read the label I started to put 2 and 2 together. I bought it and started using it even before we recieved the Charlies powder. After the Charlie's powder arrived I had a few more questions about doseing and whether I could use bleach with it so I called Charlie's again. I got the same older man. After my initial questions I asked about the Sport Wash and that's when he laughed a little and said he pleads the 5th. He then asked how much the Sport Wash was and when I said the it was $3.97 he said "I can't do better than that!" Whether it is the same or different, the cleaning performance and the smell are identicle.
PS there is a new one out there called Penguin Sport Wash! www.penguinsportwash.com

I am so confused now!

Funny that he said he could do better on the price for the liquid, since my guy said "Charlie's Soap liquid laundry is a bit more expensive to produce, and we have not tried to compete with their special marketing and generally lower prices."

I have both products. Hmmm, they both have the same dosage (one is 1/8 cup, one is an ounce) and one is from NC, one is from SC!

I thought I got better washing results with Charlie's liquid than with Sportwash, but it is not a good test, since I only used Sportwash in my Calypso, and only used Charlie's in the He4t.

Good to know about the Penguin Sport Wash as an alternate.

I love Charlie's Soap, so much so that, when they had a sale recently, I stocked up. I think it was "Buy 2, get 1 free."

Absolutely no scent, no optical brighteners, no residue, dissolves very quickly, even in cold water. I will say that it worked better for me after I got our water softener fixed.

Andrea,

South Carolina is where Atsko's headquaters is located, not necessarily where Sport Wash is made. To clarify, the Charlie's guy said he "couldn't" do any better when I told him the price of Sport Wash. When companies aquire a product to sell as their own, they don't want anyone to know who really makes the product. They probably have a legal agreement about it. I think my Charlie's guy accidently spilled the beans to me. I do think that Charlie's makes Sport Wash but it may have a different formulation than Charlie's liquid detergent. I only have the powder so I can't accurately compare them like you can since you have both liquids. Do they smell the same? Do they have the same consistancy? Are they the same clear color? Do they wash clothes the same? Atsko also sells a detergent called "Sensi-Clean" which is the same exact thing as "Sport Wash" only marketed to a different demo. Google "Wonder Wash Detergent". This is the same stuff. I think Sport Wash/Sensi-Clean, Wonder Wash and Penguine Sport Wash are all made by Charlie's Soap and are all the same thing. BTW, I called Atsko and ofcourse they denied that Sport Wash was made by Charlie's but when I asked about the university testing that is touted on their label they said it was tested by Clemson University! The same university that tested Charlie's! I don't think we will ever get a definitive confirmatin that they are the same but their desciptions and use are too identcal. Both use 1 oz. Both rinse residue free up to 4 times consitration. Both were tested against Tide for rinsabilty at Clemson U. Both improve flame retardency, waterproofing and moisture wicking. Keep me posted on your comparison tests.

I have tried, and do like, the Persil powder. In fact I may even love it! People say the bleaching properties are not activated at low temperatures, so it may even be safe for colors when used on cold. Maybe.

But sometimes I need warm or hot for colors (for instance when I get grease stains.) I am thinking about the other Persil forumlas.

On other threads I have heard that the Megaperls Color is nowhere near as good as the regular Persil. Does everyone agree with that? Should I even try it for colors? What about the regular Megaperls??

Please advise!!

Thanks!
Andrea

Lola,

I have not used the Sport Wash in a long time. But I did smell both of them. In the bottle the Charlie's smelled much stronger (nasty!) than the Sport Wash. The Sport Wash had a smell but it was much fainter. But the Sport Wash is much older so this is a very poor experiment!

Of course they both are unscented when used.

Andrea

Andrea2: I have been using Megaperls Color exclusively for the last six months on whites, brights and darks and have found my whites are whiter than they ever were with my old Tide Ultra/toploader regime, and the colors aren't fading. One drawback: this product doesn't seem to dissolve very well in cold water. I don't know if regular Persil works well in cold water.

Krustytopp,

Thank you! So somebody does like the Megaperls Color. Maybe the whites are whiter because they are actually cleaner, even though it doesn't have an optical brightener!

But that is bad about it not dissolving well in cold, since a lot of times darks are done in cold. What are Megaperls--some kind of a gel? Perhaps that is the problem. I have found the Persil powder to dissolve well in cold.

I was thinking...maybe it would be good to dissolve the detergent first in a cup of warm water, then add to the dispenser?

Anyway, now I want to try the stuff!!

--Andrea

When I first bought my washer in 2002? I got one box of regular PERSIL and a container of Megaperls color.
When the regular big box ran out I bought a box of regular Megaperls, so Megaperls and Megaperls color is what I have been using. No problem with either but I will say that the Megaperls smells like it has scent in the box, but it disappears when it is mixed with water. No scent--if anything the wash water might be described as acrid(My washer drains into a sink so I can see and smell it) but there is no scent when the load is completed.

I haven't had any problems with using it in cold. My cold is 85F unless I select tap cold, but then agaIn I don't wash in cold too much, but there is also PERSIL GEL which is made for whites and colors so this might be something to try. I have both GELS but prefer to use powders. The GELS work very well on Oil and grease stains and this is why I keep them around.

I feel stupid but...what is the difference between Megaperls and Megaperls color? Does Megaperls have optical brighteners like the powder? Or is it just supposed to be all-purpose, whites and colors?

I wish you hadn't told me about the Gel--I too prefer powder, but the main stain I am having problems with is GREASE, so it is tempting to get the Gel too...

If they weren't so expensive I wouldn't keep asking--I would just get one of each and have done with it!

Thanks,
Andrea

Wow! I went to the Persil website and it seems that most types of Persil come in all different formulas--l think you can get Persil Color in gel, powder, tablet, etc.

But I know people on this forum have not been talking about such a large amount of choices. The only Color one they mention is Megaperls. Is that because not all of them are sold in the US?

Thanks again,
A

The large number and diversity of posts/questions regarding Henkel Persil suggests that many people would really appreciate a comprehensive, accessible overview of the varieties/functions of Persil and their vendors in the U.S. and Canada. Anyone have a handy spreadsheet listing this valuable data :)?

In the meantime, I'm re-posting the link for Persil ingredients (auf Deutsch) that mielemiele posted a while ago, so at least we can figure out what has bleach and what doesn't :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Persil ingredients

I like the smell (or lack there of) of my clothes after washing with either Charlie's or Sport Wash. My clothes have the faint scent of being hung dry in the sun. The "free" products I have tried like Tide Free, All free and Cheer Free all leave my clothes with a chemical, musty smell. I have heard that Persil really has a good smell.

News: went to BK with 4-yr-old son. He got cheeseburger. He was wearing almost new light-colored camoflage khaki cargo pants from The Children's Place. Mustard smears got all over the left leg of his pants, and even on the back pocket. Yes, I had luck getting mustard off a pair of jeans. But jeans don't tend to stain anyway, and it wasn't THAT much mustard.

It was over an hour till I got them off. I sprayed the areas with Charlie's general cleaner. Waited about ten minutes online till I decided to wash in warm, not cold. Sprayed a big more right before the wash. Washed on warm, normal in Charlie's powder. Just took them out--all the mustard is gone! I can't believe that would happen with any other detergent.

Or did they stop making mustard with dye?

The Penguin Sport Wash that I bought today at Dillon's (grocery store) has "Atsko" on the label.
It says that Sport-Wash is a registered trademark of Atsko, Inc.

It also has a statement that the product is "Made in USA for Penguin Brands."

I wonder if anyone else is as sick and tired of the run-around that these two brands (Charlies and Sensi-Clean/Sportwash)are doing to people. It should be a federal law that they disclose all chemcials in these products. I spent countless hours trying to get the ingredients and got the same old "trade secret" crap. I am tired of the game they are playing with consumers and will not buy anything from anyone that does not tell me what is in it. You could be killing yourself and not know it and paying money for it on top of that. These company(ies) have only their best interests and fat wallets in mind. They can put anything into their detergents including cancer causing chemicals and you are buying it and putting it on your children (it isn't rinsing out 100% no matter what they say) or in their ground water (imagine 2 loads everyday, 7 days a week going into your soil-it adds up)especially if you have a drinking well it winds up there eventually. I now beleive they are the same and I won't buy either of these products again and will keep looking for an honest company that I don't have to worry about every time I put a load of clothing in my laundry machine.

I'm so dreadfully sorry you feel that way. If it were Charlie's Soap with which you had a problem, I'd be glad to talk with you.

The last I checked, Charlie's Soap discloses the ingredients of its products on every package. My 3 lb. bag of powdered Charlie's Soap has a list of ingredients. By the way, Charlie's Soap works really well!