You can pre-treat with your usual product. I often grab the spray bottle of Charlie's All-Purpose Cleaner to pre-treat. I also still use Shout-gel or a bar of Fels Naptha Soap that I keep for the purpose (just wet the bar and rub the stain).

I'd suggest you read all the information that has already been posted in all the recent threads concerning Charlie's Soap. Taylor (from Charlie's Soap) has answered many of these questions in those threads.

BTW - It's going to take repeated washes with Charlie's Soap to rid your clothing of your former detergent and softener, and the detergent/softener residue are more likely to keep your whites from looking clean for awhile. Don't expect overnight results when you switch and don't go back and forth from Charlie's Soap to your old detergent.

I've occasionally used Oxy Clean along with Charlie's Soap without any problems, and I believe Taylor addressed that recently in one of the other threads.

If you use bleach, use it in a rinse cycle, not in the wash cycle, and then another rinse cycle. If you use vinegar in the rinse cycle, DO NOT mix it with bleach.

-Grainlady

Thanks Grainlady. I never use bleach - it just seems to ruin clothes and shorten their life span, not to mention that my skin allergies wouldn't tolerate it.

If you had nice whites prior to using Charlie's and dingy whites after using Charlie's, it's not a "build up" issue. Am I the only one here who doesn't buy into this detergent "build up" myth? I've used various HE varietals such as Tide, Cheer, All, Wisk, Country Save, Persil, and now my favorite Bi-O-Kleen Premium. My clothes never suffered from this "build up" everyone speaks about -- the clothing rinses just fine, feels just fine, and the rinse water for all of the above detergents is clear without any slippery feel or bubbles.

Where is this "build up"? How do I find it?

I believe folks are referring to these studies.

Filtering laundry detergent

Diaper weight gain with detergent

kimcoco
I just posted this on another charlies thread.. I am a big fan of Nature Bright by Shaklee... it removes stains, brightens whites and safe for color clothes as well. It is not 'cheap' but works great. take a peek at the other Charlie threads , there are other suggestions on there as well.
Ree
ps..enjoy your Charlies..great product!

Kim: Try using two scoops to further soften the water. The superduper white is often the result of an optical brightener which can cover up the dinginess which is the result of hard water. More soda ash (two scoops) equals fewer minerals in the clothes and closer to white. However, you'll need a phosphate or an acid to remove the mineral dinginess once it does attach. I can't get that off. It's a rock.

Hi Charliesoap,

I appreciate your feedback, but I don't have hard water. I think it is more appropriate to market your product to read, "two tablespoons" instead of "one tablespoon" on the label if it's not going to live up to an average wash cycle in average water, especially considering that my water doesn't have a high concentration of minerals. Or, it should read, "one tablespoon, but wash three times" ??? because I've seen that as a solution in other posts, and I just don't buy into the claims of "mineral dinginess", and that every other time my laundry came clean it was only because of optical whiteners, and residue on the "inside vs. outside of the fibers", etc., etc. I appreciate your sales tactics, and nothing against your product, but if the solution to every problem is to use more and more soap, I think that defeats the purpose of marketing your soap to read, "one tablespoon per load". Just being honest, because I think it's only right to be fair to the consumer.

kimcoco -

Could you give us the actual numbers on your water hardness? 2-4 grains is soft, 4-6 grains is medium, and above 6-8 grains is hard water. If you live in a city/town, you can get those numbers from your local water provider.

Do you have a water softener or use a packaged water softener?

Prior to getting all indignant after a brief use of Charlie's soap, you didn't mention the condition of your water or any mechanical or chemical water softener use. Taylor said to add two scoops to FURTHER soften the water.

Adding more detergent is a common remedy in hard water. Using an insufficient amount of ANY product in hard water, and you'll find the majority of the product goes towards softening the water, not cleaning the clothing.

Whether you "don't buy into the claims of "mineral dinginess" or not is obviously your opinion based on few actual facts on the subject. Google - Water Quality and Laundry for more information.

-Grainlady

CS said:
"...which is the result of hard water..."

With regard to my original post:
I never said I had mineral dinginess
I never said my whites weren't white after I washed them
I never said I have poor water quality
YOU should not assume anything with NO FACTS to go on

What I did say is that my laundry didn't come out as CLEAN as I'd hoped - there is a primary difference here. You said that while I don't buy into the claims on mineral dinginess is my opinion based on few actual facts..well then I think it should be noted that CS's claim that it is my water quality is based on NO ACTUAL FACTS on the subject. Please refer to my original post.

All CS did was diverted the blame from their product to my water quality without ANY information regarding my water quality. Too many assumptions for the sole purpose of marketing their product, I suppose.

Charlies Soap may not be the solution for everyone. I'm sure I could find plenty of relevant information and post links here that would be valid arguments against your points, but I think I've made my point.

I get the impression that CS uses this forum to promote their product with their far-fetched claims. I don't buy into these claims, and I stand behind my decision, and I don't think that one tablespoon per load is sufficient for a load of laundry, if you want your clothes to come out clean. Not white, not bright, just clean.

Again, is it one scoop or three? Hmmmm...I suppose we should conclude that if your laundry does not come clean with one scoop, then IT MUST BE YOUR WATER QUALITY, because it couldn't possibly be the soap.

I don't think so.

As Shhriva mentioned above, whites that are white before they are washed, should still be white after using Charlies. My whites were the same white as when they went in the washer, but the problem is they didn't come out as CLEAN as I'd have liked. So, again, water is not the issue...that leads me to conclude that one tablespoon of soap, as CS claims, is NOT sufficient.

Well, not sufficient for your fabric type/washer type/water/dirt levels.

One scoop of Charlie's gets my clothes cleaner than anything I've ever used. Softer, too.

Based on my experience, and that of many on this forum, the claims made by Charlie's Soap are absolutely accurate.

The fact that it doesn't happen to work for you doesn't make Charlie's claims "far-fetched."

Kimoco:

I read your original post. You said:

"some of my whites didn't come out as clean as I'd hoped"

Now, any normal person would assume you meant they were not as white as you'd like. After all, they are white clothes. One wouldn't assume you would want them more brown or gray, right?

I am a first time user of Charlies Soap. I am on a well and use a softner. I use one scoop per load. I have children's clothes and they are dirty enough going into the wash. Horseback riding = lots of stable dust and dirt. One scoop seems to work just fine for me. I also don't use softner. I do use hot water on light clothes. That is my preference.

I hope you find a solution to your satisfaction soon.

kimcoco
you can return the Charlies for a full refund if you are dissatisfied. they are really nice people and will not give you a hard time. what confused me a little, in your other Charlies post, you said you were adding OC and your whites were fine...?? taylor is actually a very nice person. he pops on to help and answer questions. to me, it gives a personal touch to the company and their products. he wasn't trying to 'deceive' you, I am sure he was just making a suggestion to help solve the problem.

cotton is not naturally white. it is bleached, then dyed to white. so maybe at times, when things are not looking that bright white any longer, it could be the dye is being washed out and nothing will bring it back to that 'new' bright white. even using reg. detergents, you will need bleach, or OC etc. to keep the white really white and after time, they lose that bright white also. As far as one scoop not cleaning, I have to disagree on that one. I would never put 'dirty' cloths on my back or my family's. I have two kids, they get their cloths dirty all the time.. they also ride horses . It's either spilling something, grass, or dirt from out side, but the cloths always come out clean. at times when I need a stain remover or a boost in my laundry, I use nature bright, together with Charlies when needed works perfect.

I am sorry you are up set, and did not get good results, but it's not the end of the world :) just call and return it. I am sure there will be another product that you will be happy with.

Ree

Not to pile on, but I have to say that I'm an extremely pleased Charlie's Soap customer! I use the All Purpose Cleaner at full strength to pre-spot tough grass and oil stains and my husbands shirt collars and cuffs. That and one tiny scoop of CS with white vinegar in the rinse water gets our clothing very clean. Sometimes I have to re-treat and wash a really tough stain; those I usually check before putting in the dryer so the stain won't set in the heat. Second time is usually the charm.

I have two kids, a labrador retriever and a husband who can't seem to get through a day without dripping something down his shirt. My son has pretty bad eczema, which has noticibly improved after switching from the Sear's HE detergent and Downy softener we'd been using previously.

Our clothing gets as clean as before with similar amounts of pre-spot treating. Our clothing doesn't smell "pretty" but it doesn't smell like anything at all which is better imo.

(Full disclosure: I've always used a whole house water softener, and a whole house water filter to remove the chlorine from our water, again for my son's skin issues.)

smarge,
not to change the subject, but you mentioned a whole house water filter? Could you tell me what kind it is and how you like it? We have been looking into one and I have seen a huge range in prices, it's all very confusing. After putting a filter on our showerheads, and liking the difference very much, we started to look at whole house ones. Any info you can relate would be appreciated!

Kim,

I, too, find CS less than satisfactory for cleaning my laundry, but I've learned that there's not much point in reporting that here on the forum since it's like sticking a stick in a hornet's nest. ::shrug::

Taylor does have a sort of point that each individual water supply has its own chemistry and products will vary greatly in how well they work from one water source to another. Increasing the dosage may make a difference for you, and you've nothing to lose by trying.

I have naturally soft water and am a long-time FL user with no detergent "build up" in my clothes to remove, but CS at every dosing level I tried still didn't get my clothes as clean as other products. So I moved on. BTW, you don't have to stick with "official" HE detergents if you find another product that works well in your machine. The key is a product that can clean efficiently at a dosing level that's correct for your machine. It's the oversudsing, and consequent poor rinsing that creates the build-up/mildew problem associated with non-HE soaps.

For example when I got my first FL I was an ERA liquid user, and no matter how I tried I could not get to the sweet spot with that product where it cleaned well enough without oversudsing so I had to give up my then-fave detergent. However, since I started using Fl's many years before there were such things as HE detergents I just cast about until I found a low-sudsing mainstream powder detergent that worked splendidly in my machine and wash water and I've stayed with it ever since. I only make forays into other products to test new things like CS - and for special washing projects like down, wool, silk, etc., which demand special detergents.

If you're not happy with CS, I'd just return it for a refund (which apparently is offered cheerfully) or use it up as a general household cleaner for scrubbing out things like trash barrels or litter boxes. That's where all my trial detergents wind up and many do a very good job at that, too. I've used some of fanciest (and priciest)detergents in the world to spiff up my garbage pails.

Molly~