I would contact Vaska directly for shelf life info.

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I've used Vaska on HOT for white towels sheets and it's perfectly fine. Vaska recommends less hot water as they say it's better for fabrics (nothing to do with detergents cleaning ability).

Let us know what you hear on shelf life.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vaska - contact

Thanks! I have sent them an e-mail so we'll see.

And I will try using Vaska for all my washes to see how it does - tomorrow is laundry day! I use Sanitary washes (158 F) for my sheets, towels and other items that can handle these temps because my LG does not heat the water on Hot cycles. Typically I use either Sears powder detergent or Dixan (Italian Persil) for these and am very happy with the results. Let's hope Vaska does as well ;-)

You should notice (as others have on this forum) that sheets and towels feel much softer washed in Vaska.

When I do my white towels/sheets, I add some oxygen bleach and a little borax. My things are very white - no issues with dingy whites.

Let us know how it goes for you and what Vaska tells you. Being in Canada, I stock up from Drugstore.com when they offer discounted shipping. I too was wondering how long it can sit for.

I still haven't heard back from Vaska in response to my shelf life inquiry, but I have tried using Vaska for all my washes last Saturday. I usually run two Extra Hot washes each week for my towels, sheets, etc. (one white and one dark). Vaska did OK, I did not experience any significan sudsing. The whites were reasonably clean with added oxy bleach. The dark bath towels came out soft, but not softer than when I use my usual powder detergents (Sears or Dixan). The towels did not seem as fresh after being washed in Vaska though. Mind you, we do use our towels a few times between washes so they need a good long hot wash with good detergent. I'm wondering if it is lack of enzymes in Vaska or what, but I just don't feel it's heavy duty enough for the tough loads. I really like using it for dark lightly soiled clothes or delicates and will continue with that but I don't think I will switch to Vaska for all my laundry needs.

It's amazing how we can have such different experiences with the same detergent. I wash my towels on WARM (105F) with a half cap of Vaska, full cap of Vaska bleach, and a half cap of Vaska fabric softener. My clothes are much softer and fluffier than when washed in Tide, Persil, etc. I also have soft water and a front loader - it's possible that folks with harder water may have to use more.

Yes, it is interesting, isn't it? It must be the water. I washed my towels on Extra Hot (supposedly 158F), full cap of Vaska, a bit of Snuggle FS (half of the lowest recommended amount). No oxy bleach because they are dark. When I use powder detergent, I use one scoop of Sears powder or two heaping Sears scoops of Dixan Classico and same amount of FS. I use Water Plus and Extra Rinse options with my towels (so 3 rinses in total). I really did not see any improved softness with Vaska but I thought my towels were soft before when using powder detergent, so maybe they are at their maximum softness anyway ;-)

Oh, and we are on city water (1-2 gpg) and my washer is LG FL.

I'm wondering if personal expectations have something to do with this also - I did not "need" the towels to feel better so I may have ignored a marginal improvement. You wanted and expected your towels to feel softer so you noticed even a slight improvement.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Vaska is great and will continue using it. It just doesn't do as good a job in heavy duty cleaning as I would like it to.

Agreed. Vaska is not good at cleaning especially dirty clothes, however I love using it on towels, linens and gentle/hand wash items that aren't so dirty to begin with.

How the San Francisco Giants managed to get clean uniforms using it?

My Drugstore.com order landed today. Back in Vaska stock - yeah! Some leakage enroute so lost some Herbasoft and Oxygen Bleach - boo.

It's being used by some pretty fine hotels to launder linens - I would think they have pretty high standards (Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa and Joie de Vivre hotels in San Francisco).

I really love it for certain loads.

I probably wouldn't attempt a load of dirty kitchen towels but for regular sheets, towels, delicates, etc ... it's great. I love the scent.

Hmm, towels and sheets in hotels are routinely changed and washed just after one use so they really are not dirty. Both my husband and daughter have oily skin and hair, and the sheets get changed once a week so they need really good washing, especially the pillowcases. And as I said, we use our towels a few times between washing them, so again, I feel they need thorough washing with good detergent and really hot water to dissolve body oils, rinse off dead skin cells, etc. ;-) I love Vaska - as a matter of fact I have a small load of delicates in the washer right now using it - but I feel that using it continually on our sheets and towels would not give me the results I want.

@livebetter.. My soap.com order had Vaska leakage too. I called them, and they shipped (overnight) for free a new bottle of Vaska Herbatergent and told me to just keep the one that leaked as a courtesy. So I got 1.75 bottles for the price of one :) Call drugstore.com, they too are nice to deal with!

I really, really like Vaska Herbatergent for sheets and also for my dark (nicer) shirts. Colours do seem to "pop" when washed with Vaska. For really soiled or stained clothes (like my 4 year old's preschool clothes)..I do not think Vaska Herbatergent can handle the task. Honestly, I do not see how the SF Giant's uniforms can be cleaned using Vaska...Grass, dirt, blood...Just does not seem possible!

The Vaska Oxygen bleach and Fabric Softener, IMO, stink to the high heavens. Ick for me. Their bleach makes everything smell like toxic hydrogen peroxide and the softener is like icky fishy lavender!

I still think besides Persil, that Clorox Green Works is close to the perfect detergent. Almost all natural, has enzymes and NO optical brighteners. Gets whites white, preserves colours and is great on stains!!

@ livebetter

What Vaska doesn't tell you, but that I've read in various places, is that the detergent formulations they use for their case studies (SF Giants, hotels, etc.) are not the same as what you and I can purchase. Vaska customized the formulations for the needs of each client, so the SF Giants got something that was specific for those types of stains, so did the hotels, etc. So it is a little misleading for Vaska to say "look how great we are because these people use our product too", when for all intents and purposes those big clients are not really using the same product Vaska is selling through retail outlets.

Be that as it may, I love this stuff. I may also be the only person here who actually likes the fabric softener. My first bottle ever smelled a little "fishy", but subsequent bottles did not smell this way. Also, using the oxygen bleach does not change the post-wash scent in any way. While the bleach doesn't smell great out of the bottle, I find that it doesn't impact the final product.

Regarding Clorox Greenworks, my jury is still out. I've washed a few loads with it and am generally satisfied. However, I find the scent objectionable. It smells good in the bottle, but the scent lingers on clothes for a few days and smells artificial to my nose. It's almost like they took the Tide scent and tried to make it smell more "natural". I'm one of those people who doesn't like a scent to linger.

@ larsi

Drugstore.com issued a refund for the "damaged" portion of my order (ie. HALF a bottle of Herbasoft and HALF a bottle of oxygen bleach). No compensation for the icky mess I had to deal with when the boxes landed here.

On top of that, I took some to my friend today and the oxygen bleach must have leaked AGAIN on route (even though it was standing upright the whole way there it must have swished around). Some product was in the bag and when I set it down in her front hall (of her beautiful new custom home) it left terrible etch marks on the marble foyer. Great! I set it down for a second before I realized it was wet - AGAIN!!

I think the Vaska bottles are terrible. They clearly do not seal well enough to keep liquid inside them. I feel horrible.

Colours do seem to "pop" - it's weird.

I really like Greenworks for regular laundry (ie. kids' stuff). It handles every stain (so far) with no problems.

@ sshrivastava

Find the unscented Greenworks and use 3/4 to 1/4 unscented/scented. It makes a huge difference. Just a light hint of fragrance. I too dislike the regular fragrance. Based on how much scent is in my laundry only using 1/4 dose of scent - I can't imagine using scented full strength!

Or use the unscented and use a scented FS you like. I just received the Mrs. Meyers Geranium in that shipment ... not so sure about it - VERY floral. I do have another I love though.

What I read about Vaska's commercial product is that it is formulated for commercial machinery (not specific stains). It would make no sense for Vaska to handle stains on a commercial level but not for consumers.

This is what I read, "Yes, the basic formula for the commercial line used by the SF Giants is the same as the retail Herbatergent and works the same way. The reason there is a slight difference in the formulas is because the commercial laundry machine ...is considerably different that the machines we use at home. The Giants wash about 95lbs versus our 18lbs (on a large home load). I hope this answers your question. If not, please email/facebook us and we will be more than happy to respond!"