My Charlie's Soap Experiment PICS!

15 years ago

I just received my first bag of Charlie's Soap . I washed about 3 loads of clothes and was happy with the results. My clothes were clean and the whites looked white, but I did prespot some stains with Shout. So I decided to do an experiment. I took a pair of old socks and stained them with wine, coffee, BBQ sauce, sundried tomato tapenade, bicycle grease, and mustard. I let them set for a day. The next morning I sprayed the stains on one sock (the sock without the safety pin) and let it set for about 1/2 hr. I then washed them with a load of clothes and 1 Tbls of Charlie's Soap in a Fl washer. Here is what they looked like before washing.

Here is what they looked like after washing, while wet. (Sock with safety pin was not pretreated)

Here is what they look like after line drying.

My conclusion is that the sock that was not pretreated looks better. When I hold them up to the light, the pretreated sock actually shows more stains (sock on the left).(Sorry I didn't keep them on the same side in the last picture) The exception is the mustard stain, it seems a little lighter on the pretreated sock.

These were tough stains and I think Charlie did great. I'm a Charlie's Soap convert!

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Comments (13)

sspye
15 years ago
WOW, very cool experiment.

I've been using what is left of my regular liquid Tide diluted (not the new concentrated liquid), to pre-treat stains before washing in Charlie's.

I'm loving my new Charlie's Soap too!
applemac
15 years ago
Very good test you did their nancyjn. I would like to see you do this test with other brands of detergent.. Maybe you can ask for sample so you can do more testing...
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pkspigs
15 years ago
I get socks stained like that snow white in my Miele without pre-treating. I just set it to "whitest whites" and they come out with no staining what so ever. I don't know the temp it uses, just know it is on very hot. I use gain, all, tide, anything I can put my hands on at the moment.
moonshadow
15 years ago
I'm intrigued by Charlie's Soap so checked their web site. I have to use Fragrance Free products (dye free too, preferably). At the web site their liquid soap is listed as fragrance free, but that's not specifically mentioned with the powder form. So I emailed them, and got a rapid response back from Charles Sutherland who was very pleasant and said "There are no added scents or perfumes in any of our detergents."

Just a FYI for anyone interested. ;)
reeree_natural
15 years ago
nancyjn
you crack me up! lol..who would think to do that.. it was truly a great experiment.. I am a Charlies user and I absolutely love it.. maybe the non believers will see Charlies in a different light :)
Ree
nancyjn
Original Author
15 years ago
Some people would probably say that I have too much time on my hands! Really, I was just curious to see if prespotting helped and wanted to test CS's cleaning ability.

I might have to try it again with my Tide HE.
ebear1271
15 years ago
WOW! I've been putting off buying the Charlie's because I don't want to have to keep ordering by mail. I procrastinate a bit too much and I'm afraid I'd run out! Now I'm going to have to try it! Charlie's should send you a free package, they couldn't get better advertising!
applemac
15 years ago
This test was done years ago on here and at one time it was posted on the FAQ's. I forget her name but she collected samples of detergents from all over and did a real good detail test from the low end detergents to the most expensive.
ebear1271
15 years ago
It almost looks as if the pre-treater SET some of the stains!
trinityklm
15 years ago
Interesting test!

If the Shout has a bunch of fillers, brighteners and other crud found in standard detergents, it would make sense that it might coat the fibers of the clothes and help the stains to "hang on."

I've found that while CS doesn't get out every stain, often after a few more washes the stain will just fade away. This is acceptable for kids' clothes, IMHO. The stains are usually really light after the first wash anyway.

Would you consider doing the test using CS all-purpose cleaner? That's not supposed to have any extraneous chemicals in it. You could also wash the socks a few more times in CS to compare the progressive fading of the stain.
jerrod6
15 years ago
Applemac. Alice did the tests but there was no Charlie's Soap then. I also think she tested detergent rinsing ability and the impact of using vinegar vs FS
sshrivastava
15 years ago
Alright, I've broken down and ordered a bag of CS and all purpose cleaner. I am happy with my Bi-O-Kleen Premium powder, but I still have to use FS to get the laundry soft. I'm intrigued by CS claim that FS only covers up residue and that it's not needed when using CS. We'll see. Between CS and dryer balls, hopefully my need for FS will go out the window.

I have a whole house softener, so my water has a ZERO hardness. Wish me luck, I will report back after the first few loads.
jerrod6
15 years ago
Sshrivastava

You what? You bought a bag of CS? :) Please let us know of your results. And are you going to add that Pine Sol to it? Maybe try it without to see what will happen.

My Charlie's Soap Experiment PICS!

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My Charlie's Soap Experiment PICS!

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