Mitch....I promise you, I will not be using this in my Miele or my almost as expensive LuluLemon workout clothes, LMAO!!

For what it's worth, this stuff is cheap, and not half bad. It was more than fine to remove sand from Beach Towels, re-wash sheets, and a load of whites (with LCB) while on Vacation, in a modest Top Loader.

$1.99 at Walgreen's.

I agree with Mich on this...your washer is too expensive and too special to experiment with a cheap detergent expecially a liquid. And the LuLu Lemon workout clothes, have held up thru HOT-HOT water, no sense in risking it. Lol. Lol

I got the Xtra with Oxy at the local Giant grocery store. I think they are a PA chain only so you might not have them where you live.

I do have hard water, but we have a whole house softener so as long as we remember to put the pellets in, the water going into the washer is soft. The washer does have a heating element as well -- and I did do a load of "sanitary" cycle today with water that wasn't soft (dh let the pellets run out so now we are waiting for the softener to regenerate tonight.) How would Xtra be any worse than other detergents as far as hard water and the heating element goes?

MamaPinky and Laundry Mitch....I took no chances or risks with my Electrolux units, and I'm sure as hell not going to take ANY chances with my Little Giant, lol! My Miele is getting Miele UltraWhite powder, UltraColor powder, STPP, Oxi powder and HOT washes each time I use it. The Tandil liquid in between the powder detergent and HOT washes will be fine!! :)

Yep, nothing at all wrong with liquid detergent in between powders and hot water.

If you are worried about the Miele, then (if it were me, not telling you what to do) I would sure watch what I put in there in the way of boosters. I have seen Oxi-Clean build-up in the pump of a FL machine. Remind you of concrete but not that hard. I am sure that some of the chemical add ins some of you use that are course texture does the same thing.

And Pink before you say it--this wasn't used only on cold water. I have added it (Oxi) to a jar and added hot water and mixed it up to add to a carpet steamer. You have to strain it to get the pieces that will not dissolve out, otherwise the steamer will stop up. I even heated the water in the micro so it would be extra hot but didnt want it boiling.

So Lars, just saying if you are scared of cheap liquid, I would sure watch some of this other stuff.

Sparky, was it pure sodium percarbonate? Or one you buy in the store?

Store bought. I seriously doubt that the majority of the people special order stuff like that(besides here ha) you know what I mean. Most do good to pick it up in stores--too busy-- plus majority of people aren't that interested in washing clothes.

Sparky it wouldn't surprise me that the store bought oxi won't disolive completely with all the fillers, and of course I believe you...all those fillers are why I ordered pure sodium percarbonate, well at least 99% pure. I don't see any good reason to add more fillers to my wash than I have too. By the way sparky I added pure sodium percarbonate in a glass, hot tap water stired a few seconds and it all disolved. Than I added oxiclean with hot water, hard chunks that fall to the bottom. So it is the fillers

I just put a big tablespoon of Tide Oxi in a glass with HOT water, stirred for about 30 seconds....almost all is dissolved, but there are several hard little pieces (like grains of sand) that are not dissolving. Perhaps during the wash cycle, they all dissolve, or they get stuck in the pump?! :-o The horror!!

Sparky & Mama....I'm going to order Sodium Percarbonate TODAY. Do you use it with STPP, or only use the S.P. with whites?

Not meaning to highjack the thread but... I put some Borax in a jar of hot water and shook it real good and their was a layer of undissolved sediment in the bottom of the jar. Got be thinking twice about using it. What do you gurus think?

Beaglenc...

Was it 20 Mule Team borax?

Georgect, yes it was 20 Mule Team b.

So...TWO hours later and the Oxi powder is still NOT fully dissolved. It has already been given away, LOL.

Not putting this in my Miele. Thankfully only used Tide Oxi (or any other Oxi) 1 time in my new machine!

So do you guys use STPP with Sodium Percarbonate?

Larsi, you will love pure sodium percarbonate, you will never go back to store bought boosters..and no extra suds from it. I would only use it on whites and lights, oxygen bleach expecially in a more pure form will fade darks..if you insist on using oxi in darks stick to the detergent with it already in it, it would be a safer bet.let me know when it arrives..I'm excited for you.

Also yes you can use it with your STPP

Thanks Mama! Just ordered a 2lb. bag ($10). Can't wait to try it. Great reviews online, and of course from you :)

I no longer own any store bought Oxi powder product. If it does not dissolve in over 2 hours in a glass with hot water...then it is not going to dissolve in a 50min to 1 hour wash cycle. I don't want this in my washer.

So now my Miele will be getting Miele UltraWhite, Miele UltraColor, STPP, Sodium Percarbonate, and some Tandil liquid here and there ;)

Appreciate the help. I honestly never even thought about the dissolvability of Oxi powder before! This Forum is awesome!!!!!!

Beaglenc...

I've never tried dissolving mine, I would just put a 1/4 cup in with my whites.

Larsi - how does the Miele Ultracolor perform for you. I noticed it's all alchohols and ethanol. Looks interesting.

Pink - is your dosing pure Sodium Percarb similar to this:

LAUNDRY APPLICATIONS: For light soils add 30g of Sodium Percarbonate with your laundry detergent per load. For moderate soils use 60g (1/2 cupful) and for heavily soiled articles use 120g. In the laundry Sodium Percarbonate is used to destain, deodorize, and whiten. It is very effective as a laundry presoak for heavily stained articles. Soak in hot water for at least 30 minutes, or overnight, then complete wash cycle. For whitening old linens and yellowed window shears, deodorizing and cleaning tennis shoes, or to get rid of yellow armpit stains on shirts: soak in a solution containing 60g of Sodium Percarbonate in 5 litres of water for at least one hour, or overnight, then rinse.

@rpsinfoman....I REALLY like Miele UltraColor. It has enzymes, but no bleaching ingredients. It is VERY low sudsing. Stains & odors are thoroughly removed, and clothes look, feel and smell good. The scent is much stronger in the box, but sadly (for me) once dried...the scent is, basically non-exsistent, but clothes are clean!! I highly recommend it.

When I finish the box, I will probably re-order...if I do not give Cheer powder another try! I like that Cheer powder is OB free, but last time I tried it in my Electrolux is gave some major suds, and was hard to rinse. Now that my rinse levels are so much higher in the Miele, perhaps it will be easier to rinse. Cheer smells great (better IMO that Miele UltraColor).

Which Cheer. The cheer dark looks similar to UltraColor in composition but contains Percarbonate. Something I don't want for color.

http://www.pgproductsafety.com/productsafety/ingredients/household_care/laundary_fabric_care/cheer/Cheer_stay_colorful_HE_Powder_Detergent.pdf

The liquid seems to be OB free.

http://www.pgproductsafety.com/productsafety/ingredients/Cheer_free_gentle_HDL_HE.pdf

I would buy Cheer powder, now says "he" safe. Last time I contacted Cheer, they told me powder is OB free, liquid has a small amount of OBs!

Used borax for probably 20 years and never had a problem with dissolving. Use Oxiclean or Biz now and never have a problem with dissolving. It must be your machines that are the problem.

As for a cheaper brand detergent, I would NEVER put down on anyone who uses it. I happen to know that my son who is a single parent has to buy cheaper products at times. Who I am to say anything about what someone else has to buy or chooses to buy.

Sin...I add one or two ounces at the most of sodium percarbonate, I know more can be used, but generally one ounce is all it takes.

The sodium percarbonate in powder Cheer is a very small amount, just enough to kill the chlorine found in city water but not enough to effect the clothes. P&G is going on the theory that the chlorine in city water causes darks to fade, so their thought is to kill the chlorine, before it affects the darks..they could be right, sometimes my water smell very strong of chlorine. I would not worry about the sodium percarbonate in Cheer powder, that small amount won't fade the clothes, but it will kill the chlorine in city water..which over time will cause fading.

The thing about P&G Powders *is* all of them... HE or not, all contain suds suppressors.

I've been able to get away with using non-he Tide with Bleach Powder, and Original Tide Powder, before, just fine ;) You just don't use a full scoop.

Fun Fact - The first "HE" washer was released in 1998, a la Maytag Neptune. Before that, no washer had really been called High Efficiently. Even though Miele & Akso washers had been on this side of the pond for years.

The first "HE" Detergent, wasn't even released until 2001. Most people just, used less detergent ;)

Edit - Larsi said, he found HE Tide before than. However, it is, worth noting... that most people did just use less detergent. :-)

@ Mitch....we bought our first Frigidaire front loader in the mid, maybe late 90's, and we used to buy "he" Tide Powder from KMart...they were the ONLY place to sell "he" branded Tide. This was 100% before 2001. I know, because we sold the house and the washer/dryer in 2001, when we moved to Beverly Hills!

Hmmmm. I wasn't too sure about that, but, now I know ;)

And Beverly Hills... Must be nice :D

What I really wanted to post about though is... Try dissolving other detergents.

I thought about this too Mitch. How does our beloved Miele UltraWhite & UltraColor dissolve in hot water in a glass? Tide he powder? Ariel?

Maybe none of it fully dissolves....and we are all going to switch to liquid detergents. LOL :-O

I don't think we should all start panicking. A lot of detergent's literately do sit there, showing little action.

Think of when you dumped powder into a Top Loader, did it instantly dissolve in seconds, or did it really start to bubble up, when everything started agitating ?

It's the actual movement, and agitation.. that really cause things to start dissolving. I think this is why, you'll hear a lot of housewives, mention placing detergent directly into the drum. But... I personally haven't seen Powder detergent buildup, of any sort in a front loader.

With that said, I can't count how many times.. I've seen beautiful front loaders, all covered in Blue slime, from liquid's. Not that anyone cares apparently, just me...

OK....we can breathe (somewhat)! I just added a small scoop of Miele UltraWhite powder in a glass with hot water and stirred quickly! The powder, the white part dissolved very rapidly. The blue specks are taking longer to break down. The water never foamed up, but it is turning baby blue :) The water is very!!! slippery (I know MamaPinky will love this).

Did you stir the Tide Oxi? I'm really curious about this :)

Mitch....I stirred and stirred the Tide Oxi, and let it sit for over 2 hours and there were still little hard, white pieces in the glass!! I have already given away my BIG container of Tide Oxi :( I will miss the scent.

I ordered a 2lb bag of 99% pure Sodium Percarbonate this afternoon.

@Larsi, I'm sitting next to a jar of Hot Water with 1/2 teaspoon of Oxiclean. ;) It completely dissolved.

Really Mitch? Wow....I wonder why the Tide Oxi did not dissolve?

I promise you, the water is crystal clear, just a horrible picture. ;)

Keep in mind, my water is super soft. However, when I poured it in, the water, turned into a huge white cloud, and took a minute to clear up.

But when it *did*... there we're a few small, little granules at the bottom. Those dissolved with some spoon stir-ing. :-)

Ugh... well, it's hard to tell. But... I'm shocked how clear the water *is* on my side. :P

If you have Tide Oxi Mitch...try that in a jar with hot water. Mine did not fully dissolve. Also MamaPinky said her Oxi did not fully dissolve.

We too have soft water, now that we have a full house water softener. We are between 0-2 grains! So, very soft!

I'll post pics in a second, but it's obvious, there's a little bit of un-dissolved sediment at the bottom.

It sure does smell, wonderful though ;)

It's hard to see, but there's a few pieces undissolved powder at the bottom. :(

Mitch....I had a lot of undissolved powder at the bottom when I tried dissolving a tsp. of Tide Oxi in a glass with very hot water. Stirred for about 30 seconds, very vigorously and then let it sit for over, or at least 2 hours!!! Still hard sediment at the bottom of the glass. Crazy! Yes, sure smells so good....clean and fresh! I will miss my Tide Oxi, but I cannot use something with a clear conscience that does not dissolve in hot water, sitting for 2 hours!!

Thanks for checking too!! :)

Larsi, I'm not surprised. I'm thinking, maybe the Tide Oxi has some hard to dissolve fillers, perhaps. It's just upsetting, because, I was just starting to grow fond of the stuff, lol :-)

On the bright side, atleast OxiClean is still safe, for now. And... that'll work just wonderfully, in a pinch.

On the other hand, I will mention real quickly, the Tide Oxi water, was not as clear as the Oxiclean. I kinda wonder why.