always-that a&h is a favorite of mine for light loads. Maybe you got a bad batch? But so many things effect detergent performance! Tide for $30-ridiculous. Ariel from Mexico is my very favorite!!

Arm & Hammer liquid with Oxi has a really great classic clean laundry scent.

It doesn't smell bad. To me it was a strong, institutional or commercial smell. I kept smelling it at Costco like a weirdo trying to figure out what it reminded me of. I still can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'll do one more load and see what I think.

I say bad batch always. Arm and hammer's detergent scents are wonderful! Just like what George and larsi describe!

I also love the AH scents. Maybe a special batch that AH only makes to be sold at Costco ?

@always1stepbehind...

Were you sniffing the right detergent? The one with Oxi with the yellow cap?

I don't like the A&H with the blue cap, I can smell the chemicals in that one.

You know...I think I know what you mean with the "stiff" feeling. I noticed that when I had the top loader. I may have been using too much but never thought about it then.

I bet there's no Oxi in that lol.

There's none. None at all. Just some Enzyme(s)

Yeah Mama & Mitch...but it smells so GOOD!

I will make a point to huff it on my next store trip. Not every detergent needs Oxi anyway. Lol..they would have put something a little extra in it which is why it says Oxi...probably extra Surfactants. In which case used with STPP would most likely turn a lower shelf detergent into a good preformer

Always, was it liquid A&H that made your clothes stiff? Very odd for a liquid to do that...did it rinse out well?

Yes, georgect, same scent as the bottle you posted, Fresh Scent. It's a dark blue liquid. Mine is in the big big dispenser bottle. I googled pics of arm & hammer liquid detergents and I do see they have different colored lids but it looks like the yellow lid and the blue lid both say "fresh scent". Maybe what is in big dispenser bottle is a different scent, it's does smell very chemically.

Mamapinky, I may have used too much. I still have haven't ran another load with the Arm & Hammer to give it another try. I never know how much is enough detergent and I'm sure I error on too much rather than too little.

Strange, I find the regular A & H to smell more chemically than the oxi version..

I might be alone here, but I do not care for any A & H detergents. They all smell like a cheap whore house to me. lol. Cleaning is just ok. Sorry, kids.

LOL..."cheap whore house" scent. It's so funny how everyone has a different experience with the same scents (no wonder manufactures keep messing around with fragrances).

I would give the Cheap Whorehouse Scent award to ALL of the Downy infusion scents. My god, they are over the top. I do love A&H Clean Burst fabric softener sheets...they smell like clean laundry to me (I haven't tried the detergent). And Larsi may kill me in my sleep here, but I always thought Downy AF was just OK; better than the garbage that passes for AF FS today, but nothing to write home about. Glad to hear about A&H mediocre cleaning ability. I can cross that off the list then.

Not so FAST my little chick..yes I'm talking to you El...try the A&H powder pods...Larsi set me on the trail of these awhile back and they smell amazing..like good old fashioned clean detergent. ..they do a very nice job on whites.

Joel...have you tried the A&Hpowder pods, oh what the hell are they called...I can't remember LOL.. they smell great, nothing like A &H'ers other products. You know one of the hardest scents to get rid of is dog urine..well my tiny little lil uses the disposable potty pads, but I use washable pads under them just to be on the safe side do to leaks, I wash them weekly at the laundramat using 2 of these pods..all traces of urine is gone and the pads smell terrific. no they are not the best detergent out there but they are good..

I actually DO have a bag of those A&H powder pods on my shelf. I got 2 bags on sale, with a coupon. OK, so mayyyyybe I will give them another shot, since Mama dear said so. :) If the scent does not suit me, I still have some of those Gain smelly pearls...whatever they are called, that smell like 70's April Fresh Downy. I can use that to cover it up. LOL.

I'm stumped...I did some sniffing of other arm and hammer liquid detergents at the store and it smelled different than the one I bought at Costco. I did notice there is Fresh Scent and Clean Scent, but I didn't noticed a huge difference between the two scents, but neither had the same strong chemically smell as mine. Weird.

always-I never noticed a chemical scent with arm and hammer-even the pods which smell 'cleaner'. I really like these detergents and hate to see when someone tries something new and it's not what it should be.

Joel!! Whorehouse?? LOL! I think they smell so light and clean. You and always must have bad batches, yea that's it-bad batches.

2 people on this thread have mentioned bad A and H detergent from Costco. Is this a regular problem?

LOL Joel, its ok if you don't like the A&H Pacs...we all have different likes as far as scents go, how boring it would be if we all liked and used the same things haha.

Always1step, maybe you got a bad batch. I remember the first box of Sears with Fabric Softener I ordered, when UPS delivered it I was so excited, when I opened it the scent darn near made me cry, it smelled very strongly like plastic garbage bags..cheap plastic. I returned to to my local Sears and exchanged it for the Green box. I've since bought another one with the Fabric Softener and it smells fine, so something was without a doubt wrong with the first one. Can you return the bad one?

mamaPinky: yes, I can still return the detergent to Costco. I'll probably even smell the other Arm & Hammer bottles at Costco to see if they all smell the same.

Always- I had the same exact experience as you. Awful smell and stiff/rough clothes. Mine was purchased at Walmart. Clean burst was very nice though.