I like to use the Woolite for dark as well as the whites, it does really well with our water and machine.

I have several black, a few navy things and use only Woolite for Darks for those. For years now, I've had no reason to want to change. I set my machine to warm, but with Maytag now that is tepid even though my hot water tank is just a few feet from my laundry room and my tank is set hotter than is the standard recommendation. My Maytag mixes cold in with warm and hot settings both.
Who gave them permission to play with my hot ;0)

My regular detergent works just fine on dark clothing, why would I need a special detergent for them?

Morzt hat is why I will keep the old top loader! I can fill it to the lowest level on HOT, then fill the rest of the way with warm (which is almost cold).

Raye, some powder detergents need to be dissolved to not settle on black/dark colors and making white/light dots.

I've never used powered detergent so I've never had that issue.

@Raye Smith: My understanding from my granddaughter is that using the detergent for dark clothes makes the color last much longer. Marcopolo5, in the very first response to this thread, stated: "Maintains dark colors a long time." Lukki Irish and Morz8 basically stated the same. I trust comments from people who have actually used the product and give their honest opinions about the benefits of using the product.

@marcopolo5, Lukki Irish, and Morz8: Thank you so much for your input.

@Okla Moni: Totally agree with you.

Thanks for all of your comments.

Some detergents -- power and liquid -- contain 'Brighteners'. Your blacks will eventually be purple.

I use powder Tide for whites and liquid All for darks. Hot/Cold rinse for whites. Warm/Cold rinse for darks. Front load washer.

I doubt there is any difference between Woolites, but you could read the ingredients. I hand wash my bras in Woolite -- four or five at a time -- and hang to drip dry. Should have done this years ago and saved a lot of money replacing bras!

I hand wash my bras in Woolite -- four or five at a time -- and hang to drip dry.

I did that until I discovered lingerie bags. Now I wash them in the machine and then hang to dry.

Does Woolite work BETTER than Cheer Colorguard?

chipotle -- Oh, I did the bag thing too, but my bras look like new doing this. Really easy. Soak a bit in lukewarm water. Squish up and down. Rinse and rinse again. Drip dry overnight.

Anything designated as being for colors and without oxygen bleach should be find.

I have never seen the Cheer in my stores.. Have used the Woolite for 10 years, without a problem.

We have some dark gray, charcoal and coal colored linens that we wash with The Laundress dark detergent.

Years ago I was given the tip to soak new clothing in salt water for 15 minutes to lock the color in. My older slacks looked dull at the time so I tried it. Today some of those items are still bright as new. I also do not use any fabric softener, but a cap full of vinegar. Softeners leave a light film on clothing that builds up and dulls colors. Dryer sheets leave even more of the film. Towels are not as absorbent as they are with vinegar.

Soak your hose also, it prevents runs.

@Michael: I will have to check into The Laundress; it sounds expensive.

@pkramer60: Will have to try the salt water trick and share it with my granddaughter. I, too, quit using liquid fabric softeners and sheets, but have not used the vinegar - will have to try that. Also, I have started using the wool dryer balls and found they make a fantastic difference in drying time and come out less wrinkled, but the vinegar might put a stop to any wrinkles.

Walnut, we use it for dark linens only, no clothes. Regular laundry is washed with Persil.

There's several detergents claiming to be for dark clothes. Tide had a couple (Studio Dark, I think it was called and Colorguard), Cheer has a Colorguard, Woolite has one designated for darks, etc. However, that said, I was told by some laundraholics I respected to avoid OBAs on dark clothes you wanted to last. That limits your possibilities. Today, offhand, there's Tide PurClean, Cheer POWDER (not the liquid), some 7th Generation and I believe All Free & Clear has no OBAs but it doesn't clean very well either.

I quit wearing dark clothes. Yeah was nice for stains not showing but too many other problems and my clothes are now "Total Casual". So I use mostly Tide Ultra Stain Release Free, ERA Free, and when I want powder I use my semi-homemade/doctored up "power powder". I avoid dyes and stench whenever possible. I choke going near a detergent aisle or worse yet, a candle aisle in a store.

Were it me, and wanted to be cautious, I'd avoid the OxiClean brand because afaik they have oxygen bleach in all of their products and while oxygen bleaches are supposedly color-safe, I wouldn't trust it with valuable darks. Non-valuable ones, fine. But something important/expensive? Nope.

I've been using All Free & Clear for decades and I've never had any issues with it not cleaning, even when cleaning clothes that I worked in a muddy yard in.

Thank you all so very much. My Granddaughter's company recently decided that their employees must wear only black to work (she was really upset about this because that meant she had to purchase a new black wardrobe - she had nothing black, because it is not a color she or so many people look good in). As I stated she is the one who mentioned to me the laundry detergent for dark clothing; I had never heard of it. Probably because I am a Tide person. I am going to pass along the info you provided to her, Cynic. Would you mind sharing your "power powder" recipe, please.

Happy to, WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a. It's nothing special actually. I had been looking at the "homemade" stuff using soap, borax and washing soda, and occasionally baking soda or OxiClean, for years and not impressed with a lot of reviews on it and I found several shortcomings. A lot of people have issues with it turning dingy after a while and I understand why, given the shortcomings. First, they're not a detergent, they're soap. Secondly, there are no enzymes and my laundry needs enzymes to get clean it seems. I read a site where she doctored up a detergent, she used Foca and added some things. I don't have the link handy to it but could look it up if desired. It got me thinking about the whole concept. What's important in cleaning? Well, for me, enzymes, secondly, surfactants. Soap is a surfactant but most detergents have more and different. Then there are boosters and specialized needs.

My variation is basically just a doctored up powder. It's nothing fancy nor special. I take Ariel to start with. It has very good reviews as a detergent by itself (my late friend Mamapinky0 liked it and endorsed it, FWIW, and she's why I tried it in the first place), has enzymes too and it's a good price and it replaces the grinding and shredding of soap. Easier is better. Ariel is popular in Europe, is a P&G product and my experience is P&G, whether you like them or not, makes good stuff and this is a good value. Then I add borax. Some people are afraid of Borax. I'm not. I've used it for decades and I don't fall for the fear factors thrown about. Borax helps with water conditioning, odor removal and more. I then add some oxygen powder (I use either Sun or Dollar Tree's Orange stuff), and this adds washing soda for a little extra in the mix. Then some baking soda for removing smells. I also put in powdered dishwasher detergent with enzymes. May sound strange but I've used it for decades as a laundry booster. It has enzymes too, and washing soda (so it doesn't need to be added separately). Mix in some color-safe bleach. OK, more washing soda, but that's not all bad and it has the color-safe bleach advantage. Most are probably not much different than an oxi clean type of thing so there could be redundancy but I'm not going to sit and debate it. I have it on the shelf, so why not. Once it's gone, I'll probably replace it with Biz powder btw. And finally, I sometimes add just a little bit of Calgon powder if I don't think the borax and washing soda will condition it enough. I've been pleased with this overall. Use it more for the grubbier "work" clothes. I've been happy with it and the cost is very reasonable.

OK for the exact, uh, formula? First, my philosophy on it. My goal is to have a decent detergent to start with and supplement it with performance "boosters". So the ratio of the Ariel (or the detergent you use) should be substantial enough that it can be the base. So I aim for about 50% of the powder to be the Ariel (or Foca or whatever you're using). I use the little scoop in the oxy powder containers, and a Dollar Tree oxy container to hold/mix it. So for the mix above, there are, what 5 additives plus the Calgon. The Calgon I'd only use a little. That stuff is hard to get now so I use my supply sparingly so 1/2 a scoop of that, 1 scoop of the other

5 parts (or a touch more) Ariel powder
1 part each: Borax, Oxygen powder, Baking Soda, Dishwasher Detergent and Color Safe Bleach
1/2 part Calgon Powder (Obviously if you have soft water you wouldn't need it)

I've used this in my regiment for upward of a year now and as said, I'm very pleased. I still use Tide Ultra Stain Release Free, Era and sometimes another cheaper detergent. So this gets used for certain things. I've been pondering and plan to try just assembling a powdered booster (borax, oxy, etc) to add to the lower-powered liquids if I think it's needed.

How much to use? That, like all detergents, will vary with your water composition, your water temperature, the amount of clothes, the soil level of clothes, etc. But I would suggest you start with about 1.5 times the amount you would use for Ariel by itself. Say you would use a "scoop" for a load, in that case, use 1.5 scoops since there are the additives in there rather than being added separately. You might need more, you might need less.

Strange though it may be, I don't mind doing laundry. I find it relaxing as long as I'm not in too much pain. Still an accomplishment. I can think about other things, it's just not a big deal to me. Some hate it, I don't.

So there it is, a long-winded answer, I know but thought I'd include the rationale for some of the ingredients. Oh, and lastly, regarding stench. Some think that the laundry must smell for it to be clean. To me, laundry that smells is a sign that it needs to be washed! But, some want it so they add stink pellets. Feel free to add if desired but I don't. I want to REMOVE odors! Many of the "homemade" varieties add bottles of stench. Ariel has a very light smell to the powder but there's no detectable smell remaining that I can tell. Baking soda, borax, etc, do not add smell either. This is another BIG advantage of this to me.

The other caveat, I have a top loader. I haven't paid attention to sudsing. Ariel doesn't say on it that it's HE compatible but there's also a rumor that all P&G items now are HE compatible. The other items to the best of my knowledge are fine for HE but no guarantee from me. Do your own research, testing and use your own judgment.

Thank you so much, Cynic, for taking the time to provide this great answer. I love your explanation of the "whys." It certainly helps me to understand better.