Laundry Detergent Memories

last year

When I was at the grocery store the other day, I noticed in the detergent aisle there were only six name brands of detergent to choose from: Tide (which took up half the aisle), Gain, Persil, Purex, Sunlight, and Arm & Hammer. That prompted me to remember back to the 1970's/1980's when I first started doing my own laundry, how many brands of laundry detergent there were to choose from. Here is what I recall from each manufacturer:

P&G had 11 (!) brands that I can recall: Oxydol, Era, Bold3, Solo, Bonus, Dash, Tide, Gain, Cheer, Ivory Snow, and Dreft.
Unilever: Wisk, All, Surf, and Rinso.
Colgate-Palmolive: Dynamo, Fab, and Punch.
Dial: Purex and Trend.

Does anyone else miss the variety and selection to choose from?

Featured Answer

georgect

last year

I find the detergent aisle BORING.

There's nothing new but different (annoying) scents.

There's no more innovation.

Comments (12)

wishiwereintheup
last year
It's an interesting observation. Can't really say I miss it. Mom always used Cheer powder and then moved to Tide liquid. I stayed with Tide liquid and now use an unscented brand. Someone familiar with marketing could probably explain the collapse in brands from the major companies. Sorta like the big three auto companies who had all the different model lines that were supposed to fill a certain niche like Oldsmobile, Plymouth, DeSoto and Edsel.
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I made my garden stuff with dish soap and it was very sudsy. My first batch made with hand soap didn't seem to suds in the top loader (and I used a full powder scoop). I did throw that batch away. The second batch I made, I used the duggar family recipe (1 fels bar, 1 cup washing soda, 1/2 cup borax--5 gallon bucket--half fill final container and fill rest with water. Makes 10 gallons = 640 loads. Use 1/4 cup for front loader). I did add some hand soap, but far less than the first time. When I was filling my milk jugs they did suds, but when I put 1/4 cup in a pint of water and shook it up, nothing. Also, because it seems so diluted, it didn't smell as bad (I did learn that adding ajax grapefruit dish soap to the garden stuff smells really, really bad--directions calls for dishsoap so suds ok). I did dilute it again and put some in with my kid's bedding load. I don't see any suds (I sure hope it isn't too diluted to actually work). Thank you for the powdered version. I think that I might try that. Although, I have 5 gallons of liquid (just made half the duggar family recipe). Will that hurt a septic tank to pour it down the drain? Although it is about 98% water. I appreciate the parts directions. Most of what I found have cups and bars. Well, yesterday I graded an old bar and a fresh bar. There is a difference in a cup of old shavings and new, so I'm not always sure I have the portions correct). Can I use Dr. Bonner's castille soap instead of zote or fels naptha? I think that I read something about it sudsing too much but I found some with the scent in it already.
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Yes, Cal Ben Seafoam, that's what she uses. I believe it contains some optical brighteners. Her littlest one is allergic to everything else. She can worry about the state of her monster front loader. I don't want my Miele gunked up so I am very careful. But mine also has a 2 hour maintenance cycle run on an empty washer with 165F water. The glass door is too hot to touch. Usually, the rinse water is completely clear at the end of the maintenance cycle. If not, I run it again. I haven't switched as I think my Persil perls does a better job than anything else I've tried. When I washed lingerie at her house some turned gray. I wasn't so impressed but she insists that the soap is best, with fewest "bad" ingredients. I have the German Persil because a box lasts more than a year for me given the soft water and small amounts. I know Germany is very strict about home products and Germans are most demanding of quality. The more of those I try, the more I like them. I also use their floor wax and I'm switching to Pril for my dishes as it works better than anything else I've tried. It's used all over the world except for the US. I know my laundry practices are OK because I saw the tech take the previous washer apart when the heater failed. I asked him specifically if there was any gunk after 2 years of use. He said no, it was pristine. I do use fabric softener for towel loads but I dilute it. Vernel does not get gunky but doesn't smell very good. Mrs. Meyers gets a bit gunky so I dilute by half and give it a vinegar chaser. They both seem to soften towels a bit -- one doesn't seem any better than the other. Towels seems to stay softer washed on warm vs the 140F hot I was using. Oh, I remember Ivory and Lux flakes. Didn't they call that Ivory Snow? They were so slippery and soapy. No idea why they are not still made.
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Roc, I'm in a small country town and the old sheets sell at thrift stores mainly to the underprivlaged...most people around here would walk past the sheets thinking..I don't want someone else's stinky bedding LOL. Ebay often has a ton of old sheets, but they might be pricey. Personally I don't mind paying for good quality American made sheets even if I have to subject them to torture to get them clean. I recently felt a set of sheets at Bon Ton and looked at the edging..shoot they wanted 140 $ and that was on sale, I wouldn't have paid 10 $ the edging looked like something I would do nowadays with my crooked fingers, LOL and they had a underlying roughness...I pay 30 $ for the twin size at Target without a sale and their much better made than Bon Tons over priced, rough bedding. Roc, I love Target but I'm glad its an hour drive from me or I'd be there often when I can't afford to. I was there yesterday and finially got the Mrs Meyers Lemon Verbena FS..haven't used it yet so no review yet lol. I do plan to order more Vaska lavender laundry detergent tabs as I did end up enjoying them on towels.
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Greg Smith
Original Author
last year
Agreed, @georgect! Everything is liquid and (expensive) pods, and most all have fragrances that are far too strong and smell like cheap perfume.
elbits
last year
Cheap perfume is correct. They all smell nasty.
wishiwereintheup
last year
last modified: last year
Agree about the fragrances. Awful. Reason I switched to unscented detergent. And yet, I saw a TV ad for some "fragrance beads" of some sort that are supposed to be added along with clothes (for the wash cycle) to keep clothes "smelling fresh". As if the detergent fragrance isn't enough. And if that is insufficient, clothes can be sprayed down with Febreze fabric spray to make them even fresher. Insane. And what about inhaling all these chemicals?
elbits
last year
I wish I had a box of powder FAB w/lemon freshened borax!
armjim
last year
elbits, I checked eBay as I was curious. The amount of vintage Fabs available there is staggering. Did not see the exact one you mentioned, but many others are there if you are willing to part with some cash.
Mark
last year
Oydol was a great powder, and Dynamo the best original 1/4 cup liquid. Both had good scents too. @elbits I wish I had some lemon FAB too another fav!
wdccruise
last year
@georgect: "There's nothing new but different (annoying) scents. There's no more innovation."

Neither of these statements is true. There are a number of scent-free detergents on the market including Persil Free and Sensitive, Seventh Generation Free & Clear, and Tide Free & Gentle. Henkel introduced All Free Clear in April 2022.

Detergent manufacturers have had to innovate if only to produce detergents that work well in HE washers which use far less water than older washers; see "Can You Use Regular Detergent In High-Efficiency Washers?". CR notes that " Detergent formulas today are highly concentrated. This helps to reduce the amount of plastic or cardboard needed to make the containers."

In addition, research on laundering and detergents is underway; look here.
georgect
last year
I guess I should be more specific.

There are no NEW brands coming onto the market.

Detergents lines are dominated by only a few companies. These companies are not making new lines of detergents, just rebranding what's already out there.

I could be wrong but the America version of Persil was the last major brand line introduced by an established company (but Persil isn't even new, it's established in Europe).

I don't have an issue with scented detergents, but I don't like the heavy perfume scent they all seem to be coming out with. The only classic clean scent I like is A&H Oxi Fresh Scent.
wdccruise
last year
@georgect: "These companies are not making new lines of detergents, just rebranding what's already out there."

Nope. If they were "rebranding what's already out there", they'd be taking an existing product and slapping a new label on it. Established manufacturers may not be adding brands but they are certainly developing new products. They're called "brand extensions". I provided a link to a new All-brand product above. P&G offers 34 different liquid detergents under its Tide brand alone.

"I could be wrong but the America version of Persil was the last major brand line introduced by an established company"

What is a "brand line"? It doesn't matter. A new brand isn't needed to offer new products. There are dozens of detergent manufacturers you've never heard of, some of which could become major players. Seventh Generation offered its first laundry detergent in 1994 and its products are now in Target and Walmart.

"I don't like the heavy perfume scent they all seem to be coming out with."

Obviously they aren't all coming out with heavy perfume as Persil, Seventh Generation, Tide and All brands are all available unscented.
mxk3 z5b_MI
last year
"...all have fragrances that are far too strong and smell like cheap perfume."

No, you're wrong --> cheap perfume smells better.

Laundry Detergent Memories

georgect

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