Laundry Question

[dynomommy2002]

I don't know if anyone else has posted this question before, but it's driving me crazy!!! Do you find that buying the more expensive laundry detergent brands keeps your clothes looking newer/nicer? I recently switched to a cheaper brand and found most of our clothes to have piling and are looking faded...any opinions/thoughts?
Thanks!!

[Fern]

i've never noticed any difference in how different brands clean my clothes. So i always buy the cheapest. (Just like with shampoo, by the way.)

There was a point when the soap didnt' seem to be rinsing out of the clothes and turned out my spinner needed replacing. It was the washing machine, not the soap.

[Ima saver]

I have used Trend (99 cents) for about 20 something years and I can tell no difference!

[getforfree]

I use Tide for white clothes and the cheapest I can find for everything else. Tide does work better on whites than other brands IMO.

By the way, I have question. I have light colored shirt with a coffe stain on it, which doesn't come off. Are there any treatments that are safe for colored clothes that will actually remove the stain. And I don't want to spend more than $3 on the cleaner, because the shirt cost me about that much.

[FrugalBachelor]

Originally Posted by dynomommy2002

I don't know if anyone else has posted this question before, but it's driving me crazy!!! Do you find that buying the more expensive laundry detergent brands keeps your clothes looking newer/nicer? I recently switched to a cheaper brand and found most of our clothes to have piling and are looking faded...any opinions/thoughts?
Thanks!!

I prefer to get the good stuff. The cheap stuff in those huge bottles is alot of water to lug home. Get even the storebrand stuff but make sure it's concentrated so you dont need a forklift to bring the bottle in the house.

I'm sure the women on here have their own routines and thoughts on this.

[getforfree]

I mostly buy powder detergent. I buy liquid only for gentle wash, because the wash time is shorter and the powder might not dissolve completely.

Yes, the liquid detergent is much heavier compare to powder by the number of loads you can do.

[cicy33]

I have tried the generic detergents and have noticed that they don't work as well for me. I buy ERA which is actually cheaper than most and years back started out as a stain fighter. It is one of the best detergents I have found. Tide is overrated in my book. Shampoo is another area I don't scrimp. I don't use the most expensive but I cannot use suave, or white rain, makes my hair look like straw. I do however use coupons on others. Like for ex I got Herbal Essences a while back with a B1G1 free and they were selling the double packages for the cost of one, so I got 4 bottles of shampoo/conditioner for $2.94. not too bad. about .75 a bottle. I bought alot!

[lrjohnson]

In my experience the cheapo stuff seems to be a little harder on clothes if used at full strength, but i was only in cold with half the amount, and my clothes are fine. Which of course makes it even cheaper.

[jaksilee]

Originally Posted by getforfree

By the way, I have question. I have light colored shirt with a coffe stain on it, which doesn't come off. Are there any treatments that are safe for colored clothes that will actually remove the stain. And I don't want to spend more than $3 on the cleaner, because the shirt cost me about that much.

I use a product called Tec. It comes in a white bottle with red & black lettering on it. It is made for cleaning carpets and is wonderful on laundry. I am able to buy it at several carpet stores and my local Farm & Fleet. Farm & Fleet carries it in the gallon size for like $15. You can treat the stain with it before washing or put it in as the detergant with a whole load of clothing. If you wash a load of baby clothing in it it will take out the mistery stains that show up after it has been stored away for a while. It also works well to get the cat pee smell out of things that can be washed.

(sorry that was a rave...I really like this product and have been using it for about 8 yrs and no I'm not getting paid to tell you about it! lol)

[getforfree]

Thanks jaksilee. I will try to look for that Tec. But we don't have Farm & Fleet around.

[Crystallas]

I buy a diffrent selection of detergents for diffrent purposes. I try to optimally seperate my clothes to take advatage of it. This has worked out the best for me.

[Dixiechick]

I use Tide for everything except the handwash items. But I only use about 1/4 to a 1/3 of the called for amount unless the items are really soiled. I forgot who I was talking to one day about the amount of detergent used in wash loads (some tech guy from an appliance store I believe), but he said that the amount specified on the boxes are way too much. You typically only need about 1/4 to 1/3 (especially Tide) of what is recommended. So I've been doing that for years with same results as with full amount. Saves bunches of detergent and $$$.