I’ve been using Wisk for decades, literally. I once tried another brand when my now 32-year-old was a baby, and he broke out in a rash, so I went back to Wisk and never considered anything else. Now it’s been discontinued, and the former manufacturer is selling Persil, which I believe has a great rating from Consumer Reports. I tried it, and no, no no! It’s HEAVILY perfumed, and both my laundry room and my laundry reek. I generally try to avoid scented cleaning products because I hate having competing scents in the house and find most of the aromas, other than citrus-y ones, to be repellent.
Any recommendations for a liquid detergent that is either unscented or very mildly scented AND works well? I have my suspicions that some of the environmentally friendly brands may not do a great job. Persil does have a sensitive skin version which I imagine is unscented, but I have no idea if it cleans as well as the original, since it must have a different formula. I know Tide has been a best seller for ages, but I’ve never sniffed it. (Yes, I could open each bottle on the supermarket shelf and try a whiff, but that doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.)
Btw, any idea how to safely dispose of a big jug of stinky Persil?
I’ve used All’s Free and Clear for decades. It’s not perfumed (I also hate artificial scents – I think they’re disgusting) and it cleans just fine. I’ve recently started using one of the Tides for my white things, as I found the All wasn’t doing a great job, but as I said, it was good enough for decades, so it’s really just fine.
Another vote for Tide. (And Oxi clean with the white loads - helps with the red clay stains on the socks!) I admit, though, I like for my laundry to have a clean “scent” - maybe because all that athletic wear smells so bad before it’s washed…
I feel like the pods are less fragrant, or contain the smell to the washing machine, more than the liquid.
We use ALL free and clear, which we buy at Costco or Sam’s. We used to use Tide but found the scent irritating after awhile. ALL has worked great for us for over a decade.
Tide free and clear. My H started breaking out a few years ago and this is what we use. I think tide cleans better (for me). Now that I have a HE machine and use so little detergent, it’s not that expensive.
I have used this for years - my family has sensitive skin - works great (in HE washer) - no issues - ARM & HAMMER Liquid Detergent HE Compatible, Perfume & Dye Free. My daughter is so used to it that the one time I bought her Tide pods (convenient for a short term housing arrangement) - she complained that her clothes smelled funny!
I buy what ever free and clear detergent is on sale when i need it. I need my clothes clean they do not need to smell like a fresh mountain meadow or whatever other scents they have. and adding dye to detergent to make it blue always baffles me. I hate rashes (I am sure everyone does) so I have not used a regular detergent in years.
p.s. the “environmentally friendly” ones do not work and are not necessarily good for sensitive skin.
I use Tide. I think it has a scent which is only evident when my husband does the load of wash. The key is to use much less detergent than the manufacturers suggests, especially in HE machines. I’m still trying to get that message across to hubby.
Do you use fabric softener? That’s the main culprit of scent in our household. Not to mention him again, but hubby uses fabric softener in every load he does. I never use it. It makes a huge difference in the lingering scent.
Try Tide, but only use 1/3 of the recommended amount.
We can’t use Tide because it causes a rash on my H and one of my D’s.
I’m happy with the Gain I use, but to speak to your concern about the unscented Persil-I don’t think the scent affects the formulation. In fact, the unscented Persil probably actually has a masking scent. If you want one that truly has no added “scent” (including masking scents), you have to get a “scent-free” one like the All mentioned above.
I also use the Oxy whitener on my colored laundry and use it in the pre-wash.
Another tip-the “Pourable” bleach doesn’t actually contain enough real bleach in it to effectively sanitize your whites. The old-fashioned bleach is the only kind that really does. You have to read the fine print on the pourable bleach to discover this. You’re mostly paying for bleach-smelling goo.
Costco has a Kirkland brand of free and clear… Works great! The environmental sensitive ones seem to just redistribute the dirt more evenly. My concern is that CA will outlaw all non-environmentally friendly laundry detergent at some point. Guess it’s time to start stock piling it and store it right next to the box of 70 watt old fashioned GE lightbulbs.
If one believed the ads/commercials Persil would be the best. I guess not, whew. The ads are obnoxious. Nice to hear (not boring) what others use. I have been a Tide user as long as I recall. No fabric softener for towels and a double rinse (in case I overdid the amount of detergent even when using less than manufacturers state). Downey has changed their softener scent- wish they hadn’t. I like the lack of static et all, but never the free samples they pushed awhile ago. Tide alone, both original and cool breeze scents, has little odor if rinsed enough in my experience.
Story of my life with products. Find one I could use for decades and some marketer decides to make changes or discontinue it.
Costco recently opened near enough to me to make the trip once but when I was there I couldn’t get excited about the merchandise and pricing. I’ll stick to regular stores and brands that are more convenient at similar costs.
btw- thoughts on pods? Seems to me not useful if one wants less detergent than suggested. I decided tabs were worth it for the dishwasher but that’s a fixed water usage. Load sizes vary for me- depends on how much clothing H and I use in a week and the season.
D would buy Tide perfume if she could - loves the scent. I have fallen for the convenience of the pods but get the Costco ones unless the Tide pods are on sale. Agree the pods seem to have have less fragrance than the powder /liquid. Used Persil in Europe and had issues with dark laundry fading.
One of there scents smells like mosquito repellant to me so I never buy that one.