I've always used liquid detergent. It always did good for me. The pods (others brands have their version of it) to me always were more pricey. I broke down and tried some persil pods the other day, instead of the persil liquid I always bought. 6 bucks for 20 of them. At 3 a load, that's 6 loads, plus change. 12 bucks for 40 pods. That's 13 washes for 12 bucks. I can take that same 12 bucks, by a bottle, and 12 loads later I've still got easily OVER half the bottle Left. I saw no difference in cleaning. No better, no less. Other than not having to take 3 seconds to measure, I can't really see the plus of laundry detergent pods. Anyone out there actually like them?
Anyone here ever catch onto the "tide pod" craze?
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Lumen83
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I heard they taste terrible. So I never participated in that craze. But I did watch someone eat one on youtube. It looked like a really bad experience. I would avoid doing that if I were you.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
It's good for getting lazy people/kids to do the laundry, definitely speeds things up. Short of that, no advantage.
markr6
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Liquid Tide, fill to the first line and done. My stuff is never really DIRTY dirty. I don't need the fancy stuff.
Now for dishwashers, it's a totally different story. I never realized how bad the gel was until mine stopped washing and started depositing white chalk stuff all over. A LOT! It wasn't hard water or calcium; instead dried up detergent that was clogging EVERYTHING. It took days of tinkering, cleaning, taking stuff apart, scraping goop and soaking spray arms in vinegar overnight. From now on, it's pods/powder cubes.
Now for dishwashers, it's a totally different story. I never realized how bad the gel was until mine stopped washing and started depositing white chalk stuff all over. A LOT! It wasn't hard water or calcium; instead dried up detergent that was clogging EVERYTHING. It took days of tinkering, cleaning, taking stuff apart, scraping goop and soaking spray arms in vinegar overnight. From now on, it's pods/powder cubes.
I'm on a diet, gotta eat the diet sugar free tide pods :laughing:
I learnt how to do laundry in middle school, so I came into adulthood already knowing how to measure. I think I had the hang of it by the second time. I may have selected too large of a load size and used a little bit too much water a few times, but these newer washers have sensors that determine how much water gets in the tub. Couple that with the pods and kids/lazy people should have NO excuses on doing the laundry lol.
I can agree with the pods for dishwashers. I didn't get a dishwasher until about a year ago. So I didn't go through the whole liquid and powder measuring. I've used both cheap store brand and expensive brands like finish and cascade. I've really seen no big difference between the two. I know that like with the newer laundry detergent, stuff doesn't suds up like it used too. Next time I'm at the store, ill look at the powder measuring instructions.
I learnt how to do laundry in middle school, so I came into adulthood already knowing how to measure. I think I had the hang of it by the second time. I may have selected too large of a load size and used a little bit too much water a few times, but these newer washers have sensors that determine how much water gets in the tub. Couple that with the pods and kids/lazy people should have NO excuses on doing the laundry lol.
I can agree with the pods for dishwashers. I didn't get a dishwasher until about a year ago. So I didn't go through the whole liquid and powder measuring. I've used both cheap store brand and expensive brands like finish and cascade. I've really seen no big difference between the two. I know that like with the newer laundry detergent, stuff doesn't suds up like it used too. Next time I'm at the store, ill look at the powder measuring instructions.
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I found that those pods didn't always dissolve so I'd find a bluish jelly blob somewhere, usually in the rubber seal around the window on the front loader. No thanks. I just get the Tide Free n Clear liquid. Handles even the dirty loads well and doesn't irritate skin or leave an overwhelming perfume fragrance on the clothes.
What tempature do you wash with? I could see if you used cold maybe, and since front loaders don't have agitators, although I'm sure if it's rough enough action to clean clothes, it should have been rough enough to completely disagrate it. I use warm, and I can't recall seeing anything on any of mine. I never honestly thought about it not ever breaking up fully, but I can see how that would happen. Count that as another strike against them lol
I use to always pre-treat bad stains by applying some detergeant directly to the stain and rubbing it in. I guess you can't do that with the pods. Other than break one open and use it, or just have some kind of other stain spray.
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
I hold the pod under the fast running water streaming into the basin, until it starts to break up. That helps guarantee you won't end up with any detergent clumps or blobs anywhere.
You couldn't do that with mine. Mine locks the lid while it's filling. I guess there's probably a way around it, like that old washer I had when growing up. It would fill up with the lid open, but wouldn't run when filled unless the lid was closed. It had a plastic tip on the lid that shoved a metal lever down. I used to stick something in the hole to press the lever down, so it would run with the lid open and I would watch it. The suds and the agitator spinning and flipping the clothes around in the large tub filled with water fascinated me. Now they're push button and LED instead of that knob you spun into the right position and it made a horrible grinding noise while turning it, then you pulled it out to start it.
I've been reading some on it, and apparently you're supposed to put the pod in first, and then put in the laundry. Supposedly being on the bottom helps the agitatator break it open. Even a top loader without the without a shaft agitator should easily break it open. But as I said about front loaders, if the cycle is rough enough to clean the clothes, it should be rough enough to break it open.
This kinda makes me wanna take a couple plastic cup with cold, room temp, and hot and drop the pods in and see the dissolve speed. Guess I could use something to swish it around to see it break up but I only got 2 hands lol
I've been reading some on it, and apparently you're supposed to put the pod in first, and then put in the laundry. Supposedly being on the bottom helps the agitatator break it open. Even a top loader without the without a shaft agitator should easily break it open. But as I said about front loaders, if the cycle is rough enough to clean the clothes, it should be rough enough to break it open.
This kinda makes me wanna take a couple plastic cup with cold, room temp, and hot and drop the pods in and see the dissolve speed. Guess I could use something to swish it around to see it break up but I only got 2 hands lol
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markr6
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Wow, lots of stuff on new washers I dind't know about...and can't live with!
I always watch the water level, sometimes like run for 30 seconds, stop, soak, restart. Maybe I'll add more detergent. Or I'll turn the dial past the starting point for a shorter runtime if I'm in a hurry. I've always been a techie guy, but things are getting out of control. (hate the ridiculous stuff on my new Jeep)
I always watch the water level, sometimes like run for 30 seconds, stop, soak, restart. Maybe I'll add more detergent. Or I'll turn the dial past the starting point for a shorter runtime if I'm in a hurry. I've always been a techie guy, but things are getting out of control. (hate the ridiculous stuff on my new Jeep)
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Virtually every "pre-measured" packaging innovation is just a gimmick to sell product at obscenely inflated rates to stupid or lazy people.
Like all TV or radio commercials, I consider packaging gimmicks an attempt to steal my money, therefore worthy of extreme suspicion and ultimately disdain. :thumbsdow
Like all TV or radio commercials, I consider packaging gimmicks an attempt to steal my money, therefore worthy of extreme suspicion and ultimately disdain. :thumbsdow
Products designed for a group of society that says preparing a bowl of cereal is too complicated.
My wife buys liquid soap for clothes, for bathing and for the dishwasher. When I was single I used powder for washing clothes. I'd add water to a point, add powder, slosh it around until it was melted and then add clothes. But the brand I preferred irratated my son's skin so eventually I tried all kinds of brands' non allergic powders and ended up using liquid for his clothes then eventually liquid once a bottle was concentrated enough to last more than a few loads.
Tide pods? Nope. Not me.
My wife buys liquid soap for clothes, for bathing and for the dishwasher. When I was single I used powder for washing clothes. I'd add water to a point, add powder, slosh it around until it was melted and then add clothes. But the brand I preferred irratated my son's skin so eventually I tried all kinds of brands' non allergic powders and ended up using liquid for his clothes then eventually liquid once a bottle was concentrated enough to last more than a few loads.
Tide pods? Nope. Not me.
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alpg88
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i tried them before, same result, they do not clean any better than powder cascade.
Lumen83
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I don't even measure. Just dump some liquid soap into the washer while the water is running and then throw clothes in. Its worked great every time.
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
I take my keys and stick a couple of them in the lid sensor hole. That works pretty well.
When pods first came out they were expensive. I just stuck with liquid. But now, pods can often be cheaper than liquid... So sometimes I buy them just because they're on sale. It's convenient. When you're traveling, you can take a couple with you in a ziplock bag and wash clothes in a bathtub.
PartyPete
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I buy them occasionally, but like OP I don't really value the "convenience" that much. Sure, it's nice to just toss a pod in and wash but the overall cost is so much more. Realistically, for a large load I need 2 or 3 pods to clean if it's really dirty.
Measuring liquid or powder based on the size of the wash is just easier for me. With the pods is either too little or too much. Although I do really like the smell of the "sport scent" Tide pods - however it comes in liquid too, which is preferable.
Measuring liquid or powder based on the size of the wash is just easier for me. With the pods is either too little or too much. Although I do really like the smell of the "sport scent" Tide pods - however it comes in liquid too, which is preferable.
It varies based on the items I'm washing. I'm sure hot water works better, but some items recommend cold so it's not really practical to use a product that doesn't work well with all temps, IMO.
Now I have a top loader but these don't have agitators anymore either. Personally, aside from durability/longevity I think these top loaders suck in use compared to the front loaders but that's for another thread.
Thus defeating the convenience of the pods, haha. It'd be faster and simpler to just use the liquid or powder.
Another related topic is liquid vs powder. I have heard that the powders are better for the machines as the liquids can over time gum up the washer guts, necessitating those cleaning tabs to dissolve the residues. However for a long time I could only find the Tide Free in liquid. I haven't looked recently, perhaps it's in powder now.
I have to say, it's highly entertaining to have a thread of gear junkie dudes discussing laundry. Lol. Well done guys.
archimedes
Flashaholic
.... I have to say, it's highly entertaining to have a thread of gear junkie dudes discussing laundry. Lol. Well done guys.
Is this where we talk about tints, color rendering, and getting whiter whites ... :thinking:
Modernflame
Flashlight Enthusiast
Watch out guys. You ready for this? Here comes the cumulative wisdom of undisclosed decades. Pay the minimum for laundry detergent. Your clothes will be just as clean. Spend your savings on torches. Or batteries. Or pocket knives or whatever.
Yes, well our laundry room is actually the last bastion of incandescent lighting in our house. Always do laundry in 100 CRI. :candle:
Yes, well our laundry room is actually the last bastion of incandescent lighting in our house. Always do laundry in 100 CRI. :candle:
