Powder Vs Liquid?

[Rebookie]

Detergent.

Which is more economical?


Thank you!

[craftypam]

Powder. If you look at how many loads on the package you will see.

[Rebookie]

This is going to sound ridiculous, but my mom always used liquid and it never occurred to me to use powder!

[baxjul]

This is going to sound ridiculous, but my mom always used liquid and it never occurred to me to use powder!

That's the same with me! I buy liquid myself (most of the time), but I justify it, by watering it down.

[Mom2-3]

That's the same with me! I buy liquid myself (most of the time), but I justify it, by watering it down.

I do the same thing. I gave up on powder years ago. Every once in a while I would get white powder residue on my clothes.

If you look for sales with coupons, the liquid isn't much money.

[DaughterOfErin]

I usually buy what ever is on sale and I have a coupon for. Not picky about it one way or the other.

[IntlMom]

I wash just about everything in cold water, and I found that the powder would get on the clothes and come out with a residue on them... ick

[lisaflex]

i use liquid so that i can water it down a bit and get more washes out of the bottle. i use all free and clear, tide free, cheer free or purex free or arm and hammer free. which ever i have a coupon or they are on sale or get xtra bucks at cvs.

[Rosebush3]

Liquid. The guy who had to come pump out the septic pointed at a ton of gross, gray sludge-cake mess and said that is caused by powder laundry detergents. It was near cement-like and I hadn't used powder myself in forever. He said the powder is **** on septic systems. Having your tank cleaned isn't cheap, or neighbor-friendly. I am sticking with liquid.

[pat in east texas]

We have aseptic system. Liquid for us.

[dcompton]

I don't like powder either, for the same reasons. It's worth a bit more not to have white residue on things.

[daughter of pearl]

Yeah, I suspect powder is more economical but I don't like the result a much as liquid, and I water the liquid by half to cut the cost.

[Grainlady]

You'll have to do the math. to figure out the unit price. Don't rely on the label for this information. You may actually use more/less than the label indicates, so keep track of how many loads you ACTUALLY got out of your detergent.

If you add other ingredients to your wash (washing soda, borax, enzymes, softener, STTP, etc., you should also factor in how much those add-ins cost. Don't forget to add in the cost of fabric softener (liquid or sheets), and vinegar if you use it in the rinse.

We use Charlie's Soap (available in both powder and liquid). When we purchased the 5-gallon bucket (which is considered 1,280 loads using 1 T. powder detergent per large load), the unit price was 9-cents per load by those numbers. We think we will get more loads from that amount. I don't use fabric softener, but I do add 1/4 c. vinegar to the rinse because we have hard water.

There are a lot of things to consider besides price....

- If you have to contend with heavily-soiled fabrics, powdered detergents generally do a better job. You may find your powdered detergent works best if you fully dissolve it before you add it to your machine. A combination of hard water and cold water temperatures can result in some mineral residue on fabric if you use powdered detergent. Adding 1/2 c. of vinegar to your rinse water helps to minimize mineral staining.

-The lower the temperature of the water the more detergent you may need, especially if you have heavily-soiled fabrics. If the temperature of the water is below 60°F, NO soap or detergent performs well. Many of the new machines will add hot water to the machine to achieve 80°F for "cold" water. This temperature is suggested by clothing manufactures and detergent companies and is considered "cold" water.

-Powdered detergent - PROS - has ingredients in it like bleaching agents and surfactants (this is what helps clean clothes now that that have removed phosphates from detergents). Surfactants are more stable in powders. Powdered detergent has a longer shelf-life than liquids. I cut down on excess packaging by purchasing one 5-gallon bucket. I've been using the 5-gallon of Charlie's Soap since November 2007. Liquid detergents kept in storage for a long time can become ineffective.

CONS - Many people use too much by failing to carefully measure powdered detergents - resulting in white residue on clothes. Because of this, an extra rinse (especially if they have hard water) may be in order. Powdered detergents also work better in warm water, which results in wasted energy.

Liquid Detergent - PROS- Dissolve better in both cold and warm water, so you don't have to worry so much about that white residue being left on clothes.

In the interestingly enough category (things we never considered or knew) ...

-It takes a lot of water to MAKE liquid detergents and some may contain as much as 80% water.

-It takes more fuel to truck liquid laundry detergent around the country.

-As pointed out by Consumer Reports, the caps on liquid laundry detergents can lead to serious overdosing, which is a common cause of "gunk" built up in front-loading washing machines.

Information give out by Rodale...

"Go with powders. You can dilute them yourself, and with careful dosing, you won't wind up with powdery residues on your clothes."

The key is to use less than you think you need, and to buy a brand formulated for use with cold water.

Another Rodale suggestion...
"...throw a half-cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle. Sometimes powdery deposits come from minerals in hard water that combine with detergents and redeposit on your clothes, NOT from the powders themselves. White vinegar helps remove hard-water residues, as does letting the powder fully dissolve before putting your clothes in the wash (for people with top-loading machines)."

-There is more waste from packaging if you use liquid detergents.

- Check with your washer manual, it may suggest using one over the other because of the "gunk" and mold, which are often caused by liquid detergents in front-loading washing machines, as well as liquid fabric softener in them.

If only choosing laundry detergent was so easy as price or powder VS liquid (LOL).

[Rebookie]

Charlies Soap is made right here in NC! =-D I'm going to order myself the 3lbs bag!

[Libby]

We prefer liquid...easier to clean up b/c there is nothing to clean up! We use cold water only to wash and have had problems with powdered detergent not fully dissolving even with warm/hot water to start. The residue stays in the machine and sometimes shows up on clothes. We use a 2x concentrate and I barely fill the cap...prob equivalent of 1/3 of cap for full load...if its dirty then 1/2 cap max.

I also use the Downey ball full of vinegar for the rinse cycle - to help deodorize and reduce static and softness.