[peachy]

Ok, how much do you guys use for a large load? I probably only use 1/2 of what the package says I should. Things seem to be clean. And of course, it's better for the environment if I'm using less.

I'm sure the package asks you to use more so you run out of it faster.

[horselover]

It's true. They want you to buy more than you really need. I use way less than I'm told to. If it says a full cup of liquid, I use less than a quarter of the cup. It works just as well. No one's ever complained that the clothes aren't clean.

[peachy]

Wow...you do a quarter of the amount eh? Cool! Glad to hear that no one has complained. LOL!

[horselover]

Yep. I've done this for years. It's because it costs so much to begin with.

[Simon47]

Originally Posted by peachy

Ok, how much do you guys use for a large load? I probably only use 1/2 of what the package says I should. Things seem to be clean. And of course, it's better for the environment if I'm using less.

I'm sure the package asks you to use more so you run out of it faster.

I remember the days when new and improved actually meant something as in the days when laundry detergent went phosphate free to combat eutrification of lakes and stream contamination. It's bad enough all those phosphate fertilizers are washing off the land. Do we need the variety of productswe have that are generally undifferentiated and essentially equivalent. Using less of the A brand makes sense. The B brand is already watered down.

I had a friend who use to work for a company that produces many detergents and other products. he told me that all of the soaps and such whether it is sunlight dish detergent and the subsequent lesser brands or tide laundry detergent and it's lesser rivals; they all start with the same barrel of soap and with the exception of more or less water and some scents or other additives they are all the same. I use to work for a farm equipment manufacturer and the significant difference between a John Deer and a Massey Ferguson machine was the price tag and the colour of the paint. Keep in mind that B and C brands of many products are simply products made by the A brand but didn't quite make the quality control standards for the A product. Chip....

Sim

just in case anyone didn't already figure this out on their own.If you only heard it...it's true for a lot of stuff.

[Raptor235]

You're totally right Sim, I always watch those discovery channel shows "How it's made" it's a great show and the branding always comes last... sometimes there are settle differences between better quality products but very minor... it just shows you that with branding you can charge whatever you want that's why they put all their money into marketing...

[peachy]

It's great to hear this stuff because I'm thinking that it seems fine...so what's the big deal? No one is going around feeling how soft my clothes are and my family isn't complaining.

On the topic of no name brand stuff...I'm all over the no name food. Gosh...way cheaper and sometimes even better tasting.

[TheQueen31]

I use about half of what it asks, too. I also use as natural as I can get for laundry detergent. I don’t mind if a shirt has a wee stain – it’s just discoloured, not dirty – and I’d rather not have the chemicals on it … and in the air I breathe in my home.

And the things they add to detergents to make them ‘ better’ ??? Totally toxic.

Like – the things that make your whites whiter and your bights brighter? They don’t really do that. They just add a die that reflects light more, so that it LOOKS like your bights are brighter and your whites are whiter. Nothing is actually getting more clean.

[Simon47]

I am not aware of a die to make things look whiter and brighter but they do use a wax; very much like the wash on wax at the car wash. Supposedly it attaches to the fibres and plumps them up and is reported to cause the itchy scratchies in sensitive people. I suppose it could brighten clothes.Bleach is the common whitener and clothes destroyer. Dishes also get a bit of hotwaxing so the water doesn't bead on your glasses in the dish washer. God forbid someone might have a spot on their glasses that will likely never last long enough to appear etched.

Are labour saving devices an economic saving? Are you saving and/or sacrificing with lesser brands? Gotta wonder and most people just assume.

Marketing is a pernicious evil and we all notice the crews in the stores taking stuff and positioning it on the shelves, in the aisles and at the checkout. The supermarket alone is a huge psychological manipulation. Brand placement follows labels, advertising and marketing. In the end, one has to wonder; did I choose or was I guided to my choice.

Sim

I sometimes wonder if there is any "free" out there; like free will. More it is will free, like caffeine free.

Remember caffeine, that drug that improves the efficacy of many pain killers. Why are children consuming it???

[TheQueen31]

I work in the cloth diaper industry, and over the last ten years we have seen an increase in the amount of additives going into common detergents. This is an issue for cloth diapers as the additives coat the diapers and trap odour and effect absorbency. Seems logical the same things are true for regular clothes. Check out some TV ads for laundry detergents, the new ones all have ways to make your whites whiter and your brights brighter … which is, in fact, just a trick to the eye.

It’s true bleach is horrible for fabrics, as well as the environment. But our search for clothes that ‘look’ bleached without being bleached has led to these other additives that are not really any better.

If only people would accept that discoloured is NOT the same as dirty. Then again, I know people who iron their SOCKS, they have such a strong need for ‘crisp and clean’.