Laundry Question

[gem]

 

...I tried Oxyclean sprayon pretreater with the same results. 
  Shout works fine on practically all stains, and got the two out that Grandma's and Oxyclean left behind.   
   I don't know if it's the water in our area, but Shout is the only thing that works.

I think your water actually makes a HUGE difference in how well different cleaning products work. We were talking about this recently on a needlework board I'm on--with members from all over the world--and the stain removing (or not) results people got from different products were incredible. A friend who just moved to New Jersey from California said that all of a sudden, Oxyclean actually brightens her whites... which it never did in CA (same washing machine).  I like OxyClean because it takes away the doggy smell on my dogs' laundry... but it doesn't do much to brighten anything. HOWEVER, we just started using one of their stain sprays, and I have had absolutely stunning results with it. Stains that have been there for years... gone.

It's totally a YMMV case.

Rowan, I can't stand wintergreen either. Blech.

[arbcoind]

reminds me too much of the stuff the janitor at my elementary school used to sprinkle on pools of puke. Ewwww.

I have that same awful smell memory....

Gina

[Kate XXXXXX]

Water makes a massive difference...

I live on the North Downs, in Kent.  In this part of England the water is like cement.  (Almost literally!  The Blue Circle cement manufacturers have works here!)  It comes straight out of the aquifers bored into the chalk.  Great for your bones, dire for washing.

We have a water softener fitted.  This means that not only do I use about a quarter of the washing powder recommended for this area, but also I never use fabric conditioner, and my stuff comes out softer, cleaner, and brighter than that of folk without a softener, but also dyes take better when I machine dye cloth.  Though the initial outlay is pricey (£400-£1200 depending on the type of softener you have), the savings over the lifetime of the softener are amazing.

Over the last 30 years we have used 1/4-1/3 of the washing powder, washing up liquid, hand soap, shampoo, etc. that we would otherwise have used.  It's amazing how much tapwater this saves on rinsing...  And how much it prolongs the life of your central heating system and white goods!  The initial outlay plus running costs have been far outweighed by the savings elsewhere.  I have heard people in limestone hard water areas have similar experiences.

Last year our softener finally dies after 30 years of use.  We replaced it.  The couple of weeks without it were dreadful!  Washing looked dull, hair was rough and tangly (that's the thing I notice instantly: if I wash my hair somewhere away from home, even with lashings of conditioner, it's far rougher, more easily knotted, and much harder to manage than at home), skin got itchy and flaky, and the kettle furred up!  And the clothes felt horrid...

It's well worth looking into the type of water in your area, the treatment it gets before it comes out of your taps, and the best types of laundry products for your local conditions.  I find I only need to use any type of pre-treatment on greasy stains, and rarely use a bleaching agent.  When I do, it's this:

  or 

I usually only need it if something has permanently dyed a pale item.