Washing Powder - A Current Affair (10/09/2012)

Finding the time to seek out the best washing powder for the household can be difficult, so A Current Affair spoke to Canstar Blue to find out which brands come out on top.
For more: www.canstarblue...

[@AmiDonnelly]

My family use 4 different brands. We use fairy, persil, surf and ariel. All of them are really good but I would say fairy and ariel are the best as we have sensitive skin and our clothes dirty a lot. And also I have been using an unscented brand lately as I have a 4 month old nephew who comes to see us every two weeks for his clothes and blankets as well

[@tbaker4736]

“Needs to be cheap, affordable but also, something that doesn’t cost a lot of money.”

[@petersmith9785]

In Australia we used to have a soap powder called Rinso it was very popular but it disappeared from supermarket shelves back in the early 90s..which was a shame a lot of people used it for a very long time and it was very trustworthy compared to some of these modern powders and liquids that are available these days

[@Joemil271]

We used to have cold power and fab

[@666dynomax]

One thing is clear they’re using too much powder

[@kirianathompson7706]

I use cold power 2n1l laundry detergent

[@mews56]

Why is the scoop so big?competition scoops overseas is no where so big. The size of a teaspoon to a tablespoon Maximum

[@mews56]

Which one is the best to prevent itchy skin?

[@dianne3471]

Make your own washing powder cheaper and way better

[@TheGeneticsEnigma]

Does Australia not have Tide, Gain, Arm & Hammer, or Purex? They're the popular ones in the States.

[@liamhartley1533]

No, none of these brands in Australia (in fact, not many of the US brands anywhere else in the world - but they're just brand names.). For Example - Tide is top line product in the US, in every other country that Tide appears (mainly Europe) Tide is a "bargain"/lower grade product, the top line in most of the world is Ariel - but in US exact opposite. If you have a look though, all detergent brands are made by only 2 or 3 companies.

[@TheGeneticsEnigma]

I'd be interesting to see if Tide in America is formulated differently than Tide in other countries. I pay around $10 for a medium sized jug of Tide liquid (I'm in North Carolina). I hate paying so much, but it does the best on my wife's work uniforms. We do have Surf here. It's only sold in powder form, and is considered a bargain brand. Fab is another brand here that is powder only. We have gotten Ariel in the last five years or so. It's also one only sold as a powder here. Most here buy liquid or pods.

[@liamhartley1533]

Can tell you it definitely is formulated differently - I have used both types. All detergents around the world are formulated differently to suit the markets they are sold in - from down to different water conditions, washing habits and even scent preferences and foods eaten (eg typically Americans prefer a milder scented laundry product than say Asia) and of course the American diet is different to say an Indian one - so a detergent in India will be formulated more towards curry based food stains than a US one. So even if a detergent shares the same name, it will be almost always formulated/smell differently in different countries. Liquids have always been popular in the US, but in most parts of the world, powder still prevails (eg Pods have been around in the UK for nearly 20 years now, but powders are still the most popular).

[@TheGeneticsEnigma]

Sherry Lee Do you use the HE (high efficiency) washing machines there? They became popular here around a decade ago. Most of the powder detergents here aren't formulated for use with a HE machine. They create too many suds.

[@liamhartley1533]

In Australia - yes, they're becoming more and more popular just like in the US. In the UK/Europe they have always been "HE" (they never had toploading washing machines, they went straight from Twin-tubs to frontloaders in the 70s (the term HE isn't used in Europe, as the detergents have always been "low-suds" detergents aimed at front loaders (typical of most of Europe as space is at a premium, so most machines live in the kitchen under the worktop, so must be frontloader).