Thursday, March 26, 2009

Speaking Of Laundry Stains...

I enjoyed this Marketplace report about Tide's new strategy for hard times.

Not a cheaper alternative for consumers--a MORE expensive detergent marketed as an affordable luxury.

The best way I know to preserve clothing is to use cold water and avoid the dryer.

What do you think about Tide Totalcare's money back guarantee?

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I totally agree. I purchase all my children's clothes used. I always hang dry them and then run a quick iron over them. The clothes are crisp and fresh and most often in better condition then when I purchased them.

Willo said...

I think one, that it's a ridiculous and presumptive marketing technique and two, that Tide is awful for the environment no matter how they market it. I use Charlie's and have figured it to about $5 a month for laundry plus washing the dog, car, and any other number of things.

ancient one said...

And where dose Willo find a brand called Charlie's? I use original Tide with the blue cap. I've tried others but they make us itch. Haven't tried the new brand yet?

ancient one said...

I meant to say does.

50s Housewife said...

I never buy Tide unless it's on sale and I can combine it with a coupon. I'm glad that maybe people are now more inclined to take care of what they have, but I doubt they'll buy more expensive detergent to do so. I sure won't.

I do wash our clothes in warm water though. Maybe we are just exceptionally dirty people, but cold doesn't seem to get things clean enough. :)

Unknown said...

Just another way to fool the consumer into spending money unwisely. We have been using Amway's laundry detergent for years. It's FANTASTIc, but inconvenient if you forget to order it. Recently, I ran out and went to the grocery store for TIDE, I spent $8 dollars on a jug that was gone in two weeks and my clothes started smelling funny (musty) in that time. I got my SA8 order that costs $30 and lasts for over four months on eight people's laundry. hmmm...I've never wrote about SA8, maybe I should sell it, haha! Na, I'll just use it and be glad for the value and amazing cleaning ability with no phosphates. Tide is horrible for our planet and too expensive to ever be considered good for your budget.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

I have to confess that I've been tempted to try it. This new Tide received the Good Housekeeping Seal, which is typically the mark of a great product. I'm obsessive about our laundry. It's a sickness. The advertising for this detergent appeals to my obsession.

I just can't bring myself to pay the high price.

Part of my laundry obsession is air-drying most of our clothes to keep them looking nice longer. I figure that pretty well takes care of any fading or pilling. But if I didn't have the time or space to do that and had to use the dryer for everything, I'd probably cave and try this detergent.

Susan said...

We have the big, high efficiency type machines, and that alone is one of the best investments we have EVER made for our large family. Having a good washer is half of the battle with laundry, I think, and the new high efficiency machines do a wonderful job on clothes no matter what type of detergent is used. I like TIDE, but usually can't bring myself to pay the premium price. We do a lot of our shopping on bulk items at Sam's Club, and I have pretty good luck with their store brand detergent (which can be used in both regualr and in high efficiency machines) and it's a lot cheaper than TIDE. Even though I am picky about things being clean, I feel like our modest, stay at home/homeschooling clothing doesn't warrant the outlay of cash that this new TIDE product requires. Good grief, this kind of product is why so many people are broke in the first place. Good enough is good enough!
Susan

Shell in your Pocket said...

I do agree the dryer is hard on clothes!
sandy toe

Kelly said...

I don't know about anyone else, but Tide makes my towels stinky. I would buy brand new towels and they would start smelling mildew-y as soon as I washed them with Tide. So guaratenn or not, I'll never use them again.

Anonymous said...

And where dose Willo find a brand called Charlie's?

www.charliesoap.com

Haven't used Tide in about 10 years because of (a) the expense and (b) found other things that are as effective and much less expensive.

We've been using Charlie's Soap here too for about 1.5 years (with our HD washer), starting out with the 80 load bag (to make sure no one reacted negatively to it) and bought the 1,280 load pail a little over a year ago, which I'm only about a third down.

I hang out too between spring and fall. :-)

Michelle Smiles said...

I think it is a hard sell in this economy. I don't feel like the soap I use makes a difference - just the way I treat them.

Lisa B. said...

I have used Tide for more than 20 years. I always buy it on sale or at Sam's club when I'm there. I mix mine about half and half with a box of good old borax and I wash my clothes in cold water. I've not had any problems with smells or anything else. Works like a charm.

Haley said...

Speaking of laundry detergent...I use a Sharpie to darken the actual measurements on the clear measuring cups. The concentrated liquid formulas require less degergent, but the size of the cup is just as big as the non-concentrated version. I'm not the only one doing laundry in our house and know that others may not pay as much attention to the measurements.

Roxie700 said...

I too have the large HE machine. Love it. I do a lot of laundry in this house. I keep a tub of borax and washing soda mixed together on the side of my machine. I use 1/8 cup scoop with most every load of laundry and have good results. I buy the store brand HE soap at Sam's club. All laundry is hung to dry outside or inside on the 3 drying racks I have. If my dryer went away tomorrow I would not miss it. In fact I have thought recently of taking the dryer out of the laundry room and giving it to Salvation Army and using the space in the laundry room for a freezer. I could fold laundry on the top of the freezer....just thinking out loud here...blessings Roxie

Sue said...

I find it so neat how I learn so much on blogs! Never heard of Charlies but followed the link and what do you know Charlies home is 10 miles from my house. I am a very new NC transplant and I am amazed how many things I have learned about my new home on blogs! Now I will go and buy some Charlies and try it!

Kylie's Mom said...

Everyone know what "green-washing" is? Where big corporations try to make you believe that their product is environmentally-friendly, but forget to mention a multitude of environmental sins that they're covering up?

I call this Tide thing "recession-washing", where a big corporation is using these hard economic times to sell their product.

Companies pay a fee to use that Good Housekeeping symbol, and I'm sure us smart Mamas know better. But I wouldn't buy Tide anyway due to my allergies.

My husband thought I was nuts to put 5 clothes lines in our basement...can't wait for the snow to go away so that I can hang clothes outside again!

Anonymous said...

OK... I'm off to buy drying racks, some sort of clothes line, and some Sam's club detergent. Does it help to have a fan blowing on the clothes drying inside? I'm not allowed to hang clothes outside (I live in a condo.)

Lindsey said...

That campaign makes me angry and sad. How dare Tide! I feel sadness for the people that buy into their bogus marketing. I looked at the site and the price is OUTRAGEOUS!!! Then I saw the amount of loads you get and was just floored. Wow. I hope people can look past the advertising and use their God given common sense to bypass this product.

debbie said...

There are many ways to treat stains using things you have around the house. For example if your husband gets a dirty ring in his collar, shampoo will remove it. The same soap you wash your hands with will remove most greasy food stains. You can always make a paste out of your laundry detergent to remove stubborn stains. I keep a bottle of club soda on hand. It's great for removing carpet stains.
If your towels smell musty wash them in hot water and add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse. I hang my towels to dry and then fluff for maybe 5 minutes on the air dry cycle to soften them up.
I am very finicky about things being clean but I have a limited amount of money.
I would prefer to spend my money on things that give me more lasting pleasure than a bottle of detergent.
I hope the American consumer realizes that we don't need every new product that is touted as better or improved.I really doubt it works any better than my home made remedies.

Joan said...

I have bought Tide for years because it works well. Sometimes I feel quilty because I know it is not the best for the environment. I doubt the "new" stuff really makes clothes last longer. Maybe I will try the
Charlie's stuff. I had never heard of it before.

Meredith, are you allowed to have a clothesline where you live? I love the smell of clothes (especially sheets) that are line dried but have never lived in a subdivision (except for our lst home many years ago) that allows clothelines. My sister who lives on a farm in Tennessee uses her clothesline almost exclusively and I love to stay at her house - the sheets and quilts are always so fresh and inviting!

Dianna said...

I use my own homemade detergent. It's easy to make, and it's easy on the clothes, too. Also far, far cheaper than Tide.

Erika said...

The marketing for the new Tide was one of the last things that kind of pushed me over the edge into trying to opt out of many of these "consumer products." You can see how they are trying to manipulate people. (I guess that's what most advertising is intended to do!) The number of things modern marketing has convinced us we NEED is astounding and I'm tired of it. So I'm making my own--borax, washing soda, Ivory soap. Works great! Very very cheap! Even with the high-value coupons they've sent out, coupon doubling AND on sale the Tide is still more expensive than the regular detergent I'd used before. Had experimented with making my own before but it was just so easy to go back to buying commercial detergent. My biggest problem is our extremely cold well water--running just the cold cycle really is too cold to wash properly. I'll run it on hot for a minute then switch to cold, just to take the edge off that frigid water. Also air drying everything; I agree that really helps clothes stay nicer longer, and the environmental benefits must be substantial. The benefits to our electricity and propane bills certainly have been!

jonceramic said...

My money saving strategies for saving on laundry:
1. Buy second hand
2. Wash only when dirty
3. Use cold water unless doing whites
4. Use less detergent (which I buy on sale- normally generic)
5. Pre-treat all stains with an old toothbrush and M30 which I buy at Dollar Tree.
6. Don't buy Tide because it's ridiculously pricey.

Unknown said...

I wash all my kids clothes ages 16 and 13 in cold water and everything gets hung up to dry and people always comment on how nice and new that their clothes always look..I use Purex or gain when it is on sale..I tried the Tide and I don't like the smell and it is too expensive! I enjoy your blog and read it daily!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Kelly Bryan
Dacula,
Georgia

Gift of Green said...

I still buy the name brand detergents, but I agree - the cost is making me rethink this. Also, it seems as though I'm always paying extra for the version that doesn't have dyes or fragrance. I can't wait for warmer weather (or should I say drier weather) so that I can put my clothesline to good use! I also dry indoors - you can put a drying rack in your bathtub (when you're not using it, of course!) or hang clothes on hangers from your shower curtain rod.

fluffernutter said...

Pretty brazen. I never washed with Tide -- really bad for environment -- optical brighteners, etc. I use good old Arm & Hammer, cold water, and hang to dry.

Stay away from Kirkland's brand detergent at Costco. It doesn't dissolve in hot or cold water, so your dry filter is full of detergent, and it sticks to clothing also.