Clearly the Clean Breeze is a stronger scent and needs a higher level of concentrated detergent to provide it, whereas the Mountain Spring scent is lighter and needs less detergent.

Either that or the marketing division has a lot of data relating scents vs. value.

It's not because of the different scents. One has bleach, one has Downy and one is regular. The bleach and Downy varieties always get fewer loads.

Yes, at first glance it does look werid. However, looks one of them is a bleach alternative, and the other two are actually detergent, one with some fabric softener added.

I wonder how much it says to use of each product? They are all 100 oz., but you may use slightly less or more of one of them which explains the variation in loads.

@dabrown: Yep.

Pardon me, I thought one was actually bleach, but it says....with bleach.

Do you know why Eskimos wash their clothes in Tide?

Because it's too cold out-tide!

Haaaaaaa.

Sorry.

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the additives which then varies the consistence of the actual cleaning agent. Just my 2 cents. But really, this has ALWAYS been like this, nothing new.

It's all BS anyway.

Use a third of what they recommend. It used to be half, but they're onto that so they made the portion cups and line marks bigger so when you use half you're no longer using half.

You following me?

Our clothes are so clean in this country it's ridiculous. Nearly everything you wear is full of laundry soap.

Don't use so much.

Ha ha, the laundry people are very upset by posts like this.

All those nasty scents are way too strong - don't use the recommended amount. PeeeeUuuuuuu....

Looks like we don't have an apples to apples comparison going on here.

Yeah, as everyone else says: one is 100% detergent, one is detergent+bleach and one is detergent+fabric softener. Obviously to get the same amount of detergent you'll need greater volumes of the ones that aren't all detergent. Also seconding twophrasebark in that you should almost always use less than the recommended amount.

I just used the "Mountain Scent" Tide for the first time today, and it smells horrific. I have some clothes drying on a rack, and my whole apartment reeks of it now. I feel like I'm being chemically gassed.

I watched a TV report that featured and "expert" on clothes washing. He indicated that you get a much better bang for your buck if you use powdered detergent, rather than liquid.

Chemistry and math. The amount of fragrance and other additives compared to amount of detergent in the total amount of the bottle will determine the wash.

So, the 48-wash Downey fabric softener added Tide with that clean breeze scent? One good hunk of it is the fabric softener, with some left over for the fragrance.

The 52-wash Tide with Bleach Alternative? Slightly less of the Clorox 2 knockoff for an additive, but they spared the fragrance since it's the "origional scent."

The 64-wash Tide? The only additive there is the fragrance, and would be the best bet for the price.

@dabrown:

Exactly. Just read the labels... the bottles contain the same amount of liquid, but in only one of those bottles is that liquid all laundry detergent - the other two contain laundry detergent mixed with fabric softener and bleach respectively.

And in any case, you can get waaaay more washes than they say on the bottle. I love my 2X Tide for frontloaders - have been using the same bottle for months, I've done tons of laundry, and I don't think I'm even halfway down the bottle yet. Just about enough detergent to cover the bottom of the cap works for me - unless it's a load of disgustingly filthy laundry, in which case I use, oooh, about 1/3 of what the instructions recommend. I'm sure I've got at least 80 loads out of that one bottle, and it's got a long way to go yet.

@dabrown: You get a cookie.

@twophrasebark: I tried using the line on one detergent (can't remember which) and had to re-rinse them. They were stiff and soapy: I'd have been rubbing laundry detergent on myself every time I used them if I hadn't. Soapy != clean.

This is a joke, right, you're just testing your readers to see if you can pull one over on them?

@dabrown: Teh winnar!

Well to get more specific, you need a lot more Downy for a single load. I'm sure they figured out how to concentrate bleach to take less volume by removing all that water. The regular Tide is just all detergent, so it can wash the most loads.

And speaking of laundry, this has been beaten like a dead horse but LOOK AT THE LINES on the measuring cup carefully. A lot of detergents have 3-4 lines to show you where to fill but often the lowest two lines are all that you need to do a load of laundry; it says in the directions themselves! The # of loads per bottle also tell you that you will only manage to wash that many loads if you use the lowest measuring line.

@stuartny: wow...that;s awful

I thought it was pretty basic math.

Jug holds 100oz
1.5oz of "2x ultra" = 1 load

Bottle on right contains:
96oz "2x ultra"
4oz "mountain spring smell"
Each load measure is now ~1.56oz because it contains ~0.06oz mountain spring smell.

Bottle in center contains:
78oz "2x ultra"
22oz "bleach alternative"
Each load measure is now ~1.92oz because it contains ~0.42oz bleach alternative

Bottle on left contains:
72oz "2x ultra"
28oz "downy"
Each load measure is now ~2.08oz because it contains ~0.58oz of downy

The real question is: is it more cost effective to purchase the detergent combined with additives or purchase the additives separate?

I won't be bothered to go looking up prices of detergents and additives but the formula for finding out is quite simple since the aforementioned jugs hold 100oz.

Is (% of additive) multiplied by (price of detergent w/additive) divided by (# of oz of additive)
greater than or less than
(price of bottle of additive) divided by (oz of additive in bottle)?

We've been here before.

Nearly identical post with nearly identical comments: [consumerist.com]

@ElleDriver: Powdered detergent isn't necessarily more economical than liquid. Consumer Reports recommends the following quick picks, based both on the detergents' tested cleaning power and a reasonable cost per load:

For HE washers: Cheer 2X Ultra Concentrated Color Guard for High Efficiency HE liquid, Gain 2X Ultra Concentrated Original Fresh HE liquid

For regular washers: Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated for Cold Water liquid, Gain 2X Ultra Concentrated With Bleach Alternative liquid, Great Value Everyday Elegance 2X Ultra (Wal-Mart) liquid

There are some good powder detergents, but they're more expensive. The cheaper powder detergents don't clean as well.

Because it will no doubt be mentioned/alleged, not all detergent is the same [pubs.acs.org] of course you still have to determine the benefit/cost action point.

But yeah this a dumb post by someone who can't think.

(incidentally they don't really just mix downy with tide, you are being screwed massively, as is the case with all chemical additives, but since the market doesn't have the sophistication to understand they can get away with this). Incidentally, fabric softener type chemicals have been added (albeit in small amounts so as not to over saturate people who use downy type products in addition) to tide for a long time. As have all sorts of fancy chemicals you don't care to learn even their tasteful branding of.

the grocery shrink rays work in mysterious ways.

I just noticed this the other day when I was trying to figure out which to buy.. I figured the normal (Mountain Spring) kind would probably be best, but then I took a whiff and decided to go with Tide w/Febreeze. Which smells like awesome.

Maybe the writers of consumerist should start trying to contact companies and finding out some very simple obvious answers before they post stories.

But unless each type has a different-sized insert inside the cap (where you measure), how is it possible to get different numbers of loads out of the same amount of liquid? It doesn't matter if it's a mix of detergent and fabric softener, or cheese and gasoline, 100 ounces divided by a 2-ounce cap is going to be 50 loads. The only way three 100-ounce bottles can have different numbers of loads is if the caps instruct you to measure differently by being sized differently.

@dabrown:
That makes sense. You are saying the detergent may be diluted by the addition of the bleach or Downy?

@ElleDriver: I use liquid detergent rather than powdered because every now and then (especially with jeans or bedsheets, for some reason) the powder fails to dissolve completely and I get lovely streaks of detergent paste on my supposedly clean clothes. It's worth the price difference to me to not have that happen. (I know I could fill the washer with water, then dissolve the detergent powder, then add the clothes, but I just don't have that kind of time.)

A fabric scientist (yes, they exist) said in a lecture at a quilt show I attended that the main reason we're all using too much detergent is so we can wash in cold water. She said you really can't get your detergent completely dissolved, or dirt and detergent completely washed out, in cold water, so we use different brighteners and additives to make it feel and look like we did. We're better off using half the recommended detergent and washing whites in hot water, darks in warm. The perception is that cold water keeps your clothes looking nice longer, but that detergent buildup can't be good for them either.

@twophrasebark: I'll have to agree. The chemical/soap industry is interested in pushing product more than telling you the most economical way to use it. It truly doesn't take much soap to clean your clothes with day to day wear. And if you have soft water you actually NEED to use much less detergent.

This goes for dish washing detergent as well.

If you use a fabric softenter, then what difference does it make what the detergent smells like, since the clothes will come out of the dryer smelling like fabric softener anyway??

All I know is that I've used the Mountain Fresh one before. Whne you fill the cup up to just the number 1 line for every load you get no where near 64 loads out of it... you maybe get 30 loads. To get the 64 loads you need to use a thimble full of detergent.

FYI, consumer reports did testing with detergents a while back to determine which was better at actually cleaning a load of laundry. Not only was there a shockingly similar result between all the detergents, but consumer reports specifically noted how close they were to running the clothes in the wash with no detergent at all. A modern washer can clean clothing with no detergent whatsoever, but to get it to "smell clean", you have to use some detergent.

@moore850: Interesting. Do you have a link to this? I'd really like to read it.

I've been convinced that I don't need as much detergant as the box says I need.

@moore850: That is VERY interesting! I think MythBusters should debunk the laundry detergent myth!

I always put like 1/4 of a lid-full in anyway.

@FangDoc: I pity you that you don't have enough time to wait for the powder to dissolve! But hey, that's life in this modern age, eh?

I wonder if cavemen ever sat around the campfire saying stuff like, "You know, these new bronze spears are great, but I just don't have time to pound one out! it's faster just to flint off my stone spear tip. Sheesh, with the shortage of elk this year, and the Chief demanding higher tithes to support our clandestine efforts to infiltrate nearby tribes, I barely have time for brain-tanning my hides! What's the world coming to?"

@moore850: From what I understand, your clothes get 'clean' with no detergent because there's so much of it already stored up in the fabric from prior washings. That's why things like the Washer Rock (or whatever it's called... that rock that supposedly beats your clothes clean) After about 10 washes, they're not so clean anymore on their own.

Nice to know there's another reader from Wilkes-Barre!

@twophrasebark:

Second that. I never knew how much detergent is impregnated in our clothes until we got a front loading machine a few years ago. We switched from a top loder and for the first few loads after the switch we used no detergent on the recommendation of a friend. The laundry suds and washed like nobody's business.Needless to say, I cut wayyyyy down on the amount used and everything looks great.

BTW- The best measure I have found for a front loader is the Wisk tablets. They have two in a package and if you use just one,it works out perfectly (and a box lasts twice as long).Anybody know if they still make them ?

It's entertaining that the one that will supposedly wash the most loads is also the one that does not carry the "Wash more - use less" tag line. Marketing folks crack me up.

Were they made in the same time period? It's likely that they made a pcakaging / formulation / marketing BS change all at the same time, with the one on the right being prior to that change.

just a guess.

We have a front loading washing machine. We use about 1/4 of what the label says and it works just fine. I find if we put in the amount it tells us to, the fragrance is WAY to strong.

Helpful hint for those who use powders: add the powder to the washing machine first and start the cycle before adding the clothes. This way the powder has a better change of dissolving. This only works on top loaders though.

Good comments... I think the store up soap in the clothes is an interesting one, and I'll have to try it if I can get my wife to let me do a load :)

I have actually had a hard time finding powdered soap lately at my normal haunts. This has not made me happy.

@FangDoc: I found the trick to not get the paste is to put the powder at the bottom, before you put in clothes. Seems to work for me, as I've not had a powdered streak with that, but have when I put it on top.

Simple answer: Don't use Tide. There's cheaper alternatives that work better...

@Snarkysnake: I don't think they do. I haven't seen them around here. I adored them for college. It made things much easier if you could carry just a few squares of detergent rather than a box or bottle.

A dermatologist told me to use half or less of the recommended amount (and use the no perfumes/dyes type, too because of my skin allergies). I had terrible rashes all due to too much soap in the laundry and the additives. She said that even with double-rinsing, there is still soap and stuff left behind. It is the additives that stay behind that make your clothes look bright and new. I only use the "Free" type of detergent and just under half of what they say along with a second rinse. Works for me.

Seeking opinions: What is the best detergent to keep colors from fading?

@kostia: I've been using detergent from Shaklee [www.shaklee.com] and the measurements are in ounces so there's no confusion about the random lines. 1oz per load so I get 32 loads out of the small bottle.

I know one thing, i used to live in Wilkes Barre Pa and there isnt much more to do than stare at detergent.

@twophrasebark: Also, considering more and more people are purchasing front loading washers - they only need 1/4 of the regular amount of detergent.

Its always hilarious when I go to the laundromat (I personally cannot afford $1200 for a washer and dryer) and see people dump like a cup and half into the washer because they have a big load. It fills up with suds and doesn't rinse out. I always get a good laugh out of that, since there are signs everywhere that say "USE LESS DETERGENT!"

@kairi2: I'd say 1/4 of what the manufacturer says and in cold water, rather than any particular brand. Probably a front-loading washer helps because it's gentler on the clothes, but I've never had to discard anything for fading with the cold water/low detergent approach. I haven't used the cap measure in years--I just drizzle a little bit of detergent in, and that's plenty.

I noticed that my new "2X Ultra" detergent actually has a line above the "fill line". So basically if you don't pay attention, you may end up filling the cup up to the top line and use more detergent than necessary. Kind of sneaky...

@FangDoc: Interesting. I don't really care if my clothes look "new and bright" and my colors have been washed so many times they no longer bleed, anyway. So I just throw them all together and wash in hot water. So what if all my clothes eventually turn grey?