Powder vs liquid detergent – which cleaned up in our tests?

I do not agree with this article, based on my experience. Power tablets in particular are incredibly effective and they shouldn’t be placed in the drawer but inside the machine with the little honey-comb sachet. This way the powder is released slowly and will mix with the water effectively.

Gels are a waste of time and money, gels’ main ingredient is perfume (!), so when the clothes come out one has the perception that clothes have been washed but in fact they are only scented and NOT clean.

Powder tablets on the other hand have no perfume or very little, and enzymes (in current generation biological tablets) are extremely efficient at eating dirt (they are living organisms) during the load.
Also, dirt generated by human sweat and other body oils and liquids (urine one of them) can only really be killed at 50degrees, so the marketing rubbish of ‘wash your clothes at 15 degrees’ is a humongous amount of lies, and should be addressed as misinformation.

I’m sorry dear Which? Magazine, but this time you haven’t done your job properly, you should have consulted with a microbiologist.

Consulted with a microbiologist??! Exactly what living organisms are you claiming to be in washing detergent??! I’m assuming you mean enzymes.

Anon – Which? have consulted a microbiologist – Prof Bill Grant of the University of Leicester, who is an expert in environmental microbiology. Low temperature washing, particularly using liquids and gels (which lack bleach) is not as effective at removing bacteria, but the bigger problem is that washing machines build up a hidden coating that is full of bugs. Sometimes this is obvious from the nasty smell or growth on the door seal. Which? has established that a 60C setting on most washing machines is well below 60°C.

Yeah, that makes sense. I’m more intruigued about the “living organisms” comment.

*intrigued

Anon – I have been following biological detergents since they were introduced in the late 60s. The fact that the enzymes are derived from living organisms (they are produced from bacteria) may be one reason why the general public sometimes thinks that they are living. Ariel adverts said that their powder ‘digests dirt and stains’, perhaps making an analogy with human digestion. A couple of years ago I found some adverts with a cartoon version of enzymes chomping away at stains. Unfortunately I can’t find them or remember whether they were broadcast in the UK.

A maintenance wash is certainly worth doing on a regular basis. In fact, manufacturers of washing machines will usually suggest a maintenance wash is done once a month.

If your washing machine doesn’t have a dedicated Maintenance Wash program (not many do), the standard set up is to:
Set your machine to it’s hottest cotton wash
Add the standard amount of detergent
Run the machine without any laundry

If I find the detergent draw is very blocked, I’d suggest taking it out and cleaning it by hand. Check out our video guide on how to do this.
http://www.which.co.uk/home-and-garden/laundry-and-cleaning/guides/washing-machine-repairs-tool/fix-a-dodgy-detergent-drawer/

I know the theory but I’m a microbiologist and I doubt that those who write instruction booklets have much knowledge about contamination by microorganisms. I don’t believe that a monthly maintenance wash is enough, and there is certainly no need to run the machine empty – that is just wasteful.

My washing machine will hopefully have its 31st birthday next month and a weekly maintenance wash has been enough to keep it clean.

The video on keeping the detergent drawer clean is useful. I use a little limescale remover on a cloth to remove scale around the holes supplying water. Doing this every few months prevents water trickling down the front of the machine due to limescale buildup.

in answer to powder being put in the drawer of the washing machine, I don’t I just measure the amount of powder I have to put in my machine and just put it in the drum with the clothes and just put my washing machine to its normal wash no clogging of powder in my machine and it always dissolves this way so I have no powder residue on my laundry it works for me that’s for sure so my drawer on machine is always clean.

Laura

I don’t put powder in my detergent drawer and have not done for almost 20 years. (My machine is 31 years old.)

I have to clean the clean the holes above the detergent dispenser drawer once or twice a year to remove limescale otherwise water would trickle down the front of the machine, even if I don’t put anything in the drawer. It’s probably because I live in a very hard water area.

Hi Clint
you mention the wrapper of the liquitabs you use doesn’t always dissolve fully. When this happens, are you washing at a low temperature?

Good point, Richard. I don’t remember if it was always at low temperature when this happened, but probably so. I mostly wash at 30 deg C (the economy cycle).

In the testing of liquitabs Which? has carried out in the past, we’ve not had this problem, though we do carry out our testing at 40 deg C.

Most liquitabs should still fully dissolve in a 30 deg C wash. Whilst testing washing machines, however, we have found not all washers will actually manage to heat up the water to the temperature you set them for. This is something we hope to look into in more detail later this year.

This isn’t going to help you in the meantime, but maybe it’s best to avoid liquitabs in low temperature washes and go for a liquid or powder.

Many thanks for the feedback regarding Ecover.

There are many factors we have to consider when selecting which products to include in our reviews. Detergents is a tricky area to cover as there are so many brands on the market as well as biological and non-biological versions of many.

I will be sure to note there’s an interest in us including brands such as Ecover and will feed it back to the rest of the team who work in this area.

It won’t do any harm to dry the drawer and the drum, but that will not get rid of most of the water left inside. If you were to dismantle your machine or turn it upside-down you would see what I mean.

If you want to keep your machine clean then do a hot wash once a week. I suggest that you ignore the advice to run the machine empty unless you want to waste electricity and detergent.

It’s best to keep the door ajar, but take precautions if there are children/pets around or someone could injure themselves on it.

The problem with powder remaining in the detergent drawer is that some of it can enter with the rinsing water. Detergent remaining on the fabric because of this or poor rinsing can cause skin irritation for some people. Not everyone is affected.

On my antique machine, one side is for powder used in the pre-wash and the other side is for powder used in the main wash. During the rinsing cycles, water enters via the ‘main wash’ part of the drawer.

If you pull out the drawer when the machine is running you should be able to see where the water is entering.

Beware that you might get a wet floor – as I did confirming how my machine works this evening.

Absolutely. Adequate rinsing is something we have discussed at length in other Conversations. My machine is so old that it’s hot & cold fill too, making it cheaper to run.

I think it will depend upon two things – whether your water pressure is adequate, and whether the temperature of your hot water is suitable. Our machines only have one water inlet, so you can’t mix hot and cold. I suspect cold fill is the normal requirement to operate the machine correctly?

Hi Mary

There are very few washing machines on the market which have a hot fill option. None of the familiar brands have any models that do. The only one we have on http://www.which.co.uk at the moment is the ISE W288eco.

Hot-fill washing machines pretty much disappeared in the UK. Water that was once warmed by your boiler for a hot-fill model is now heated by the element in your cold-fill machine. This sounds inefficient, but modern washing machines use so little water that there is a chance that the machine will have filled before your boiler gets going fully – unless your heating system makes use of a hot water cylinder.

Hi aguafiestas

Many thanks for your comment and the fact you use high temperature settings. this is interesting to hear as so many garments we buy not state to use 40 degree or lower wash settings.

Have you see to Conversation on bio vs non-bio? I know my colleague would welcome your comments https://conversation.which.co.uk/energy-home/bio-non-bio-best-laundry-detergents-washing-clothes-allergies/

I suggest you read the comments on this and other Conversations, Eileen. There are many issues and the problem is that different people are affected in different ways, so there is no solution that will help everyone. Here are some suggestions:

– Try using less detergent than recommended.
– Experiment with different detergents.
– Don’t use fabric conditioners.
– Try one or more extra rinses, especially if rinsing seems poor.
– Keep your machine clean by doing a maintenance wash periodically.

Powder usually contains bleach, which accelerates fading.

Hello Eileen

Reactions to detergents is a very big subject for detergent manufacturers and the points raised by wavechange are ones worth noting. As we don’t review fabric conditioners, I can’t say either way on using them or not but I’d suggest it one of the things you experiment not using if they are part of your normal laundry cleaning cycle.

Have you see to Conversation on bio vs non-bio? It discusses the differences between the two and who we have both. I know my colleague would welcome your comments https://conversation.which.co.uk/energy-home/bio-non-bio-best-laundry-detergents-washing-clothes-allergies/

Eileen

The reason I mentioned fabric conditioner is that it goes into the final rinse, so that the chemicals present will remain on the fabric.

i always use Aldi s powder but not sure how much to use as ive just got a new washer dryer and do you put it in dispenser or drum

I use aldis washing powder but not sure how much to use as ive just bought a new washer dryer and do you put powder in dispenser or drum would like your opinion Thanks

I suggest that you contact manufacturers for advice, Barbara. There are some technical issues regarding biological detergents.

Biological detergents can contain various enzyme, including protease, lipase, amylase and cellulase. The only one of these that could help remove grease is lipase. Only the manufacturer will know whether their products contain lipase and if they are likely to be effective at removing greases (possibly lanolin, soft paraffin and liquid paraffin) from clothing. It would be worth mentioning the name of your emollient cream and what it contains.

You could also ask about the best temperature to use. Enzymes will be destroyed if the temperature is too high. The best temperature to use will depend very much on the enzyme.

If you are able to find any useful information it would be great if you could share it. I’m only interested in the science but there must be many with eczema and other skin conditions who have the same problem as you.

Hi there
I too suffer with bad Eczema, try this. Use your usual Surcare on a hot wash for Bedding, with a couple of teaspoons of washing soda. This does help remove some of the emollient; however nothing seems to get stuff really clean anymore, does it! I’m looking into using liquid Paraffin, as used this when lived abroad, and it didn’t irritate.

Manufacturers often suggest using more detergent than is necessary, which is a waste of money and may contribute to the skin irritation that some people suffer from. It’s best to experiment and find out the minimum amount of powder needed. There is likely to be a Freephone number on the pack, making it easy to report problems. Instructions need to be clear.

In his introduction, Richard says that liquid and gel detergents do not contain bleach. The manufacturer’s material safety data sheet does not mention bleach, whereas other products (e.g. Daz powder) made by the same manufacturer do: http://www.scienceinthebox.com.es/en_UK/pdf/uk_en/UK-IRL_110810_BOLD_RosePeonyLqTab.pdf

I have no connection with any detergent manufacturer and I cannot suggest an explanation for the bleached patches on your towels.

Alice – For whites it is best to use a powder since these generally contain bleaching components, which will help keep your whites white. Anything designed to wash coloured fabrics will not contain bleach because it would fade the colour. Liquids and gels don’t contain bleach so are best avoided for washing whites.

Also used Surf liquid detergent and Comfort sunshiny days and loved the smell on my clothes, but have had to revert to using powder as the drain hose in my washer was giving out such a stench lately! Tried the maintenance wash, it improved things a little, but eventually had to change the drain pipe, which was clogged up with mould&gunk!

Linda – The usual recommendation is to use a powder for whites because these generally contain a bleaching agent. It might be worth trying if your whites are a bit off-white. Biological detergents never contain bleaching agents. Bleaching agents can fade colours, so it might be best to stick to liquids and gels if there is a problem with fading.

Linda – do you mean ‘Non-biological’ detergents never contain bleaching agents? Or liquids never contain bleaching agents? I have some Ariel bio here and it has bleaching agents in it listed in ingredients.

I would be interested to know which bleaching agents are included in Ariel Bio, Dave.

I have just realised that in my response to Linda I wrote that biological detergents never contain bleaching agents, which is nonsense. It’s liquid detergents that don’t contain bleaching agents, as far as I am aware.. Sorry about that. I cannot remove my post but have marked it down.

Ariel Bio powder contains sodium percarbonate, a bleaching agent.

In general, liquid and gel washing laundry detergents don’t contain bleach whereas powders and tablets do, irrespective of whether they are bio or non bio.

Having bleach is important for white clothes and avoiding it is most important for darker colours.

Hi Wave I had that figured out by the smell but it’s nice to have it confirmed
Am I correct in thinking that the bleach helps with killing bugs of course if there are bugs there to kill
The bleach will also help stop the machine from becoming stinky ,, yes/no?
I use non bio liquid and have done for some time. .. . Wifey is bio and bleach but she has her work clothes. . ..

Low temperature washing and liquid or gel detergents with no bleach has led to a problem with smelly washing machines. The insides get covered with a slime full of bacteria and other microorganisms. You don’t need bleach in every wash to keep down the number of bugs, so what you and your wife are doing seems ideal. I would also do a maintenance wash at maximum temperature periodically to help remove grease etc. that would otherwise accumulate. The usual recommendation is to run the machine with detergent but no washing. That seems a waste of money to me.

For nurses’ uniforms that could be contaminated with nasty bugs or fabrics contaminated with faeces pre-treatment with disinfectant sold for reusable nappies would be a good idea.

Forgot to mention as well, that is if anyone is interested. I also put with my Persil Colour Powder compartment about a spoonful of Vanish Oxy Action Powder.