I like enzymes, as we're a pretty messy family and we get all kinds of stains. As far as the optical brightners, I started buying the Cheer powder solely for the reason that it didn't have any. My husbands uniforms are supposed to be washed in detergent without OBA's and enzymes, but I figured one out of two isn't bad!

There was a very similar thread recently with a great many answers. Sorry I could not locate it. Perhaps someone else will be able to.

I use Persil megaperls white mostly and always for whites.

Caldrea liquid - Palmarosa currently but other fragrances also for colors.

For black clothes I use Perwoll Dark.
For wool/silk I use Perwoll wool/silk

If I need stain removal I use a cold prewash with OxiClean followed by a Hot wash with Megaperls.

I did a laundry soap test drive but settled on these.

Do intend to try the Persil for colors, which has good reviews.

My "daily drivers" a/k/a "go-to" products:

Sears Ultra 'he' powder (free version)**
Wisk Deep Clean Free & Pure (liquid)**
Charlie's Soap - for wools & darks (No OBAs or enzymes.....)
Asko's ecoVantage for whites (has oxy-bleach and is a free/clear detergent)

* Sears & Wisk are used on white/light color sportswear when sunscreen has also been worn. These products do not contain an oxy bleach, thus no causing the dreaded "rust" stain on residual titianium/zinc oxide sunscreens.

For pre-treating hubby's ring-around-the-collar, I get great results from Charlie's Soap "all-purpose cleaner"; allow to sit for ten minutes before starting wash cycle.
Poor hubby breaks out in rash from Shout, so I do what I've got to do ......

My daily uses are either Tide he Original Powder or Tide he liquid, also original. I use Persil once in a while, as I love the smell....but over the years, I have not found it to perform any better than Tide. Tide Original he powder removes virtually every stain and clothes are always left smelling super clean. I teach Fitness Classes 4-7x a week...so I have a lot of gym clothes to wash, and Tide powder leaves those items remarkably fresh!!!

I always use a small amt. of Downy Fabric Softener, diluted with water...it leaves clothes so fluffy, soft and towels are still absorbent!!
I usually use Downy unscented, and once in a while I will literally mix like 1/2 teaspoon of what they now call 'April Fresh" into the unscented. Using straight April Fresh is nauseating, as P & G has ruined the classic Downy AF scent!!

Larsi:

I've followed the saga of your search for the original April Fresh scent.... I found a bottle a few days ago in a little hole in the wall mexican grocery store right on the border and the bottle was much different looking than what is sold in say, walmart or something. It looks almost vintage and smelled very different than the April Fresh downy I currently have. It's got a girl running through a meadow or something like that, the bottle is a lighter blue and taller with a large pink cap.

In the search for something that would rinse out good, I have tried about everything on the detergent aisle. Era HE did well until they changed it to safe for all machines. Got way more suds in the rinse cycle than the wash cycle. Cheer powder seems to be about the best as far as sudsing is concerned. Can't say it's a favorite. Wish I had paid more attention to the rinse cycle when I had the Bosch so I could compare better. Yes I used he products in a speed queen tl as I really, really dislike a lot of suds. Wisk he is as bad as tide.
I have found that powder clorox2 is a (lot) less sudsy than the liquid version.

Has anyone used Eco Nuts? It is made from a soapberry from the tropics and comes in both a tablet and a liquid form. I have tried the liquid, you use only about a 1/2 teaspoon per load and it seems to work well. It is supposed to be totally non allergenic. I have only used it a few times so I don't know how it will work out in the long run. I love that it is a very small bottle that does not take up much space in my small laundry room. I'd love to hear if others have tried this and what they think of it.

I agree tide is best at cleaning but the scent (even the unscented version) is very unpleasant to me and it actually makes me nauseous.

andi2928...I have seen this bottle, and I actually have one that I purchased at a local Mexican Supermarket. I agree that is does smell different that Downy April Fresh one buys at say Target or Walmart....but still NOT like the beloved April Fresh from the 60's to mid 2000's. I will not give up....My heart will go on searching. LOL
Thanks ;)

Sears ultra plus powder HE with stain fighters detergent only. Never use liquids of any kind other than bleach. Excellent product.

I'm currently using the following in my Cabrio TL (the version w/agitator):

(Didn't seem like I had so many things until I started typing this!)

*Ultra Tide Original with 'acti-lift crystals,' he powder
*Cheer Powder
*Dreft Powder (for delicates, and when I'm feeling reminiscent for that soft, sweet baby smell)
*Cheer liquid
*Wisk Deep Clean Original he liquid
*Delicare (Arm& Hammer) Fresh Scent liquid (for delicates -- when I stretch to get from back of shelf!)

Supplements include spray/stick stain removers (Spray 'n Wash with Resolve) & oxi products, as well as the occasional use of Purex Crystals & Gain 'sweet sizzle.'

Love Wisk, and use on hubby's work clothes, towels, linens. I discovered that I can't use on my jeans, even with double rinse -- makes me itch/break out in rash.

For some reason, I don't think this Tide powder version I have is as good as others I've had in past.

Overall favorite(s) would be: Cheer Powder & liquid.

I am completely hooked on biokleen premium powder and their oxygen bleach. I prefer it to my previously beloved Persil.

Our favorites are Tide He powder and liquid. I can tell you that we are currently using Arm and Hammer liquid with Oxyclean on the label As far as I can tell it has no Oxyclean in it or a minimal amount at best. It does not get stains out well at all. Haven't tried the expensive alternate specialty brands.

I guess my go to detergents overall are original Tide and Gain powders. A&H clean burst powder im really liking at the moment. Nice light clean scent.

@ VetWife:
Where did you buy your Arm & Hammer DeliCare at? I've been looking EVERYWHERE for it (CVS, Walgreens, Target, various other brick & mortar stores, etc.) but can't seem to find it anywhere within the last couple of years. I used to buy it at CVS or Safeway nearby but don't seem to be carrying it any longer ...? The only handwash detergent I ever see is Woolite, which I don't like at all.
Is it discontinued (I hope not)? Where can I find it? If anyone knows please clue me in!
TIA!

OK, so I have tried Wisk pacs and they did great so I also decided to try the liquid again. Only one load so far, sheets to about line 2 and all was well. Don't know how you all feel about animal testing, but Sun Products does not do testing on animals. P&G does and they test on Beagles which is why I will do all I can to not use their products. Of course I found out after I stocked up on Cheer Powder when I thought it was being discontinued.

Tide HE powder is by far the best for me but that might be partly because our water is really hard. I used to add Biz to my whites, and I thought it worked pretty well compared to oxy-clean, which doesn't do anything that i can see, but since the new splash-less bleach has been around I started using bleach more often again. I still add biz to loads that are more heavily soiled,

Before my kids were born I used the more expensive Downy fabric softeners because I love super soft towels. I switched to Snuggle concentrated Blue Sparkle and I really like it. It's less expensive than downy, and even though it says not to I dilute it I do anyway so the fragrance isn't really strong, but my clothes are soft, and they seem to smell fresh longer, which is good since I'm great about washing clothes but not great about putting them away - they tend to not make it out of the laundry room.

Maybe someday I'll have a master closet with a w/d!

@ beagle nc....P & G tests on Beagles??? OMG!! We rescued a beagle about 7 months ago. She's about 2, and was being used for breeding! She is the love our our canine lives! I have stock piling of Tide, Gain & Downy!! I feel gutted right now...like I want to throw it in the garbage!!

@ larsi, you did a wonderful thing! We also rescued a beagle about 2 years ago from an animal shelter. She is the sweetest most loving dog anybody could ask for. Check out beaglefreedomproject.org, also check out their face book page. They have some great videos. While they can't say what specific products are testing on the beagles (some labs wont release them if they do)., I have seen on the internet that Tide and Downy do and I'm only guessing other P&G laundry products do. Check out Sun Products, Wisk, All, and Snuggle pages also. Consumers Report has found Wisk to to as good as Tide. A plus, they are less expensive. I got a 50 oz. jug for less than $5.00 and a bag of pods also under$5.00 at Walmart yesterday. Know if anyone wants 5 boxes of Cheer?

Thanks beagle nc!! I went to the P & G Website last night....since I was really upset about the animal testing....and P & G claim 99% of their products are not animal tested. Yes, we know about the beagle freedom project, and have donated to them. It is a very important and amazing organization!!

Awwww, you have a rescue beagle too. They are the best dogs, well except for the non stop shedding (omg, it tests my last nerve, LOL!! but when I look into her big, amber eyes....I melt!!).

This post was edited by larsi on Tue, Jun 10, 14 at 9:44

Arm & Hammer HE liquid.

Vaska 4X Concentrated Perfect Laundry Detergent in the (very mild, just a whisper) Lavender scent.

Here is a link that might be useful: Buy it on-line if you cannot find it locally

Annasaurus: "Where did you buy your Arm & Hammer DeliCare at? I've been looking EVERYWHERE for it (CVS, Walgreens, Target, various other brick & mortar stores, etc.) but can't seem to find it anywhere within the last couple of years. I used to buy it at CVS or Safeway nearby but don't seem to be carrying it any longer ...? The only handwash detergent I ever see is Woolite, which I don't like at all.
Is it discontinued (I hope not)? Where can I find it? If anyone knows please clue me in!"

We used to use DeliCare, also, preferring it to Woolite, but we have not seen it on the shelf in years. However, before it had disappeared from the shelves, we found a better delicate fabric detergent, Ecover Delicate Wash; we prefer Ecover to DeliCare in every way. Ecover recently changed the scent for some reason, and some people do not like the new scent. Reactions to scents are very highly subjective, but everyone agrees that the performance of Ecover Delicate Wash is outstanding.

Then there is Eucalan Lavender Fine Fabric Wash 16.9 Ounce, which you can purchase through Amazon.com. We still use the Ecover Delicate Wash on those occasions when we launder delicates in the automatic washing machine; but for hand-washing delicates, Eucalan has completely supplanted all other products in our household; it is a miracle formulation.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link for Ecover Delicate Wash

I use Target's UP and UP unscented and Purex Triple Action for my white linens. I am amazed by how white they are every time I take them out of the dryer.

I rarely use brand name laundry or dishwasher soap anymore. They just cost way to much and I have not found any difference in my clothes.

@ Annasaurus: I do apologize for my terribly late response! For some reason, I thought I had responded to your questions re: Delicare. I purchase Delicare @ Harris Teeter in NC. It's always on the bottom shelf, and I fear that it will disappear from here, also. I probably should stockpile, but I haven't the storage space to do so!

BTW: Happy 4th of July!

@ Annasaurus: I do apologize for my terribly late response! For some reason, I thought I had responded to your questions re: Delicare. I purchase Delicare @ Harris Teeter in NC. It's always on the bottom shelf, and I fear that it will disappear from here, also. I probably should stockpile, but I haven't the storage space to do so!

BTW: Happy 4th of July!

Persil Megaperls....both color and white detergents. There is almost nothing that can't be removed via a combination of Persil White, Oxyclean Gel and a Temperature Boost setting on my Bosch Axxis. And I wear half my dinner on my shirts at least 2x per week....

...must be genetic :)

It seems expensive, but you use so little 2-3 T per load, that it's about the same price as Tide.........

Love it, love it, love it.