I agree 100% with May on this, I will be turning 60 this spring, and once upon a time detergent was about cleaning, it wasn't about SCENTS, you didn't walk past someone and say oh she washes in Gain...but May to be fair, the majority of the detergents in our past was loaded in phosphates, which enabled the clothes to be rinsed very well, the detergents also wernt loaded with all the chemicals that took the place of phosphates and can be a pain in the a$$ to get a clean rinse. If we walked past someone's clothesline we noticed beautiful clean clothes blowing in the breeze and maybe a fresh clean scent, we didn't get hit in the face with perfume.

Those were the days May, and with everyone loving the original scent of Tide, if only they could smell the real original scent of Tide that was changed in the early 70's,....remember that kind of Tide clean May??

Another thing, so many other products such as soap, shampoo, etc have their own particular scent. I think if you use all these different products with differing scents and then add laundry detergent to the mix, you may have a strong odor. Many people become desensitized to it and just don't smell it on themselves although other people probably can and do.

If you ever get used to using unscented detergents/softener you will never like scented again. With unscented all you smell is clothes. I don't see how anyone stands Gain or Persil but that is just my thoughts. People can use what they want.

I think you got it right, Sparky. I like clothes that smell crisp and fresh...like I am smelling the fibers. Fantastic description.

We use Persil (blue liquid) here in Canada

and find it cleans very well and has a benign, clean, freshly washed linen scent. We used original Gain previously and now like the Persil better. I am curious if people are possibly having an odour problem with the porous seals on their front load washers. The seals can become quite foul and sour smelling if not wiped dry after using and if the door is not propped open slightly when not in use. We noted this problem when the machine was new and read up on how to prevent it. The unpleasant smell has never returned since we dried the seal and propped the door ajar with a small hand towel.

Hi, Ted. The folks that had the "vomit" smell with the Persil a few years ago, were die hard front loader people. Meaning they wiped their gaskets and kept the door open. At least I know some of them were like that. I have never had a vomit smell with any Persil product from the US. I LOVE the pearls. It cleans and smells wonderfully. I am using some of the liquids now. Im not crazy about the fragrance but I'm getting used to it.

Think I told this before but, March 2015 Persil hit the US shelves..my son showed up with I think it was 4 of the huge Persil jugs with the spout...right away I wasnt crazy about the scent in the jug, actually I hated it, but its PERSIL, so I decided to wash a load of my white sheets in my new God awful scented liquid Persil. Now for those that don't know I wash the bedding every few days usually 3 so they don't really have time to become heavily soiled...can't remember how much Persil I used, but suds were minor in the wash cycle...different story in the rinse. I had a full fill TL at the time so lots of deep rinsing. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed still I had suds and OMG the scent, the scent dang near choked me..think it took five rinses to remove the suds and tame down the scent. The shelter loved me when I showed up with two big jugs..lol. fast forward to current days....I love Persil liquids...love it. I found for me the clothes have to actually be moderate to heavily soiled and I have to be careful with dosing although I've noticed sudsing is no longer a issue with Persil liquid at least for me..as for the scent..it grew on me, I now find it to smell fresh and clean. Now the Pearls, dreamy, LOVED them than, LOVE them now...cept I can't find them anywhere.

mamap you can't find Pearls at Walmart? If not, you can ship to store.

I was told I could ship to my store too, some months back when they were out. But now they carry it again.

Cedric ThankYou

I have a question about Persil. I've been using the US version for a year or so. We recently moved and started noticing a rancid odor coming from the machine after the clothes were washed. The washer drum was scraped clean and the hoses checked but that didn't help. The washer was replaced Friday. I washed clothes and within a few hours the smell was back! I don't use liquid FS, only sheets. The smell is not on the clothes. Is it the detergent???

Its not on the clothes? ?

Sounds like a water problem to me.

Sounds like detergent residue to me or you got a batch of the "vomit Persil".

You moved your washer along, so it's the same one as the previous location? Detergents can react to local differences in water chemistry.

This is the 3rd washer. I didn't bring the washer when we moved as there was already a washer in the new place. The smell was so bad that the washer in the new place was replaced this past Friday but the smell returned within 24 hours. I had just opened a brand new bottle of Persil Pro Clean as well (purchased at a hardware store instead of the grocery) so I am all kinds of confused.

A household water heater can also be a source of odor. Tank water heaters typically have a sacrificial anode rod that protects other metal parts from corrosion. Water conditions can react with it and cause an odor.

Water Heater Odors - Anode Rod

Will the odor be rotten funk? I'm beginning to think there is a clog in the main line.

kfdarby, do you smell rotten eggs while taking a shower?

Just buy a different detergent, powder if possible and see if that helps.

At the risk of seeming overly dramatic, I find the Persil Proclean has an absolutely rank and vile odour. A chemical -y, unnatural reek that is worse on man-made fabrics than cotton or linen. I bought it because years ago in Germany, I had used Persil powder and liked it, the scent I remember being very pleasant and fresh. This morning I asked a co-worker, "Do you use Persil laundry detergent?" because I recognized the punch-in-the-nose odour. He DID use it and says he does not like it. I'm going back to Arm & Hammer liquid.

I'm on my third bottle of 2n1 liquid and don't smell anything vile, in fact can't smell it in the clothes when they come out of the washer and I've only been doing two rinses. Over the few years it has been out the formula as had slight modifications, the scent has been reduced, and the rinsing has been improved somewhat, especially with the current formula 10 dimensions of clean. No scent or sudsing problems for me but perhaps it is just my water chemistry.

Persil is so sudsy, that I literally cannot get the suds to go away...even the current Formula 10 Dimensions. The label talks about clean/easy rinsing, but I have done upwards of 9 rinses, and suds are still 1/2 way up the glass, and my machine is programmed and does DEEP FILL rinses.

I gave up on Persil for a while now. I have one bottle of powder for whites.

It's stinks and makes WAY TOO MUCH SUDS.

Anyone who wants to get rid of their Persil liquid or powder, send it to me!

I have no suds or stink issues with Persil...but even so I really like the Persil Free

Persil is the FIRST detergent in 20 years of marriage that my husband ever commented on. He noticed right away that his work shirts actually smelled clean with no residual body odor. Nothing else seems to work as well. I too, will take any you don't want!

I dislike the odour of Persil Proclean Liquid Laundry Detergent - WAY TOO STRONG !

Anyone who wants to get rid of their Persil liquid Sensitive Skin or powder, send it to me so I can see if they are worth buying.

Please check out my new thread and any advice is appreciated but it seems much has been addressed here.

I was having trouble finding Wisk detergent. I had used it for 30+ years and it was gone from every store. I Googled it and found that the Persil company bought the Wisk brand and took it off the market to eliminate their compitition. I was okay with that after reading that Persil was proven to be the best clean available. It does clean well, but the company didn't get the memo about excess fragrance being bad for your family's health. Wow, it is so strong smelling! The heavy perfume smell stays in the clothing forever. It is difficult to wear a top washed in Persil; because, it makes me queasy. Persil's fragrance is not pleasant at all. I have a water softener, so I use 1/2 the recommended amount. I tried using a little less, but not much better. For those that like how strong the smell is, my sister, the nurse, says fragrance in cleaning goods is really bad for you. My husband goes to a spinning class 4 morning a week and his clothes smell pretty bad, but I have found the best (and safe) thing to eliminate odor and stains from clothes is 20 Mule Team Borax. I will try a small bottle of their fragrant free detergent and hopfully it will work as well and not stink.

Cheryl, I agree. Cleans well but can't stand the smell. I had sinus problems after using it for a short time. Gain is another one I can't use. Hopefully you will find one you like since Wisk is no longer produced.

(For some reason, this posts keeps being removed?)

I have been using the Tide Pods Spring Meadow that is sold at BJs for the past few years. I usually will add 1 Pod to most regular loads, but for heavy loads may do 2. Towels once a week I do 3 pods. Even though it is listed as Spring Meadow, the scent is very minimal while it is being washed (GE Profile Top Load 2006 with 2 rinse cycles), and when I take them out of the Washer to put in the Dryer, there is no strong scent. I also use the Downy Free and Gentle fabric softener.

Yesterday I decided to buy a small bottle of Persil Original since it was only $3 after coupon, as I had read good things about it and wanted to try it. I did open it up and smell it in the store, and it did seem a bit strong, and I also opened the Persil Sensitive Skin White that had no smell, but since the Sensitive Skin was a larger bottle I went with the smaller Persil Original.

Last night I did a regular wash of cloths and tried the Persil and out of the 5 dosage lines on the cap, I did the smallest Line 1. As the washer was filing up, I could really smell it, and it was even stronger during the wash cycle (top water level). After it was done washing and 2 rinses, and I used the scent-free fabric softener, the whole room had the scent of the Persil, and so did all the cloths. I put them in the dryer, took them out an hour later and let them cool off. I can still smell the scent some, not strong like it was, but still a bit there. When I use the Tide Pods, after wash & dry there is practically no scent.

Since I am very sensitive to some strong scents (certain perfumes, hair shampoo, body wash, some food) I'm not sure if I could deal with this scent of the Persil Original....not only of the strong scent of it while washing is being done, but the slight scent after drying is completed. Because of this, I'm thinking about returning it back and trying the Persil Sensitive since it is scent free. But if that doesn't work out, then I guess I'll just keep doing the Pods for now.

washer: Bosch Nexxt 500 4.0 CF F/L

I found the dosage range that works for me that gets the laundry clean and the smell of Persil Original is not overwhelming.

I use between 1.5 - 2.0 TBSP (yes TBSP, so that's 22.5 - 30.0 mL) which is about 1/2 - 2/3 of the smallest Line 1.

Line 1 is about 3 TBSP = 45.0 mL

I threw out half a bottle of Persil Original. I experimented with different amounts and additives but the laundry always stunk. I was in Target a couple days ago and they had little 8 load bottles for two bucks. Thought I'd try it again as it's been a while but didn't. Why waste two bucks.

Since today I had to rewash the load with Pods to eliminate the smell, I'm going to return the Persil Original. But had anyone tried the White Sensitive?

I returned the Original and got the Sensitive White and tried it on a
load last night. Even though the liquid itself has a bit of a
"chemical" smell, it's not strong, and I didn't have any issues with the
scent while the load was being washed or once it was done. After
drying, there was no scent that I could tell.

So the
Sensitive version would work better than the Original, and probably the
other Persil versions, since they all have a scent to some degree. The
one thing I'm just not sure about is which would clean better, either
the Persil Sensitive or the Tide Pods that I've been using for years.

كنت استعمل مسوحوق البيرسيل منذ سنوات وللأسف ومنذ مده لاحظت ان رائحه كريهه تنبعث من بشاكير تنشيف الوجه بمجرد استعمالها فاعتقدت ان الغساله بها خلل ما فغيرت إلى مسحوق اخر (اريال) فكانت النتائج افضل..

Translated via Google:

I have been using Persil powder for years, unfortunately and for some time now I noticed that an unpleasant smell emanates from the towels.
Dry the face as soon as you use it, so I thought that the washer had a defect, so I changed it to another powder (Ariel), and the results were .. best.

I noticed that when I stopped using fabric softener with Persil, and used a little baking soda instead, or Oxi Clean, the weird smell lessened. The clothes themselves smell great, but it was the scent left in the washer that was undesirable.

After 2 loads, I do a quick rinse cycle with white vinegar, baking soda and a little OxiClean.

Hello, I was surprised to find this comment string going back 5yrs ago. I’m guessing Persil has altered its product a bit since 5yrs. I don’t have an issue with odor, using original and intense fresh scents. What kills me, though, the company Henkel that makes & manufactures Persil has an even BETTER product in Germany. It’s called Weisser Riese (White Giant) Universal Gel. It smells so good and cleans so well, it’s sister product Persil here in the States does not compare (at least by fragrance). My German fiancé and I literally carry bottles back in our luggage instead of the usual traveler bringing back bottles of wine. The scent permeates the laundry room and stays on clothes when dried by rack. The two products DO NOT smell anything the same. I have found nothing in the States that smells this good. And, we can’t find a way to purchase Weisser Riese in the States without incurring 50€ shipping. We are on our last bottle of Weisser Riese thanks to Covid and USA residents blocked currently from travel to Europe.

It's 5-6 years after original post but I'm here to say that I, too, the smell of Persil (liquid) laundry detergent! Too bad b'cuz it's one of the better detergents out there.

I see this is an old thread but wonder if anyone had an issue with persil pro clean making their clothes smell like kerosene or diesel fuel just after washing, but the smell dissipates after drying? It's really strong. I switched from arm and hammer because I have four boys, and one is a mechanic. The smell happens with the little kids' clothes even when my oldest doesn't put his work things in. Thanks!

I don't have good results with Persil Pro Clean.

I gave it up years ago because of over sudsing, no matter how little I used.

I bought it on a whim very recently hoping it's been improved but I still have to use a very small amount and it's not that great at removing stains.

This time I bought the regular scent (not Intense Fresh). At my job, some Pro Clean Intense Fresh spilled and the smell still lingers. It's annoying.

I can't recommend Persil.

Persil works nicely for me. No objectionable odor. I don't recall any issues with stains. That being said, I'm using a stash of Pro Clean Power Pearls and Pro Clean 2-in-1 Liquid bought SIX years ago at the time Power Pearls was discontinued (I have one bottle of Pearls remaining) so can't say how the older liquid formulation and scent may compare to the current. I have hard water, although always spiked with STPP. Sudsing is manageable. Dosing the liquid is a bit trickier than the powder. I use 1 to 2 oz of either depending on the load.

Dadoes, I absolutly loved The US Persil powdered detergent. I wished they would make it again. I went out and bought a lot when I heard it was being taken off the market. My stash ran out several years ago, except for the small amount I saved at the bottom of the jug so I can periodically reminisce.

I also had issues with it over sudsing no matter how little I used.

And, I couldn't stand the smell. I don't really remember how it cleaned. I wasn't going to buy it again. Our water is 7-8 gpg.

Absolutely Hate the smell of persil! Everyone who's ever smelled it has hated it. Find the unscented version. I'll just stick with tide ultra stain release. Far and away the best detergent I've ever used if you use it as a pre treater.

ETA: I love the smell when they are dry, it's when they've just finished in the wash I'm getting a weird gasoline/kerosene smell. We have hard well water and I use vinegar in the rinse.

I have used Persil Oxi for quite a while and I have no issues with odor. We love the way it smells! Also, it removes stains that I worried would not come out. It can be fairly sudsy, but I have never used it in a front loader, so I can not attest to any issues with sudslocking or over-sudsing.

Disappointed