Traditionally Tide was P&G's "top of the line detergent", whereas Gain was their "middle of the road" offering. Tide was supposed to be deeper and better cleaning, whereas Gain cleaned, but the focus was on scent.

The few times I used Gain liquids or powders, I felt they cleaned almost as well as Tide. When Gain (Original Scent) debuted a while back, the scent was very clean, herbal and fresh. Of course over the years P&G has tweaked and tweaked the fragrance, and naturally it is much sweeter than it used to be.

I had never used Gain. The original scent took over the world and it seemed like everyone in my office was bathed in it. It's like nails on chalk board to me. The lavender is actually nice. We'll see if I still love it tomorrow :)

I always wonder how stinky a person must be to need all that. Are a zillion plug ins and scented everything so they don't have to clean? And the laundry scent over dosing is the worst. I get gagged standing in line.

I think the difference is $. Gain doesn't cost as much as Tide in our local market. I like the Gain Febreeze plug-ins to mask the litter box smell. It's only about 1 of the 6 fragrances I keep near that litter box, lol.

I have a box of both. Gain was $3.00 less than Tide.

Do you notice any difference in cleaning ability?

I'm not the best judge of cleaning ability. My clothes come out clean no matter what, but I'm not dirty. I could get by with a rinse.

Because of Mama's suggestions, I have more detergent than I'll ever use. But I like it. I use a little for this and a little for that. Usually I just grab what is closer.

64 Loads of Tide Liquid is $11.99, while 64-Loads of Gain Liquid is $9.99, @ Target. If you wait for a sale though, and use coupons... you can snap up those $12 Bottles of Tide for $3/4.

Literally the last time I bought Liquid Tide. I paid $2.78 for 64-Load Bottles. Having a HE Machine, and soft water makes things complicated though, and I probably have enough Liquid Tide to wash thirty years of laundry.

Anyway. The Liquid Tide contains a little more enzymes, and the Powder Tide has more oxygen-bleach in it, so it cleans better. Gain.. is more of a scent detergent, that cleans mid-level.

For what it's worth.. I have a old-2011 bottle of Gain Liquid, and did a load of Sheets with two-tablespoons of it. Everything came out smelling, just lovely :-)

Couldn't tell you how the newer bottles, smell. I've barely even used a cap of this bottle :P

How on earth did you get those Tide bottles for $3? The best deal I have seen is when those $11.99 bottles are on sale for $9.99. Add a $2 off one bottle coupon and we are down to $7.99. Share your secret!!! :)

I think Gain piwders have one enzyme, Protease

Flings 2 enzymes, Amylase& Subtilisin

Liquids 2 enzyme, Protease& Amylase

Course this could have changed..Gain isn't a bad detergent if you can find a scent you like lol..I actually think Gain Lavender is pretty nice, and Gain with oxi..both powders...don't like the liquid or flings..I have Gain flings moonlight something or other, the pods are 2 chambers one like a blackish purple one side white..I tried these 2 times and there was what looked like white snot floating on top of the wash water.

IMHO Gains fine for moderate soils and may even clean heavy soils with extra hot water.

P&G runs rebates, spend 20 get 5 back. The 20 is without the coupon discount. Tide almost always has $2 or $3 coupons. Meijer runs Tide b2g1. I can usually stock up on the small ones for free and sometimes cash back w rebate. They also have rewards like spend 30 in cleaning products and get 4 off of next order.

I do Meijer because the Michigan ad is ahead of Indiana so I have over a week to put it all together.

Wow, that's a great deal! We don't have a Meijer here, bummer.

@KittyCat601... I really can't, tell you my secrets in one post. My best advice, would be to simply join me on a grocery shopping trip. I was taught by someone, extremely gifted and experienced with the game, and showed me the ropes.

But... with store loyalty programs, register rewards, and sales, and coupons, it's doable ;)

Try passionforsavings.com or iheartkroger. They'll give you the best deals of the week and where to find the coupons. It's fun.

Gain is O.K. It's on par with All liquid. Dollar General always has HUGE boxes on sale, but I am turned off by the names of the scents. Thai Dragon Fruit? Island Paradise? Seriously, I would not recommend this for any family with actual dirt and/or oil on their clothes.

Agree elcamino but the lavender actually smells good! Thai Dragon Fruit was a Cascade DW detergent scent for awhile. That was way worse IMO :)

I have found it to be a fair contender, its not Top Shelf for sure, but if you find a scent you like, (Gain has enough of them) than I wouldn't let the fact that its MOL stop you, it does have at least one enzyme, and used with hot water does well, remember not every load is tragic, so not every load needs critical care..l.

Elcamino, I dislike most of the Gain scents except Gain Lavender and Gain with oxi, but they've earned the MOL badge as far as cleaning abilities.

Sandy did you try your liquid Gain yet? What did you think? I've never used Gain liquid.

I didn't like the lavender, but I thought the Sunshine something or other was lovely. I know it doesn't clean worth anything though, so I passed. I refuse to encourage the Scenstravaganza that P & G has been putting on for the past few years.

I used the Lavender liquid on sheets and blankets and they smell amazing! They weren't really dirty to begin with but I love fresh bedding and wash 2x a week. It wasn't over sudsy and the scent out of the dryer was perfect! I did add a 1/2 tsp each of Mrs. Meyers Lavender and Lemon Verbana scent booster. I think this will be my new go to for sheets and blankets :). My son even commented on how good his sheets smelled which is a first. My 5 yr old asked me to wash her blankie :).

Good news Sandy, so cute about your 5 year old wanting her

blankie washed..I'm assuming you will have that fresh smelling very directly lol.

Elcamino, I've never seen that Gain Sunshine scent..sounds interesting lol.

I always avoided Gain because of the scents but honestly, Tide smells awful to me now. I dislike overly sweet scents. So, I'm willing to give up some cleaning ability not to smell like rotting candy :(

mixing lavender and lemon scent booster...hmmm. I smelled the poppy scent booster and thought it was nice. I have Gain scent booster, and it is in the basket going to the local women's shelter today along with all of the detergents that I don't want anymore (bye, bye Persil!)

Sandy, its really my opinion that Gain will do a fine job on moderate soils, it may struggle with heavy soils but STPP along with it ought to solve that issue. That being said I'm referring to powder Gain, I have no experience with liquid Gain.

Oops, sandy I forgot you don't use STPP...i'm sorry. Lol

Gain Sunflower and Sunshine. I thought it smelled fresh. Unfortunately, I can only find it in the giganto vat size, and I just can't make that kind of commitment.

The Mrs Meyers scent boosters smell more like essential oils and aren't super strong scented. I have a load going with the lavender & lemon verbana and some biokleen premium to add a hint of zest. Should be just about perfect. I've officially lost it. Lol.

Sandy, I really like Biokleen premium plus for whites.

I haven't used the Biokleen without sodium percarbonate, which someday I will.

I have never seen Gain Sunflower or Sunshine, unless I just wasn't paying attention.

I spotted Gain Sunflower and Sunshine in both Dollar General and Walmart this week. I have only seen it in liquid.

Reading the ingredients on Mrs Meyer scent booster it's mostly sea salt, essential oils and some silica as the last ingredient. Have some silica gel and salt soaking in essential oils for tonight's mad experiment.

I did a quick search...I can only find as far as powder.. Ultra Gain with bleach outdoor sunshine scent.

I sure don't recall ever seeing it in any store around me.

Lol Sandy, sounds like fun.

If you would like a bottle mamapinky, I will get it for you next time I pass by it.

sandy, the experiment sounds interesting! anyone who wanders by this thread will think we all have too much time on our hands.

El, what a sweety you are, that's very thoughtful, this Laundry room is enriched by you, but Mama is going to pass on your offer, but thank you much my little chick.

I smelled the Thai Dragon Fruit in the store once - it smells nothing at all like actual dragon fruit, which has a very light scent. :(

My roomate bought some original scent Gain liquid a few months ago and it didn't rinse very well. Towels would also get this nasty air-freshener scent when they got wet. I wouldn't have bought it because I've always hated the scent. (Didn't even notice that it was different lol) I don't think it cleans as well as Wisk, and the target store brand liquid also seems to clean and rinse better and is cheaper than gain.

Gain doesn't get whites that clean so I stopped using it, I do have a can of Gain Febreeze in my bathroom though. : )

Target's Up & Up liquid laundry detergent, scored high in Consumer Reports testing.

Snagged some Free Trial Packets. Smells just like Wisk, but cleans better.

Mich, I thought is was powder Up& Up that scored fairly high in CR...I have the Lavender Bloom..its pretty sweet in the box, but just leaves a clean scent on the laundry, it does a decent job of cleaning.

Geek, Gain does have a With Oxi version, which may do better on Whites. but no Gain wouldn't be my choice for whites, I like a *white* detergent that cleans and whitens exceptionally well. Which doesn't mean I don't play around with different detergents at times. Lol.

I like different laundry loads to smell differently. I like lavender and more herbal scents for sheets and towels, clothing I like to have more scent. I also have different levels of cleaning needs. Teenage jock boy's clothes are the most challenging. I wear a ton of black and anything good for whites destroys dark clothes. I can't imagine ever using just one detergent.

I might pick up a bottle of Gain Oxi(icy fizz), it did get good reviews from CR two years ago.

Consumer Report Test

Another Detergent Review

I have a quilt I purchased a few years back . It was getting to look dingy and dull . I was really thinking of putting it away or using it for my dogs. Gave it another chance with the gain flings. It looks new again ! Better then Tide

I find tide is more expensive but cleans way better than gain.Gain its more for sicking strong scents that make me congested and gives me a bad headache!

I really liked the baby powder scent of cling free, but they are kinda expensive so don’t use them. Not a fan of most dryer sheet smells.