Following for advice.

SEA SEA, thank you so much! That is very helpful.

Oxygen Bleach and Optical Brighteners...I had a 50/50 chance lol.

• Cheer and Woolite can be interchangeable for darks/colors. No need for both.
• Tide with Bleach + hot water should be plenty for keeping whites bright.

1. If you have clothes that are currently dingy or stained, what would be the best way to brighten them up and/or remove old stains? Whites, colors, or darks.
2. Any additional recommendations on keeping the washer clean/odor free? I know to wipe the seal down after washing. I don't know if that is after every wash or after a day of washing, but either way, don't leave it damp. Does the tub need to be wiped down too?
3. Does anyone have a chart recommendation for a laundry room? I'm trying to help myself out, so I have a cheat-sheet for the different symbols on clothes and I found a sheet with some stain removal tips. Any others?

You can use either Cheer powder or Woolite for your darks--whichever you end up preferring. I got some Woolite for darks last month and now it sits lonely in the cupboard as it didn't remove odors to my liking. Back to Cheer powder over here. It's personal choice and what works for you on that.

What I do for dingy, stained white/light stuff is I use a full dose of detergent, a dose of Borax or powder Biz and start a warm wash cycle. Let it agitate for a little while, then I shut down the machine for a few hours. If your washer drains when you shut it down, you'll have to utilize the pre-wash cycle, then use a heavy duty cycle and might need to repeat a few times due to lack of soaking abilities. After the soaking, I drain the machine (you can use a drain and spin or just use the quick cycle to discard the dirty water), then I do a super hot wash cycle and detergent (such as Tide with Bleach powder). I may let that one soak for a while too if things were extra bad, but my washer doesn't drain when I shut it down for a soak, so you'll have to do what works for you. The purpose of the warm cycle first is to loosen up the soils/stains, let the enzymes do their thing and not set the stains with hot water. Some people like a cool or cold pre-wash...what works for you is best.

For keeping the washer clean/odor free, extra hot washes with powder detergent will go a LONG way to keep you ahead of the grime. Using citric acid (I buy mine on Amazon in bulk) in a hot empty wash or clean machine cycle cleans a lot of gunk out. Afresh tablets are used by many, but I feel that those are good for preventive medicine. Once gunk has set in, it seems that Affresh is just a temporary improvement. WhirlOut is made for spas and jacuzzis to clean the tubes/jets. You can use that in your machine on a cleaning cycle if you like. Sometimes I use powder Cascade to clean my washer (and my jacuzzi too) and knock wood, I've been alright after 3 1/2 years with my washer. I do use liquid detergents, but powders are my most used detergents and I believe that keeps most of gunk out of my washer. When I do a cleaning cycle on my machine, it's mostly just a tidy-up because of the good washer habits I learned on this forum. I've not seen any gunk come loose in my washer yet, but I do make conscious choices in powder detergent, hot washes and using the correct amount of detergent. It takes a while to figure out how much is enough detergent--too much is just as bad as not enough. The amount listed on the package is usually wrong, so it's learn as you go.

In time, it all settles in and becomes 2nd nature :)

Sodium Percarbonate is the chemical term used for Oxygen Bleach. Oxi clean contains some of this plus other things. I think Pure Sodium Percarbonate is a stronger bleach than Oxiclean. STPP is a water softener that allows the detergent to work better.

STPP is Sodium TriPolyPhosphate (as compared to TSP which is TriSodium Phosphate ... not the same thing). STPP functions both as a water conditioner for hard water (STPP is non-precipitating, TSP is precipitating), and to boost detergent performance. Essentially replaces the phosphates that were removed from detergents years ago. It's not a bleach and is safe to use on all fabrics.

Pure Sodium Percarbonate does not have the fillers (washing soda and such) that are added to Oxiclean. However, it also does not include an oxygen bleach activator (such as TAED which is included in Tide w/Bleach powder detergent and others) so works best in hot water.

Persil ProClean Stain Fighter Liquid Laundry Detergent is highly-rated by Consumer Reports and users like it too. Maybe start with just one simple product.

All Free & Clear powder is almost as good as Tide w/ Bleach and is less spendy.

SEA SEA, what is your favorite LIQUID laundry detergent, please.

Hi Pat,

I'm having great clean laundry luck using the liquid free and clear ALL from Costco. I dare say I've not liked a liquid detergent more. Works better than Tide F&G liquid for me. I do a pre-wash most of the time (for the odorous folks in the family) where I put detergent and Borax in that pre-wash then let it soak a while, then dump out dirty water and proceed to a main wash. I have not had a stink, stain or odor remain. I'm not sure if this detergent mixes with my water perfectly and I get unusually good results, or if others have this effect too. I'm quite fond of this deterrent and it is on coupon right now at Costco for $12.69 for this large jug.

SEA SEA - someone else here loves that ALL F&C from Costco. Maybe it's littlegreeny?

Yes Cavium. He recommended it to me and I've bought several of those giant jugs when they go on coupon. I'm grateful. I go through it rather quickly with my top loader.

SEA SEA, I really, really, really appreciate your comments above and although I do not have a Costco membership, I'm going to try to figure something out. You and greeny gob-smack me every time.

You are welcome Pat. :)

I'm not certain of this, but I think I remember Greeny once speculating that the liquid ALL free and clear OXI that is sold in regular stores might be the same, or similar formulation to the one sold in Costco. Just has a different name. I think he might have said it has more surfactants or enzymes than the regular ALL liquid. Maybe he'll type in and confirm or otherwise have info.

i think greeny said he thought maybe the new liquid All Free Clean ODOR RELIEF (available everywhere) was the same or comparable to Costco's PURE. Where IS that guy?

Pat I often use the All Plus Free and Clear from Costco. I have not found any All including powdered that is as good and doesn't over suds. You can shop at Costco even if you don't have a membership. Here is a link on how to shop at Costco.

Kisses to you, Heather, and thank you.

For set in stains (old stains) on white clothing/towels/etc., what is the best way to remove them?

Pat we both share naughty skin so if you want I can order the detergent with my Costco card and they will deliver it to you. It's on sale right now, so including delivery it is $15.69 for a 158 load, 237 oz. bottle. If you pick it up in the warehouse it is $12.69.

Heather, you are a sweetheart doll, but a neighbor is going to get it for me on her Costco card. Thank you so very much. What a generous offer!

Sorry I haven’t been around. It’s nice to be missed. ((Hugs))

I think the newish All Odor Relief is the same or similar formula as the All Plus at Costco. And yes, the All Plus from Costco is fabulous at cleaning and an excellent bargain.

At the moment, I’m using the now discontinued Era Free which I find cleans almost as well as the All. My all around favorite detergent at the moment is Tide Free powder. It gets out the deep down funk and odors that other detergents can’t seem to budge. This past weekend I bought a box of Arm & Hammer Free powder. I only washed two loads with it so far. It did pretty good but need to do more testing. I think I’m entering a powder phase now. Haha

greeny, so glad you found us. I'm entering a powder phase now also. Thank you for the tip about Tide Free powder. I love you to peaches. And how kind of Larisa to nab you for us here. Hope you don't totally leave this Forum for your Facebook kids. And I wish that sweet Larsi would come back too.

P.S. I still like the All Free powder until I'm out.

Consumer Reports consistently rates that Tide is the best from their testing.

I agree.

Pat, I still like All Free powder too. Cleaning is almost as good as that of Tide powder.

I can advise using dryer balls instead of chemicals and powder. You can select plenty of them on any rating websites like https://goodscomparing.com/wool-dryer-balls or you can search on google. I used them for 3 months and they remove wrinkles and static. I've stopped using chemicals at all (in past I used Oxi from Wallmart). Maybe it could be useful for someone also.

Dryer balls are marketing for the gullible. What's the difference between a dryer ball ... and wadding up a rag or rolling up a bunch of yarn and tying it with a string? Nothing.

I tried the rubber dryer balls. I couldn't handle the noise of them bouncing around!

I have been wondering about detergent QUANTITY. When my daughter came home after 4 years at university with a front loader machine, she accidentally put a load of clothes in my top loader without using any detergent. When we discovered this mid-wash, the washer was filled with suds.

She used standard HE detergent and the correct amount at school.

So I am wondering if the recommended amounts of detergents are too much and just exaggerated to sell more soap.

I am also curious about quantity. I think I am using too much because I keep seeing suds. I am using the measuring cups that come with the detergent, but perhaps those are inaccurate? I have even cut down on the recommended amount, but I think it might still be too much.

Front Load Washer:

How much liquid detergent should one use for different load sizes?

How much powder detergent should one use for different load sizes?

If you are doing a pre-wash, how does this affect your measurements? Or does it? Do they go in at the same time or at separate times?

Everyone's water chemistry is different. Therefore everyone needs to use a different amount of detergent. The amounts suggested by the manufacturer is absurdly large for the average user. I use about 2 tablespoons of powder and less of liquid depending on how dirty the load is. I have a small machine and not super dirty laundry. Knowing how much you need to use takes time and experimentation. First, I would wash a load without any detergent to see if you have detergent residue. When you do a load of wash with detergent stop the load and touch the water if it is slippery but not sudsy it is probably conditioned enough to get the laundry clean without residue. I always use three rinses and the last rinse is clear. If not I used too much detergent.