German laundry detergent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:German family here. In terms of Efficacy, it's on par with tide. I do prefer the smell to American laundry but that's a preference thing. It has a strong smell as Europeans never became sensitive to perfumes the way Americans have.

In general, Germans tend to be convinced that all German things are the best, so you have to take their recommendations for German things with a grain of salt. A lot of the reason that German laundry is consistently cleaner is that their washing machines handle only a small fraction of what American machines can handle, and the washing cycle is a lot longer, AND the water is a lot hotter. So yeah, if you wash the crap out of 1/6th of the laundry in much hotter water for 3x the amount of time, things will be cleaner. This isn't because of the soap.

That sounds really tough on the clothes. How do europeans select just a few expensive pieces to last and then shred them in the washer? I guess I'll stick with fast fashion and shred them in the washer!

I think this isn't as applicable anymore, with the rise of H&M and now Primark. I will say that the mythology around the types of clothes that Europeans have do not match my experience. They tend to have sturdy cottons or polyester. They do not have as many things that require dry cleaning. I've had a number of items ruined when my mother in law decided to do my laundry and threw silk shirts or suit jackets in the wash. She now understands that we have items in the American wardrobe that simply can't endure a wash cycle. They tend to think quality = sturdy. They get confused when explain that expensive things can't go in the wash, can't be a scrubbed with brillo pads, etc. All this said, they are buying items that are legitimately expensive, they just arent high end in the way that we view them. You'd view the expensive stuff as normal middle class stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:German family here. In terms of Efficacy, it's on par with tide. I do prefer the smell to American laundry but that's a preference thing. It has a strong smell as Europeans never became sensitive to perfumes the way Americans have.

In general, Germans tend to be convinced that all German things are the best, so you have to take their recommendations for German things with a grain of salt. A lot of the reason that German laundry is consistently cleaner is that their washing machines handle only a small fraction of what American machines can handle, and the washing cycle is a lot longer, AND the water is a lot hotter. So yeah, if you wash the crap out of 1/6th of the laundry in much hotter water for 3x the amount of time, things will be cleaner. This isn't because of the soap.

i agree it's the machines more than the detergent. front-loaders in the US are wimpy compared to the european front loaders that literally boil your clothing. Plus it is way more common to line dry clothes in Europe vs here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:German family here. In terms of Efficacy, it's on par with tide. I do prefer the smell to American laundry but that's a preference thing. It has a strong smell as Europeans never became sensitive to perfumes the way Americans have.

In general, Germans tend to be convinced that all German things are the best, so you have to take their recommendations for German things with a grain of salt. A lot of the reason that German laundry is consistently cleaner is that their washing machines handle only a small fraction of what American machines can handle, and the washing cycle is a lot longer, AND the water is a lot hotter. So yeah, if you wash the crap out of 1/6th of the laundry in much hotter water for 3x the amount of time, things will be cleaner. This isn't because of the soap.

[Anonymous]

I order Persil scent free, love it.

[Anonymous]

It’s kinda silly to ship something heavy that is comparable but made here.

Wine & beer sure - it’s grown in specific climate/soil but soap is just a bunch of chemicals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t stand the scent and it’s really strong.

+1. If you are at all scent sensitive, I'd avoid it.

[Anonymous]

European here with two boys. Tide is the best - I miss the free and clear powder one so much - with a drop of lysol laundry disinfectant. Wash everything with hot water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:German family here. In terms of Efficacy, it's on par with tide. I do prefer the smell to American laundry but that's a preference thing. It has a strong smell as Europeans never became sensitive to perfumes the way Americans have.

In general, Germans tend to be convinced that all German things are the best, so you have to take their recommendations for German things with a grain of salt. A lot of the reason that German laundry is consistently cleaner is that their washing machines handle only a small fraction of what American machines can handle, and the washing cycle is a lot longer, AND the water is a lot hotter. So yeah, if you wash the crap out of 1/6th of the laundry in much hotter water for 3x the amount of time, things will be cleaner. This isn't because of the soap.

That sounds really tough on the clothes. How do europeans select just a few expensive pieces to last and then shred them in the washer? I guess I'll stick with fast fashion and shred them in the washer!

The clothes are better quality and they can take the hot water. We also line dry everything, imo the dryer ruins the clothes.

[Anonymous]

Used to use Persil and it was great. Now I am on to Earth Breeze to cut down on plastic waste. Just as good at cleaning.