Conditioners

19 Apr 2005

Not really a question related to swinging other than the association between soft fabrics on your body that your partner would love to peel off you... or soft towels you'd love to wrap yourself in.
It's been over a year now that I have found out that the fabric conditioners do not soften the clothes. I use the indicated quantity, I do not over/under load the washing machine and I dry the clothes naturally, yet they are as hard as cardboard.
I rang the manufacturer and complained and we went through a series of questions to try to find what I was doing wrong (why should Ibe doing something wrong? It's them who change the composition of things trying to keep one step ahead of demand all the time... quick dry... no iron... etc). Eventually I was offered a voucher. I used it to buy a different product from their range (just in case the combination of washing tablets and conditioner were not compatible) but the same result: hard clothes.
I experimented further, using no fabric conditioner at all and the clothes were softer than the ones washed with fabric conditioner.
So my question is: 'what is going on'? Are we taken for a ride by manufacturers? Mind you even the supermarket brands are not any better (Sainsbury's and Tesco's are the ones I have tried, both concentrated form and the classic form) and I suspect the reason is that they are manufactured by the same factory just under a different label.
Please let me know your experiences using fabric conditioners and maybe if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.
Thank you.

19 Apr 2005

if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.

:shock: :shock: :shock: confused

:? :?
uummmmm . . . how about we present it to charles kennedy and he can stick something in the manifesto? something along the lines of how under a lib dem government, everyone will be entitled to softer t-shirts? dunno

neil x x x :P

19 Apr 2005

I wouldn't even know whereabouts in a washing machine to add fabric conditioner dunno

, but I don't have hard clothes blink

:whistling: :whistling:
I know where the door is
bolt

19 Apr 2005

I only use fabric conditioner to make my washing smell nice.
The only way I've found to get your towels soft and fluffy is to either tumble-dry them or hang them on the line ... but not for too long! You don't want them to be totally bone-dry, they need to be 'just' dry, IYKWIM.
I agree with using the best products you can afford. I rely on BOGOF's and special offers otherwise it's back to Morrison's own sad

19 Apr 2005

I always use fabric conditioner and never have hard clothes or towels.
I always use good quality detergent - Persil colour or Ariel colour and I only ever use Comfort concentrated conditioner - Lily and Rice Flower at present - all pink and girly pretty rolleyes

I have tried Lenor and most of the other brands but they just do not soften like Comfort does.
Cheap brands are always watered down and I would never use them. I value my skin and the fabrics rubbing against it too much confused

Tracy-Jayne . . . no I don't work for them either :lol2:

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
Please let me know your experiences using fabric conditioners and maybe if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.

Political Message :
Are you thinking what we're thinking??? confused

:? :?

:loon:

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Sgt Bilko
Please let me know your experiences using fabric conditioners and maybe if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.

Political Message :
Are you thinking what we're thinking??? confused

:? :?

:loon:
I'm with you there Sarge! :shock:
lol

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Jags
Please let me know your experiences using fabric conditioners and maybe if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.

Political Message :
Are you thinking what we're thinking??? confused

:? :?

:loon:
I'm with you there Sarge! :shock:
lol

I'm with both of you :eeek:
:lol:

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Sgt Bilko
Political Message :
Are you thinking what we're thinking??? :? :? :loon:

I hope not redface

19 Apr 2005

I find it more easyer to put the fabric conditioner just before it spins and the clothes came out smelling nice and soft as a baby bum

19 Apr 2005

Personally i find that the cheap fabric conditioners are just as good a s the more expensive ones.
I think how they work in your washing machine has a lot to do with how often and how well the clothes are rinsed, so soemetimes its worth putting them through for an aextra rinse
There is one range of conditioners, called believe it or not, Easy!!!! and that works just as well as all the well know brands.
Still prefer to spend my time worrying about to get things hard rather than soft though!!

19 Apr 2005

First of all thanks for the replies so far but I see some of you could not resist the urge to take the mickey out of a very serious thread. Oh well, what can we do, people will be people! rolleyes

Now as to my experiences: I have been using Daz tablets for 3 years. I find they are wonderful at cleaning all the food stains off my clothes. They also smell good. In addition to Daz tablets, I have been using Comfort or Lenor, both in concentrated form and in the ready to use form (classic). The washing machines I have used were not new as I rent my place. They were either by Indesit or the current one by Hotpoint. Back home I had a Candy washing machine that was a hand down from my mom (about 13 years old or slightly more) and never ever had a problem with softness even when drying clothes out in the sun. So it can't be the fault of the washing machine or the way I dry my clothes (although I do agree that towels need to be picked up and folded just before totally drying).
It cannot be the fault of the detergent. I have also used Ariel non bio tablets, Ariel liquidtabs, Persil tablets, Bold powder as well as Persil liquid for woolies. In the past I had washed clothes with Tesco's own brand cheapest detergent in powder form and the results were satisfying. So it is not an issue of cost, either.
I was lucky to have a clothes dryer at my old place and I used it frequently but still the clothes were hard and that was the first time I became aware of it because I had complaints from a boyfriend that his towel was scraping his skin. Up to now I had some towels stored which I had washed over 2 years ago and they were soft. I washed them to refresh them and guess what? Hard as cardboard!
I know the water hardness in my area is extremely high but then I have lived in the same area for several years so why would I be getting problems now?
I do maintain they have done something to the formulas and not telling us. Also why is it that I have developed itchy skin the last 18 months or so? (I am going to have this investigated in the autumn and it better not be detergent/conditioner related...)
And Manofmuchfun, if fabric softeners are known not to work for softening fibres, then we have been lied to for decades by the companies that make these products. I do not need to use an expensive product to make my clothes smell nice, I store them with bars of soap and they get adequately fragranced this way.
Guys, stop for a moment and think of the implication of what I am saying here. It may seem trivial or irrelevant to you but when as a consumer we are being misled, I say it is worth investigating it and raising a voice of protest!
I am waiting for further responses to my thread. Thanks.

19 Apr 2005

It probably is one big marketing con and we do have the choice to opt out!!
After all we managed for thousands of years without fabric conditioners.

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Dawn_Mids
Please let me know your experiences using fabric conditioners and maybe if we get a lot of people who have issues with them, we can get a petition through and demand some answers.

Political Message :
Are you thinking what we're thinking??? confused

:? :?

:loon:
I'm with you there Sarge! :shock:
lol

I'm with both of you :eeek:
:lol:
ME THREE! banghead

:loon: :silly:

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
First of all thanks for the replies so far but I see some of you could not resist the urge to take the mickey out of a very serious thread. Oh well, what can we do, people will be people!

What a wonderful life you must have for this to be your most important and pressing problem. (No pun intended regarding the "Pressing"!!) confused

:? :? :? lol

:lol:

19 Apr 2005

Sgt Bilko
I am just fed up of being taken for a ride, that is all.
---
foxylady
In the old days I believe women washed their clothes in unpolluted rivers and beat them up with sticks to get the dirt out which probably resulted in keeping them soft... who knows!

19 Apr 2005

try fitting a water softner ,with salts ,on incoming main.
softer water for particulally london /essx big benefits

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
---
foxylady
In the old days I believe women washed their clothes in unpolluted rivers and beat them up with sticks to get the dirt out which probably resulted in keeping them soft... who knows!

Have we ever had unpollutted rivers? Right from the develpment of dyes there have been polluttants messing up our water supply
Dont think this is the right site to complain about being taken for a ride lol

19 Apr 2005

Oh how I wish that the biggest concern in my life was the state of fabric conditioners banghead

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
I am just fed up of being taken for a ride, that is all.

Vote with your cash and stop buying fabric conditioners then dunno

19 Apr 2005

All fabric conditioners prove to do is coat the fibres and make towels less absorbent!
Natural is best ...
1) If you live in a hard water area then make sure you Calgon your machine.
2) Use half the suggested powder in your machine (it'll clean just as well)
3) Use soap flakes or soda crystals instead of wash powder (or do half and half)
3) Don't overload the machine.
4) To soften clothes and reduce wash powder build up (this is why clothes are hard) use clear vinegar instead of softener just a splash though (I promise your clothes won't smell like a chip shop).
5) If you have a tumble dryer then pop wet clothes in the machine for 5 minutes and then line dry or use an airer.
6) For fresh smelling clothes use fragrance sheets. Muslins cloths or strips of cotton with a few drops of an essential oil will fragrance clothes in a wardrobe or drawers.
If clothes are hard then I would suggest that you've used too much powder and/or fabric conditioner and you have a build up in the fibres which is making your wash less effective. Try washing without powder (use soda crystals) and doing an extra rinse.
C x

19 Apr 2005

tania,
being a fully trained scientist and what have you, i've done that whole long and arduous scientific enquiry thingumbob, and it seems to be a water hardness ((( fnaaar fnaaar! ))) thing! but i have the answer......

remember . . . washing machines live longer with calgon!
hope this helps! confused

:? :?

Quote by Calista
1) If you live in a hard water area then make sure you Calgon your machine.

damn you calista! smackbottom

i'm sick and tired of people posting my piss poor jokes before me while i type 'em up. makes me look like i just nicked the whole idea FFS! mad

*humph*

n x x x :P

19 Apr 2005

Calista
Thanks for the suggestions. Are you sure if I were to use half the detergent (i.e. one tablet instead of the recommended two) it would clean the clothes just as well? I think I will give this theory a try - worst thing will be to have to rewash them I guess.
neilinleeds
As for using Calgon, it is far too expensive. Back home we have been using it at every wash for years and years but when I came to this country and saw people were not using it I began wondering if it was really necessary.
Soda crystals might be a good alternative though. Will get a bag when I next go out.
Shall I assume that everyone else is getting a satisfactory softness out of their wash?

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
Calista
Thanks for the suggestions. Are you sure if I were to use half the detergent (i.e. one tablet instead of the recommended two) it would clean the clothes just as well? I think I will give this theory a try - worst thing will be to have to rewash them I guess.

Buy powder and get one of their measures and then halve it ... trust me Tania. I've had kids in washable nappies and have only ever used half and the nappies are still bright, clean and stain free after 4 years smile

C x

19 Apr 2005

Only problem with loose powder is that packages are big and heavy and I can't manage handling them with my arthritis sad

But I will try using half the detergent and will report on the results.

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Tania
Only problem with loose powder is that packages are big and heavy and I can't manage handling them with my arthritis But I will try using half the detergent and will report on the results.

Favourite shop online??
:P

19 Apr 2005

Try using the correct amount of detergent, instead of half, but put double the amount of clothes in !!
Hey Presto !! Softer Clothes and half the amount of washing !! confused

:? :? :?

19 Apr 2005

I dont use any conditioners, just power soap, and I never have any problems with hard clothes, or any problems ironing them,

19 Apr 2005

Quote by Marya
The only way I've found to get your towels soft and fluffy is to either tumble-dry them or hang them on the line

Towels should not go anywhere near fabric conditioners. They break down the fibres and make them far less absorbant. As Marya said, If you have a tumble dryer use that to soften them.
And for the same reason keep conditioners away from woollens too.
OMG... a male giving washing tips :shock:

19 Apr 2005

Tania said...
"So my question is: 'what is going on'? Are we taken for a ride by manufacturers? Mind you even the supermarket brands are not any better (Sainsbury's and Tesco's are the ones I have tried, both concentrated form and the classic form) and I suspect the reason is that they are manufactured by the same factory just under a different label."
I don't know about soap powder and conditioner, however my previous job was working for a well known biscuit manufacturer, on a factory vist one day we saw the same biscuit mixture divided into 3 and sent throught the ovens and then out the other end into 1 branded wrapping, and 2 shops own 'quality' wrapping..... not the really really cheap shops own stuff though.......so yes i guess manufacturers and shops alike are taking us for a ride.....
Freckles
xxx