How much Tide in hard water?

Took a peep at a NOS vintage box of "Ultra 2" Tide powder from circa 1980's (?) and it also does not mention dosage by water hardness, only gives directions for load size/water level and degree of soiling.

Looked at several other packets of detergents in my stash both recent and vintage none of which mention hard water. Indeed have to go back to stuff from the 1970's and before (Gain detergent) to find any mention of hard water. Even then directions state that the product works well in such water without the addition of packaged water softeners. However if one does have a problem in that regard to merely add more product rather than using other chemicals.

This leads me to think that the surfactant blend found in modern detergents have been developed to deal with a wide variety of local market water conditions, including hard water. Again this would explain why we here in the states can use less, often much less of UK/European detergents. The water here for the most part softer than anything one finds across the pond.

If your washing is coming out clean and does not show signs of dingy tattle-tale grey then would say stick to whatever dosage that gives such results. No not rely upon the dosages on the packet as both local media and news reports have exposed detergent makers on this side of the pond at least routinely suggest using more product than required. This makes sense as the sooner one uses up the stuff the faster one will purchase more in theory.

One thing to watch for is scale developing on your washing machine's heaters. Many washers here still do not have such things (none of the top loaders do for instance), thus you'll need to watch and see if hard water minearls are being dealt with properly in that regard.

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Post# 602642 6/11/2012 at 12:07 (344 days old) by logixx (Germany)
Been using my liquid Tide HE (and Method free + clear) for a couple of months and am fairly happy with the results. However, I recently tested the water at my new place and it's hard! Over 21 grains per gallon is what the test strip indicated. Well, the Tide bottle - just like Method - don't take water hardness into account at all. So what to do? Throw in some Calgon or up the dosage? And by how much? I can't say I'm not pleased by the cleaning performance but then I only use Tide/Method on lighly soiled darks/shirts respectively. Could there now be dirt hiding in these clothes? What I did notice is that towels came out softer from the dryer when adding twice as much powder to their wash cycle. Hm... Should I just pour an entire capful in there for a full load? Any guidelines to follow? As I said, Tide does not discuss the issue of water hardness at all - just soil level and load size. BTW: no wonder I never saw suds using the recommended amount of Tide. Even on a 140F wash... not a single bubble. Alex

Post# 602652 , Reply# 1 6/11/2012 at 13:04 (344 days old) by liberatordeluxe (Sudbury UK)
You donn't want to see suds especially in a front loader! Suds do not equal cleaning power and put there deliberately as apparently consumers like suds!

Post# 602693 , Reply# 2 6/11/2012 at 14:53 (344 days old) by Logixx (Germany)
I know one doesn't want a layer of foam in the wash with a front loader. I was mentioning that I can't see suds with the recommended amt. of Tide because some people complain about needing several rinse cycles to get the suds out even when using just a tablespoon or so.

Post# 602735 , Reply# 3 6/11/2012 at 17:34 (344 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande)
*Much Of Europe Has Water That Is Much Harder* Than anything found in the United States, so you probably need to adjust dosage accordingly. Happily P&G does extensive testing of Tide and other laundry detergents in different local USA markets to account for water hardness.Therefore if you know the mineral content of your local water (usually expressed in grains) a telephone call to the Tide consumer help line may be of use. Know from experience that when using French or German laundry detergents here one must use less, sometimes much less to prevent over dosage. Therefore it is reasonable to assume the reverse is true for American products used overseas.

Post# 602754 , Reply# 4 6/11/2012 at 18:40 (344 days old) by logixx (Germany)
Hardness is 21 gpg. Telephone call from here to the US? Maybe an email will do as well... Alex

Post# 602761 , Reply# 5 6/11/2012 at 18:56 (344 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande)
*Yes, Think There Is An Email Addy On The Packet* For Tide products. However if you mention you are out of the USA P&G may hand you the line their products are only tested and or meant for the American market.....

Post# 602972 , Reply# 6 6/12/2012 at 13:06 (343 days old) by mrwash (Germany)
*Email to P&G* Hey Alex, I would bei interested in the result (answer from P&G) as well as a bottle of Gain is waiting on the shelf to be used. I have no indication as well so I have to write a mail as well. But unfortunatly I don't have an email adress that ends with .com ( I don't know if it is necessary). So let me know what P&G will say, when they reply. Thanks

Post# 603003 , Reply# 7 6/12/2012 at 14:41 (343 days old) by Logixx (Germany)
Hallo! My emails address ends on .de as well... I just sent them a request via tide.com and we'll see how it turns out. They say to use 1/4 less in soft water but no menting of hard water. I suppose you'll need to reduce your dosage anyway in the Supertronic.

Post# 603119 , Reply# 8 6/12/2012 at 20:57 (342 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande)
Ok, To Help Put You Out Of Your Misery LOL Took a peep at a NOS vintage box of "Ultra 2" Tide powder from circa 1980's (?) and it also does not mention dosage by water hardness, only gives directions for load size/water level and degree of soiling. Looked at several other packets of detergents in my stash both recent and vintage none of which mention hard water. Indeed have to go back to stuff from the 1970's and before (Gain detergent) to find any mention of hard water. Even then directions state that the product works well in such water without the addition of packaged water softeners. However if one does have a problem in that regard to merely add more product rather than using other chemicals. This leads me to think that the surfactant blend found in modern detergents have been developed to deal with a wide variety of local market water conditions, including hard water. Again this would explain why we here in the states can use less, often much less of UK/European detergents. The water here for the most part softer than anything one finds across the pond. If your washing is coming out clean and does not show signs of dingy tattle-tale grey then would say stick to whatever dosage that gives such results. No not rely upon the dosages on the packet as both local media and news reports have exposed detergent makers on this side of the pond at least routinely suggest using more product than required. This makes sense as the sooner one uses up the stuff the faster one will purchase more in theory. One thing to watch for is scale developing on your washing machine's heaters. Many washers here still do not have such things (none of the top loaders do for instance), thus you'll need to watch and see if hard water minearls are being dealt with properly in that regard.

Post# 603159 , Reply# 9 6/13/2012 at 01:34 (342 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))
The US market is as wide as anyone else's. And the detergent sellers as secretive. Seems they don't want to tell you ANYthing. Not on the box anyway. Not what's in it, not how it adapts to different water supplies, not how to adapt it to soil level. That's not entirely their fault. Their market research tells them that the majority of users don't WANT to "know" anything. So it's OUR fault (the bulk of buyers) who prefer to remain stupid and just be handed a scoop and told to fill it to a line. It depends on what type skin you have. What kind of work you do. What kind of water you have. What kind of machine you have. The general rule is, just enough to generate SOME suds. That's a datapoint because detergents are also sequestrants. They suspend otherwise insoluble soil. If you don't put enough to perform the suspension, the detergent will loosen it but it will redeposit and you don't want that. If it's sudsing lightly, it has some suspension ability left over and that's just where you want it. If it's NOT sudsing, it's saturated with oils and will redeposit as soap scum. If it's OVERsudsing, that can be a problem for rinsing and for the machine spinning.

Post# 603634 , Reply# 10 6/14/2012 at 16:41 (341 days old) by Logixx (Germany)
*Just got a reply* Hello Alexander, Thank you for contacting Tide, You would want to use 1/3 more of the detergent when measureing for hard water. Thank you for writing. Resha Tide Team

Post# 603918 , Reply# 11 6/15/2012 at 16:41 (340 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande)
*Detergent Content Information* It may not always be in the packets, but for P&G laundry products you can find content listed on their website.