Laundry booster v stain remover

Can’t help you, but I use a bio powder, usually Sainsbury own and it gets stains out, laundry comes out just fine.Is there really a need for all the extras around laundry that they want to sell?

Not an expert but the Reckitt site lists the ingredients in different Vanish products in the order of major to minor ingredients athough it doesn’t say what percentage of each is included. Maybe the tubs do?

www.rbeuroinfo.com/s/brands/products?country=UK&language=en_GB&brand=61

Laundry Boost and Stain Remover look broadly the same. The major ingredients in both are:

• sodium carbonate peroxide (a compound washing soda and bleach),
• sodium carbonate (washing soda) and
• sodium sulfate (a bulk filler and flow agent - stops the other ingredients clumping together)
• tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED).

Hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work well at temperatures below 40 degrees. The TAED is there to react with the peroxide to produce a stronger bleaching agent when washing at lower temperatures.

If you search on “what’s the difference between” … AI says: Vanish stain removers are designed to tackle set-in stains through pre-treatment or soaking, while a Vanish laundry booster is added to the wash to enhance overall cleaning, prevent colour transfer, and maintain fabric brightness, acting as a pre-soak for the entire load. The primary difference is in their application and scope: stain removers focus on specific spots, whereas boosters enhance the entire wash cycle for a general boost in cleaning and colour care.

Also, if you search on “what is best bio powder or non-bio powder plus Vanish?” AI says:

A bio powder is better for general, tougher stain removal and energy efficiency as its enzymes work well at lower temperatures [presumably they contain TAED], while a non-bio detergent plus Vanish is preferable for sensitive skin, delicate fabrics, or when dealing with milder stains. Vanish provides powerful stain removal comparable to bio detergents, so you can use it as an add-in with a non-bio detergent to achieve strong cleaning results for both sensitive skin and stubborn stains.

To add some further info: Stains can be grouped into: enzymatic, oxidisable, greasy, and particulate though many stains are a mix of those e.g. a tomato pasta sauce would be oxidisable from the red of the tomato and greasy from the oils

• Enzymatic stains include blood, grass and chocolate.

• Oxidisable are the brightly coloured stains including tea, coffee and red wine and need a bleaching agent to remove.

• Greasy stains include, cooking oils, butters, personal care products, motor oils and need a surfectant to make them dissolve in water.

• Particulate stains include dirt, mud, clay and soot which contain solid particles that get embedded in fibres.

This link gives more inforrmation.

www.compoundchem.com/2015/06/18/stain-removal/

I hope that helps.

I use ACE stain remover. It is liquid and comes in a greenish bottle. Just add it to washing machine.

Thanks for this really informative reply Paynesgrey. I found the Ricketts site too, after I posted. It lists the ingredients of both products, but not what they're there for, so your additional information is interesting. An ingredient that's in the stain remover and not in the booster, is Sodium C10-13 Alkyl Benzenesulfonate, while Copolymer of 1-vinylimidazole and 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone is in the booster but not the stain remover 🤔
I wonder what they each do.

I did the same as you have; eliminate the common ingredients to see what’s left.

Sodium C10-13 alkyl benzenesulfonate is a synthetic surfactant used in cleaning products to lower water's surface tension and remove dirt and oil. It’s also found in shampoos and dishwashing liquids.

Copolymer of 1-vinylimidazole and 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone is a dye transfer inhibitor.

I am going to be controversial and perhaps stupid here.
I am 88 and when I was young washing day comprised using bar soap, white Windsor was a favourite, a tub of very hot water , a posser and a scrubbing brush.
Clothes were washed, rinsed in the sink, whites were boiled in either a boiler with a fire under it , very dangerous and unsightly or a gas boiler.
It took all day but …. we didn’t have children with multiple allergies, ADHD , autism etc.
Is there a link with all those chemicals listed above, or am I just being very silly?

I don’t think you’re being silly as regards allergies there are so many chemicals and food additives as well that it’s a possible source.
On spectrum disorders there is no link.

This is really a question for a whole new thread I know but where do all these disorders come from?
We have a very badly affected 16 year old whose condition is affecting our lives to a great extent.
When I was young we had naughty children in school, but generally they outgrew it , perhaps not all but most I kept in touch with turned out well when they realised what life was about.
Nobody grows out of Autism and the other spectrum disorders.

Most of the ingredients in washing detergents are derived from mineral salts.

The main ingredient in Windsor soap is sodium palmate with its links to deforestation and loss of biodiversity as well as causing skin and respiratory conditions.

utbb they were often hidden away by ashamed families, placed into institutions , called ‘backward’, ‘retarded’ and heavily medicated.

I agree with you Jaxjacky. Two first cousins of Queen Elizabeth Second were institutionalised because they were born with learning difficulties. That's going back many years.

Sorry DotScot!

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202510/medium-1w4qin-17597556973767905263848124902317.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202510/medium-5e51c0-17597558654936510739327368983010.jpg

I train in Shotokan karate and our uniforms are white. I've never washed them with anything other than white stuff. However, eventually I've found myself comparing my karate suits with other students and coming up..... well...*yellow*! What a difference now I've started using a 'whitener' powder along with my detergent. I pour it in the drum rather than the drawer, so it doesn't clump. Both the own brands in the photo work like magic. Maybe not particularly environmentally friendly though...

Usedtobeblonde

This is really a question for a whole new thread I know but where do all these disorders come from?
We have a very badly affected 16 year old whose condition is affecting our lives to a great extent.
When I was young we had naughty children in school, but generally they outgrew it , perhaps not all but most I kept in touch with turned out well when they realised what life was about.
Nobody grows out of Autism and the other spectrum disorders.

No, but many of us simply learned coping mechanisms to fit in, many simply withdrew, and some have ongoing mental health issues for being what they are not. I am not autistic, I am just an "introspective introvert with issues in relating" - make what you will of that. My friend has a diagnosis at the age of 47, having taught school for decades and a breakdown.

I do however, having worked with children for years, think there is a balance between ensuring that they get the genuine support they need, and allowing some of them to be naughty simply because they know they can - autism does not equal stupidity.

I do miss Biotex. I put a little Napisan into whites.

I also use a soap bar on immediate stains and it still works the way my gran used it.

But our fabrics are different, and this trend for cooler wash does mean that we have additives to remove the "bugs"

I recently discovered Pink Laundry Stain Remover. It does what other more expensive brands failed to do. It actually removes the stain!

Scrubbing brush, carbolic soap and plenty of elbow grease.

Have. you tried Biotex?

Think Asda may still sell it.

Not being on mains water, our tap water often has a tinge of yellow from the peat . even with a particle and UV filter. This has caused some of my whites to look rather yellow as they are acting as a filter. I do not want to add bleach etc in case it damages the septic tank and the stream. I have to pick wash day very carefully.

Wow! What an amazing answer! I’d no idea - thank you!

That was in reply to PaynesGrey’s answer.

Soda crystals.