Gain vs. Tide

[TheLittleRoo]

I always used Tide but in a pinch recently I bought some Gain. I love the way it smells but I notice it doesn't get my clothes clean. In particular, my white dishtowels look as dirty as when I went to wash them, and my son's socks are dingy on the bottom.

I never bought Tide with bleach, just the regular Tide, so it's not an unfair comparison of Gain w/o to Tide With. Neither has bleach but Tide seemed to do so much better.

I'd like to try the Kirkland brand but they went to HE formulation only, so I'm stuck with $10 Tide (on sale, when I'm lucky enough to find it on sale).

Anyone else notice this too, and did anything else work as good as Tide?

 

[fkj2]

I used to be a faithful Tide user until I tried Sears brand detergent. It's called Ultra Plus, and there's a form with bleach too. Of course, I watch the ads to buy when it's on sale.

 

[pixiewings71]

I have never found anything that works as good as Tide. I even tried the Kirkland brand for a few months but went back because my clothes looked dingy and they were pilling. Went back to Tide and I've had no problems since. I do use Kirkland brand fabric softener though, that works great for us.

 

[Vijoge]

My DM's best friend used Tide 50 years ago and mom always commented that her friend had the whitest laundry in town. (That was back when everyone hung their wash outside on the clothesline for all the world to see.)

I'm allergic to Tide so I don't use it but I think it's still doing the job it was doing back then.

 

[RobinFabulous]

I love Gain, I LOVE the smell. I've never noticed that it doesn't get the clothes clean, except if I overload the washer. Jonah gets filthy and all of his clothes look clean after they're laundered

 

[SandrA9810]

My aunt was a purix fan, so I used that growing up. And I've tossed between brands over the past few years, usually when something goes on sale.
But as of late, I've gone to arm and harmer's essentials detergant and dryer sheets, mountain rain scent. And use store brand mountain fresh softener in the wash.

I sometimes find it on sale at Target, but usually I can find the bottles with a coupon for a mail in rebate for the dryer sheets. I know you go through 2 or 3 bottles for one box of sheets, but that's still like 3.50$ savings.

I don't think there's anything that could help Kari's dingy socks, but I have found it to be the best at getting the dirty dingy smell out of the clothes. Some of the other brands still left our clothes smelling like sweat after they got washed. But this works well. And I find it to be reasonably priced for a bottle. But since it's only us two, I don't know how long a 30 load bottle would last for a family.

 

[TheRatPack]

I absolutely LOVED Gain Apple Mango Tango, but was noticing a lot of grease type spots left on our darker shirts and clothing. So I switched back to Tide with Downy scent.....and I use bleach in all our towels/socks/sheets. It's more expensive, but in the long run I think I was spending more on stain removers and water to rewash a few loads here and there when I used Gain.

 

[GoofyFairie]

Have you tried All Free and Clear? I have found if I put it directly on stains it removes 99% of them. DH tractor grease is one thing it doesn't and I haven't found anything except AJAX dishsoap that will get that out. It is also a whole lot cheaper than TIDE!

 

[TomD]

HIGH-EFFICIENCY(HE) DETERGENTS
Cheers 2x Ultra Concentrated
Gain 2x Ultra Concentrated

CONVENTIONAL DETERGENTS
Tide 2x ultra concentrated for Cold water
Gain 2x Ultra concentrated with bleach alternative
Great Value everday elegance (walmart)

 

[fivefordisney]

Here are the ratings from Consumer Reports:

Conventional Detergents/ Overall Scores

Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated With a Touch of Downy 85
Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated for Cold Water 79
Tide With Bleach With Color Clean 79 powder
Gain 2X Ultra Concentrated With Bleach Alternative 78
Cheer 2X Ultra Concentrated Dark Formula Color Guard 74
Tide Cold Water 67 powder
Great Value Everyday Elegance 2X Ultra (Wal-Mart) 65
Tide With a Touch of Downy 64 powder
Arm & Hammer Clean Burst With Color-Safe Bleach 62 powder
All 3X Concentrated Small & Mighty Stainlifter 62
Gain plus a Touch of Softness 61 powder
Purex Plus Fabric Softener 58
Purex Ultra Concentrate Plus Renuzit Fresh Scent 58
Purex Ultra Concentrate With Color Safe Bleach Alternative 56
Cheer Original Color Guard 55 powder
ShopRite Ultra Free 'N Clear 55
Purex Ultra Concentrate Natural Elements 54
Arm & Hammer New 2X Concentrate Clean Burst 54 powder
Sears Ultra Plus Stain Fighting Formula 9835 54
Arm & Hammer New 2X Concentrate Essentials Mountain Rain 48
Arm & Hammer New 2X Concentrate Free of Perfume & Dye 48
Xtra New 2X Concentrate SentSations Spring Sunshine 43
Sun Burst Clean and Fresh 2X Double Concentrated 41

 

[HunnyPots]

Beats me, I buy the generic stuff and my clothes some out just fine!

 

[tasha99]

Every time I decide to go to something cheaper, I end up getting Tide again after the bottle is emptier. I've noticed more oil type stains and dinginess with non-Tide detergents. We buy generic of most things, but with detergent I can tell a difference.

 

[travlnman1]

Gain lover here.
My clothes get clean with it.
I have a HE washer as well.

 

[daleswife]

Beats me, I buy the generic stuff and my clothes some out just fine!

ME TOO!!!! My DH is allergic to tide so i cant use it anyway.......
ive used gain and i like it......but i really like arm and hammer with oxyclean!!!

 

[ticktock]

Nothing is as good as Tide. Try using less Tide. I have a front loader and instead of using HE I just use regular Tide but barely cover the bottom of the cup. My clothes still come out clean and I use a THIRD of the detergent I use to. Start cutting back on the amount you use until it no longer cleans well. Also unless you have static cling don't use fabric softener. I never use it and my clothes are always soft out of the dryer and my water is so hard you could cut it with a knife.

 

[Minnie's Pal]

Tide

 

[lucigo]

My DM's best friend used Tide 50 years ago and mom always commented that her friend had the whitest laundry in town. (That was back when everyone hung their wash outside on the clothesline for all the world to see.)

I'm allergic to Tide so I don't use it but I think it's still doing the job it was doing back then.

I'm allergic to Tide also - BLECH!! I can't even go in my friends houses that use it.