Detergents are sold in bottles that note the number of ounces inside as well as the number of loads of wash the bottle will do. It turns out that manufacturers have a few tricks up their sleeve to virtually ensure that you don’t get the number of loads the bottles promise.
Trick #1: In the case of 100 ounce Tide, the front of the bottle indicates that you get 64 uses from this product.
 *MOUSE PRINT:
The 64 uses is based on a “medium load”, that is only filling the cap up to line 1, which is roughly one-third full:
Most consumers have big capacity washers and probably don’t do “medium loads” as their normal load, and thus will never get the claimed number of washes for the typical-size loads. Large loads require filling the cap to line 2, and who knows what line 3 is for. Filling the cap to line 2 will only yield approximately 50 uses, rather than 64. Interestingly, line three is the only line that goes completely around the entire inside of the cap, so it is the most visible from any angle, and possibly the one that most people might use.
Trick #2: Related to this, the cap is larger than any load size, so unthinking users who may have been used to products that required you to use a capful of product, will really deplete the bottle quickly. In fact, you will get fewer than 25 loads from the 64 load bottle if you do so. Think this is an accident?
“Take a cap and look at where the lines are—nowhere near the top,” says Adam Lowry, co-founder of San Francisco-based Method. “That’s not accidental. In an extremely mature market like laundry, for established players to grow they have to either steal share or get people to use more,” Mr. Lowry says. “They are trying to dupe people into using more product than they need.” — Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2010
P&G of course denies that its caps are designed to trick users.
Trick #3: Tide defines “load” differently depending on what they are trying to accomplish. Sample packages of Tide Ultra when it first came out were marked “1 Load” and probably did a good job on the average person’s large washload. Large washload? Yes, the amount of detergent in the packet was enough to almost fill their cap to line 2 (see picture below) — for large washloads. So P&G seems to say that one load should be enough to do a large wash when they are trying to impress their customers with a free sample, but they are not putting the equivalent amount of detergent per load in the bottles they sell.
According to the Wall Street Journal, P&G is about to introduce new caps on their various brands of liquid detergent, to make the markings clearer.
For now, just don’t expect to get the promised number of loads if you do normal-sized washes.
I must admit that I probably fill it up to line 3 most of the time as those lines are almost invisible. However, I never pay attention to the number of loads indicated on bottles as I always expected those numbers to be full of BS. Tide does a good job in the washer and I believe they were rated best one year by consumer reports, but Tide it’s way too expensive for me, so having to do laundry for two kids I go with the cheapest they have.
Just another reason I use powdered detergent in a large-capacity Fisher-Paykel washer that pre-dissolves the detergent. I can get at least the number of loads printed on the box, and sometimes more …. simply by using about half of the recommended amount of detergent. In my high-efficiency washer, I only need about 2 tablespoons of detergent for a full load. Makes a big difference when you are a single mom of two boys who’s trying to live on a very tight budget.
The very notion of using expensive detergents went out with the tide (pun intended!) years ago. I’ve been using box store brands for as long as I can remember and have never had problems with it. The cost savings – even filling the cap more than necessary – is far more greater than using the name brands.
I also learned some years ago that the amount listed for use on the bottle is typically 1/3 more than is ACTUALLY req’d for the load (at least with powders–I can only assume the same trick applies to liquid.) Long ago I reduced the soap per load by that 1/3 & my clothes still come out clean & smelling good.
Just another reason why I make my own. Makes it very inexpensive.
You did this story already. check your records from July 2008:
July 21, 2008
iPhone and Tide: Twice the Power for Half the Amount?
Edgar replies: Myra… the story a year and a half ago was about a change in the concentration of Tide that allowed users to use half the amount. The story above is not about that, but rather the games that P&G is playing with what constitutes a “load” and the markings on the cap.
I’ve been doing huge loads and filling my cap to the lowest line for a long time, even before these ‘super detergents’ hit the market. I’ve never had my clothes come out anything but clean and fresh.
I always us tide powder, about half the recomened amount and get great results. I have tried store brands and found them to be terrible, even when using more than directed. Martin,I am interested to know how to make your own.
Grate 1 bar of Fels-Naptha
1 cup of Washing Powder (Arm & Hammer)
1 cup of Borax
full load use 1/4 cup
This will not suds up but put it in first to dissolve.
You can get most of these at the local supermarket and the cost is very low as the Borax comes in a large box and will last a while as does the Washing Powder.
It works just as well as the ones me and my wife had been buying. There is no scent to this method.
Before this we always did use Tide as it was the better of the market brands. It is to bad they seem to use deceptive marketing to get you to use more than needed but that seems to be the way of most US marketing schemes nowadays.
I use Arm & Hammer rather than Tide, and powder, not liquid. A couple of years ago, they came out with a smaller box. In the upper left corner, the old “40 LOADS” was crossed out and “46” written beside it. Smaller box, lighter weight, and it didn’t say anything like “more concentrated.” The scoop inside was unchanged in size or in where the load lines were, so how was it suddenly more loads? It was more dollars, though!
Two years later, they still haven’t changed the crossed out “40 LOADS” with the “46” beside it.
That’s pretty interesting. Usually I pay attention to tricks like that, but I don’t buy the detergent in my house so that probably is why. However, I do completely fill that washing machine, so I’m probably using the right amount by filling that cap. And when I put less clothes in I don’t use a full cap. Honestly, I don’t even know if there are fill lines in that cap. I never look, haha. I’m going to now though.
It’s always interesting to see the different ways companies try to trick people into buying their stuff or buying more of their stuff than needed.
Edgar replies: Mike, you are absolutely using more detergent than is required, maybe double the amount needed.
Eh, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for consumers to read the directions. Obviously, if you use more than one serving of detergent per load, you’re not going to get as many loads — just like if you pour more than one serving of cereal into your bowl, you won’t get as many servings as the box says. At least Tide is nice enough to give you a measuring cup with a line for one load. If you’re too stupid to fill it to the line rather than filling it all the way to the top, it’s your own fault.
I too, make my own laundry detergent, using the same recipe as a previous poster,
[Grate 1 bar of Fels-Naptha
1 cup of Washing Soda (Arm & Hammer) NOT BAKING SODA!
1 cup of Borax]
but I cover the soap in a pan with about 2 or 3 inches of water, and heat on the stove over low heat till the soap dissolves, (about 5 minutes), then stir in the Washing Soda, and the borax, stir till dissolved. You can add some essential oils or soap fragrance oil at this stage if desired, I use lavender, or fresh rain, or a mixture of peppermint and eucalyptus. Then put 4 1/2 gallons of hot water in a 5 gallon bucket, and pour the soap mixture, while stirring, into the water. Cover, let sit overnight, and it will thicken to a gel-like consistency. I scoop out about slightly less than a 1/2 cup for my large capacity whirlpool, and it works great. Low suddsing, good for the HE machines, better for the environment, no plastic jugs, or crazy chemicals. You can purchase the ingredients at most grocery stores, or order on line from soapsgonebuy.com.
It costs around 4 cents per load….
Has anyone found the “2x concentrated” claim to be a bunch of hooey? I’ve been using Tide for a long time. If they really changed it to be more concentrated, shouldn’t it be thicker? It definitely is not, if anything it is less thick. I feel really shafted by P&G.
Tide is still up to something. I just bought a larger bottle of HE Tide from Sam’s Club and noticed that there are actually 3 lines on the clear cap. However, line one is a partial line and is completely covered up by a sticker. Some things never change.