Liquid vs powerd laundry detergent?

Liquid vs powerd laundry detergent I have no problem with either. I'm pro what's best for the environment and read before that buying powdered detergent is better than the liquid as it saves water being used? Someone with more thorough knowledge on going green please help clarify.Thanks.

Asked by cera11 55 months ago Similar questions: Liquid powerd laundry detergent Science > Chemistry.

Similar questions: Liquid powerd laundry detergent.

There really isn't a blanket answer to this, it will depend on what's in the detergent Some powdered detergents have friendlier ingredients, but this isn't necessarily always true. I don't think the type of detergent you use is going to impact how much water you use unless you alter the wash settings. Since powdered detergent is more difficult to dissolve in cold water, for some powders you'd need to use warm or hot water to get it to dissolve properly which requires more electricity than using a liquid and washing in cold water.So liquids would have the upper hand in that case.

Also, liquids tend to be ultra concentrated, which means you can use less and need to recycle fewer containers than you would with a powder which has much bulkier packaging. But if you want to be really environmentally friendly, you'd need to check the ingredients of the detergent to determine if anything it contains is harmful. Since this isn't always easy, you might want to switch to something that claims to be green to begin with.

There are a number of natural soaps out there, and here's just a short listing:* Ecover (ecover.com, 800-449-4925) offers nontoxic powder and liquid detergents, as well as a detergent for delicates. * Natural Choices Home Safe Products (oxyboost.com, 866-699-2667) sells Oxyprime, nontoxic laundry detergent, and Allergy Free, detergent for people with chemical sensitivities. * Sun & Earth (800-596-7233, ext.

11, sunandearth.com) offers a “Deep Cleaning Formula” laundry detergent. * Seventh Generation (802-658-3773, www.seventhgeneration.com) sells nontoxic liquid and powder laundry detergent, as well as Free and Clear fragrance-free laundry detergent and a detergent for baby clothes. http://www.consciouschoice.com/2005/cc1801/livinggreen1801.htmlThe same site where I got those products mentions problems with bleach and fabric softeners, too.

These tips make sense:For whitening:* Use a non-chlorine bleach, such as oxygen bleaches like Oxyboost, available from Natural Choices Home Safe Products. Also, Ecover offers two natural, chlorine-free bleaches, one made with hydrogen peroxide, and one with percarbonate. * Soak clothes overnight in a solution of one part hydrogen peroxide to eight parts cold water.

Wash as normal. For softening fabric:* Add 1/2 cup baking soda to the rinse cycle of your wash. You can also try a commercial green fabric softener like Natural Choices Home Safe Products’s Safe ‘N Soft, Ecover’s Natural Fabric Softener, or Sun & Earth’s Ultra Fabric Softener.

**************Those are the main thoughts that come to mind. Remember, try to use warm water instead of hot and cold water whenever possible. And don't use a dryer if you can air dry your clothes.

Those are just some basic thoughts but I hope they help! Sources: http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/sustainability/laundrydetergent_en.html .

Compact liquid detergent and compact powder are a draw. This website has a great illustrated table that you should go check out to see the exact comparisons (It's from the UK, but the results should be similar for the States):

The lowdown: Compact powder and compact liquid come out as pretty much a draw- powder has lower impact in terms of packaging, aquatic toxicity and eutrophication, while compact liquid is lower in terms of ozone depletion and photochemical smog. The text, which may have more detail than you're looking for:Introduction Within the last 15 years our lives have become more hectic than ever.

We now access global information at the touch of a button, keep our mobile phones handy for any eventuality, and as consumers, we have become accustomed to the “get-it-now” life style. Our detergents have also kept up with this trend. The last decade and a half has seen the move from the traditional “big-box” laundry detergents, to the compact versions, and the most recent innovation, unit dose systems.In earlier studies we showed that when the compact powders of 1998 were compared to the regular powders of 1988, there was a 50% decrease in overall environmental impact.

The unit dose systems were introduced in powdered tablets form in 1999, and the liquid unit dose systems came onto the market in 2001. Those detergents let you toss a sachet or tablet into the wash with the correct dosage, simply dissolving into the water without the bother of measurements and spillage? With these innovative products becoming a large part of our busy lifestyle, there are still many questions about these products.

We can ask ourselves; “Are compact detergents still the best option from an environmental perspective? What about these new forms of detergents like the liquid sachets and tablets? What impact do they have on the environment compared to other detergent types?

How can we asses environmental impact? Use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)! We conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) by comparing the environmental profiles of 5 types of laundry detergents from the Ariel brand marketed in 2001 in the United Kingdom (regular powder, compact powder, powder tablets, compact liquid, and liquid unit dose systems or sachets), throughout their entire life cycle (“cradle to grave”).

The life cycle stages we looked at were: manufacturing of the ingredients, product formulation, packaging, distribution from the P&G plant to retailers, consumer use, and disposal via the sewage water treatment plant. For each detergent type we chose the size and packaging with the largest market share and considered one wash cycle using recommended dosage. Compacts – What did the LCA tell us?

The short answer is that environmentally speaking, both the liquid and powder compact detergents are still better. We saw reductions on total energy consumption, CO2 emission and solid waste for compact powders and compact liquids. This is because they use the least amount of chemicals when we compared them to today’s regular powders.

We should add however, even with the differences we found, no detergent really outperformed each other. The table allows a direct comparison of the environmental impact categories of the various detergent products.It illustrates that within the powder category, compact powder is the preferred detergent type. None of the parameters were classified to be of highest impact, but compared to the other powdered detergents, it has the highest number of ‘low impact classification’.

Compact liquid is for the same reason the preferred detergent variant within the liquid category. Even with the observed differences, it should also be acknowledged that there is no single detergent type clearly outperforming all the others on all parameters. The classification process is done in four steps.

First, the highest and lowest value is determined for each parameter. Second, the middle value (MV) is calculated by taking the average from both values. Third, a lower limit value (LLV) is calculated as 80% of the MV.

Similarly, a higher limit value (HLV) is calculated by adding 20% to the MV. Fourth, all parameters are compared to the LLV and HLV. Numbers equal or below the LLV are classified as “L”, numbers equal or greater than the HLV classified as “H” and all other values are classified “M”.

The benefit of this presentation is that it is very meticulous, since it takes only the extreme values to calculate the MV, LLV and HLV.In a table format, it allows for a quick evaluation of strengths and weaknesses for each parameter and product variant. For LCA studies, this is extremely helpful given the number of parameters and product variants. However, the weakness of this presentation is that results are transferred from a continuous scale to a discrete system with 3 classes and working with an arbitrary cut-off rule of 20% vs. the MV.As a consequence, it is impossible to discriminate between large and extremely large differences.

What about the effects of all types of detergents on other environmental impact categories? Which detergent has the lowest potential impact? The environmental impact categories selected for this study were: acidification (production of acid rain and its effects on lakes), aquatic toxicity, eutrophication (over enrichment of nutrients in lakes and rivers), human toxicity, climate change, ozone depletion and the production of smog.

For the eutrophication impact category, the score is only driven by the release of organic matters. None of our laundry detergents on the Western European market contain phosphate. ** Both powder and liquid compacts use less detergent per wash than the other forms of detergents and require less packaging.

Because they release a lower number of chemicals into the environment, they perform better in almost all impact categories. Eutrophication is higher for liquid detergents as they release a higher amount of organic chemicals into the aquatic environment. **How do powder tablets and liquid unit dose systems stack up?

We can put all these results into perspective with earlier studies that we have conducted. We saw that with the introduction of new technologies, traditional powders have improved to such an extent, that the difference in environmental impact between the laundry detergents is now much smaller. For example, if we just look at aquatic toxicity for both liquids and powders, we see a clear decrease of the regular powders of 1988 to the regular powders of 2001!

The LCA based on one wash cycle, showed that there are no significant environmental benefits associated with these new forms of detergents as their environmental profiles are very similar. However, unit dose systems, because they allow for better control of dosage and are more concentrated (only 50 ml for liquid-tab) represents a great opportunity for reducing the total chemical usage and emission associated with the laundering process. This means less chemicals released into the environment.

These forms however, still use more packaging to protect the tablets and sachets from breaking and leaking. Our scientists continue to try to find new and innovative ways to further reduce packaging. And as always, watch the Wash Stage!

The use stage was a dominant factor in the study. Electricity and associated emissions for heating water in the washing machine provided an 80% contribution to the study. This wash temperature and energy consumption have the highest influence on the overall impact on the environment.

This means that by following the washing instructions of the detergent, you will be getting maximum benefits each time you wash! Read the peer review scientific article from which the PDF documents were created: G. Van Hoof, D.

Schowanek, TCJ Feijtel (2003). Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of laundry detergent formulations in the UK. Part I: Environmental fingerprint of five detergent formulations in 2001.

Tenside Put into File basket G. Van Hoof, D. Schowanek, TCJ Feijtel, G.

Boeije, PH Masscheleyn (2003). Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of laundry detergent formulations in the UKPart II: Time trend analysis and wash equivalent comparison (1988 – 2001). Tenside Put into File basket Saouter E, Van Hoof G (2002):A database for the life cycle evaluation of Procter & Gamble laundry detergent.

International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. 7(2) 103-114 (2002). Sources: http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/sustainability/laundrydetergent_en.html .

Depends on your washing machine I know that when I purchased my washing machine I bought one which has a water saving feature. The machine automatically puts in the amount of water necessary for teh weight of clothes inside it - the amount of water is not determined by the detergent. I use about 1/4 of the amount of detergent that is recommended by the detergent company and find that it always rinses out fine.

Sources: my opinion .

1 Thank you all for your inputs. Very insightful. I've read a ton of articles and some are contradicting, that's why I got confused.

I use Seventh Generation and Ecover. I wonder if anyone has comments on OxiClean and Mrs. Meyer's products? Mrs. Meyer's seem to focus on aromatherapy, or so it looked like based on the ingredients.

Thank you all for your inputs. Very insightful. I've read a ton of articles and some are contradicting, that's why I got confused.

I use Seventh Generation and Ecover. I wonder if anyone has comments on OxiClean and Mrs. Meyer's products? Mrs. Meyer's seem to focus on aromatherapy, or so it looked like based on the ingredients.

2 Well, I've used OxiClean before and does a good job, but I'm not sure about its environmental friendliness. Its site claims it's eco-friendly, but note this:Hydrogen peroxide is one of two potentially hazardous components of OxiClean Active Stain Remover, which still is less toxic and more environmentally friendly than many competitors' products, according to Orange Glo. The stain remover also contains dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, a relatively mild but still toxic agent.

The product's label warns users to keep the spray away from kids and pets, and to avoid any contact with eyes as well as long-term contact with skin. bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2004/05/0... not speaking directly to the issue of the laundry detergent, but to their products in general which all use hydrogen peroxide if I'm not mistaken. I haven't tried Mrs. Meyer's, Seventh Gen.

Or Ecover, so I won't comment. As to why it's so confusing, it's all about marketing. Being eco-friendly is good for a product's sales, so advocates will highlight the good and ignore the bad of any particular product.

But being eco-friendly is also very complex. What may be beneficial in one sense (like not containing toxic chemicals) may be detrimental in another (by requiring more water or hotter temperatures to dissolve). So there aren't always clear answers and the information out there tends to conflict.

All you can do is try to make the best choice based on what information you have and hope you're picking the right thing.

Well, I've used OxiClean before and does a good job, but I'm not sure about its environmental friendliness. Its site claims it's eco-friendly, but note this:Hydrogen peroxide is one of two potentially hazardous components of OxiClean Active Stain Remover, which still is less toxic and more environmentally friendly than many competitors' products, according to Orange Glo. The stain remover also contains dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether, a relatively mild but still toxic agent.

The product's label warns users to keep the spray away from kids and pets, and to avoid any contact with eyes as well as long-term contact with skin. bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2004/05/0... not speaking directly to the issue of the laundry detergent, but to their products in general which all use hydrogen peroxide if I'm not mistaken. I haven't tried Mrs. Meyer's, Seventh Gen.

Or Ecover, so I won't comment. As to why it's so confusing, it's all about marketing. Being eco-friendly is good for a product's sales, so advocates will highlight the good and ignore the bad of any particular product.

But being eco-friendly is also very complex. What may be beneficial in one sense (like not containing toxic chemicals) may be detrimental in another (by requiring more water or hotter temperatures to dissolve). So there aren't always clear answers and the information out there tends to conflict.

All you can do is try to make the best choice based on what information you have and hope you're picking the right thing.

" "if I run out af laundry detergent, whats the nest best thing?" "what is the best laundry detergent" "There's got to be a recipe out there to make laundry detergent. Does anyone have any ideas? " "Is laundry detergent really necessary?(see details)" "where can I purchase bold laundry detergent in northwest montana" "Is special laundry detergent for baby clothes really necessary?" "Can you use Persil laundry detergent in a front-loader?

" "seventh generation laundry detergent for HE washer.

There's got to be a recipe out there to make laundry detergent. Does anyone have any ideas?

Where can I purchase bold laundry detergent in northwest montana.

Seventh generation laundry detergent for HE washer.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.