What do you guys use, and why? I’m looking for a cheap to mid-priced alternative to the Sun detergent I’m using now.
I’ve been using liquid Purex for years. I get it at WalMart, so it’s pretty cheap. And I think my clothes look clean and bright and all that.
I use detergent and oxygen booster from Oxy-Boost. It seems to work better than the big-name stuff I used before (Tide, specifically). Plus I prefer not to have a portion of my money go into annoying TV commercials.
I’ve been using Arm & Hammer for years now. It works pretty well (I hope. Nobody’s been saying how my clothes are so dingy.), and doesn’t break the old budget.
I used to use FreshStart, but since it is impossible to find now a days I use Cheer Free*. I buy it at Costco so it usually isn’t that pricey
*no dyes or perfumes
I alternate between powdered Surf (sparkling ocean) and liquid All (fresh rain) just because I like how they smell. I tend to stockpile them when they’re on sale and I have coupons.
GT
I’m quite happy with the five-gallon bucket o’detergent I get at Costco. My clothes are clean and smell fine, and I’ve never been irritated by it.
I use liquid All. Right now I have a big bottle of Citrus breeze scent, which is orange in color and makes clothes smell really good. It cleans well, and isn’t too expensive. All also comes in other scents, if that’s your thing, and a Free and Clear version without dyes and perfumes. My parents use that at home because my mother cannot tolerate many dyes and perfumes, and she doesn’t like Cheer Free for reasons I have not asked about yet. We also use Spray n Wash stain sticks for pretreating, since we are slobs.
All free clear. Clothes come out clean and smelling like, well, clothes, instead of smelling like a perfume factory. They also come out clean. We buy the industrial sized container at Sams Club.
Vlad/Igor
Besides, lifting that great big bottle is excellent exercise. 
I use the generic, “no-name” version available from the local supermarket for about 40% of the price of all the other brands.
Tide, currently, I think. But that’s because someone else does my laundry for me. When I’m washing, it’s the ten pound box of powder for $1.79.
I use All Free and Clear liquid. Sometimes Cheer Free and sometimes Tide Free if they’re on sale, but usually the All Free and Clear is least expensive.
I can’t use the cheap stuff because it gives me a rash.
Ditto! Although I have used the liquid ALL, too. I always buy the “free” kind, because we have allergies around here.
I use the Arm & Hammer Dye & Perfume Free, liquid. Liquid detergent is one of the joys of not being on a student budget anymore.
I entered this thread, though, to recommend Shout Color Catcher sheets. While this does add slightly to the cost of each load, I find it makes a dramatic difference in how long my whites stay white and my colors stay bright. I wear a lot of 100% cotton, especially knits, and when I consider the cost of these washer sheets compared to cost of clothes, I think the sheets are a pretty good deal.
Hmm. Such an array of answers. From these, it seems that there may not be that much of a difference in the different detergents? My parents have used Gain for years, and I was thinking of switching to that just because I like the way it smells.
Re: the shout color catcher sheets: Do you not wash your whites and colors separately?
I separate darks, lights, and whites. I’ll occasionally bleach my whites. And the non-whites may further be separated into heavy weight (jeans) and lighter weight. And I always wash in cold, except when I bleach - then I use warm.
2 things:
- I use the big 10 gallon bucket stuff from Sam’s Club and have never had a problem with it.
and - thanks for reminding me that I have clothes in the washer!
<off to dryer now>
I used to use sun. I quit because I thought it didn’t work, but maybe i’m just washing my clothes wrong. I currently use liquid Era.
We use Arm and Hammer Perfume and Dye Free. When Charlie was a baby it was the only thing that didn’t seem to give him a rash. It works so we never changed back.