Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
jbug2003

Persil/Ver Nel vs. MieleCare

jbug2003
10 years ago

Hello all. I am a laundry addict as well. Here is my dilemma...

We have a water softener. Therefore, I assume I should be using the lower dosages of powdered or megaperl detergents. I have an LG frontloader, 3.6 cubic ft. I almost always wash full loads.

Approx. a month ago I made the switch back to my old fave Persil and also tried out the Mielecare detergents. I generally wash most color loads in warm (big family, not enough time to separate into more precise loads) and whites, undergarments and sheets in hot. Of course, the rare delicates in cold.

I am having a rough time deciding what is working "best". Sounds silly, but I think perhaps I'm under or even overdosing. Neither product line is doing that great a job. Not poor by any means, but rather neither is wowing me! My products (we have small kids and a baby):

Persil Megaperls Sensitiv (whites)
Mielecare Sensitive powder (whites)
Persil Megaperls Color
MieleCare Color powder
VerNel Sensitiv Softener
MieleCare Softener

Any suggestions? So far, my experience has been that the Persil megaperls color seemed to fade my colors. Neither line has been great with stains but both seem equal with whitening. Mielecare seems like it may have a bit more softness after washing without softener. I rarely use softener except on towels and blankets. The products are comparable except for scent. Think I'm partial to VerNel, which seemed a bit lighter in scent and residue. Any suggestions on detergent and softener dosage? Oh, or a good stain remover for food stains? Or just experience with these products you'd like to share? Driving me nuts! Thank you!

Comments (3)

  • miele1966
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Are you packing your washer full? It is probably best for these new FL washers to just load them 3/4 full, or at least loosely packed full. Secondly, please consider that your washer's water temperatures are controlled. Even the hot. In my opinion, warm is cold and hot is warm. I often suggest that one washes in one temp higher than usual, to get the real water temp you might be seeking (selecting hot wash for a warm, warm for cold). Even running a nearby sink to purge the hot line of all cold water before starting your washer is a good idea. If you have an internal heater on your LG, I would use those specific cycles for your hot washes. Utilizing that heater will do wonders for your laundry. I am thinking that it is the water temperatures that are affecting your end wash results. I do not think it is your detergents at all. How much are you dosing per full load, and how soiled is your average load?

  • rococogurl
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have softener and find I must dial back a lot. But detergent goes farther.

    I'm down to regular Persil Megaperls which does a great job. If I have stains or need whitening, I prewash with less than 1 tb of oxyclean plus about 1 tb of Persil In the wash cup. But I have a Miele Euro size. Not sure with larger machines and soft water. But those amounts could be a start.

    For colors I use Caldrea liquid. Also about 1-1/2 tbs. No fading.

    For blacks I like Pewoll black wash. That will make crazy suds and Imusually have small loads so 1 tbs.

    Even with soft water I find I need about 1 tb of softener (mrs. Meyers) diluted with water.

    Regular does recommended are way too sudsy.

    Have not tried Mielecare products so cannot comment.

    Did try Persil megaperls sensitive. It's OK but does not give same results as regular Megaperls which is my workhorse.

  • Cyberspacer
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The four variables that will affect cleaning ability are cycle duration, detergents/additives, mechanical action, and water temperature. Looks like you have the detergent part of the equation covered as both detergent lines are very good, if albeit expensive. However, if you are not getting good results I would look into the other 3 remaining variables, and check the following.

    1.) Make sure you have a cycle with a long enough duration. I know a lot of people are always in a rush to finish laundry, and therefore select cycles with short wash durations. I get good cleaning in my front loader using the same products and the Normal wash duration is about 1 hour which gives me good results. I also use Wrinkle Free which is a permanent press type of cycle that has about a 45 minute duration. Unless I have a special stain or whitening requirement that would need a longer cycle time, an hour seems to be about right.

    2.) Make sure you have selected a cycle that has adequate agitation or tumbling of the load. Perhaps you need a more aggressive cycle.

    3.) And finally... make sure your water temperature is hot enough. I know in the US, we have a tendency to overuse cold water for most of our laundry. However, higher water temperatures are also key to getting really clean, stain free, bright and white clothes. Using hot water cycles also helps avoid the common mold issue in front loaders used in the US. (G*d knows how many a friends' front loaders have mold issues because of this.)

    Generally, I use warm water for most loads and hot water for white towels, sheets. Unless I'm concerned about fading or have a load that is relatively clean (really only needs freshening) opt for warm or higher temps instead of cold.

    On occasion for heavily soiled or stained garments, I have bumped up the temperature way above warm using 140 degree and higher temps for whitening or aggressive stain removal. You would be surprised that using hotter wash temperatures has not been a problem with excessive fading or shrinkage with colorfast cottons and whites, but you do have to be careful with synthetics and dark/bright colors. Also, if you have a stain that may set from hot water, see if your machine has a Pre-Wash option.

    Realizing that you have a different make than my washer (I have a Miele W1213), the temperature "names" are meaningless without noting actual water temperature in degrees. Therefore, my machine uses the following scale in fahrenheit. So hopefully, this will help as you experiment with your particular laundry situation and the temperatures your LG can actually uses.

    Cold is tap cold
    Warm is 105 degrees
    Very warm is 120 degrees
    Hot is 140 degrees
    Very Hot is 170 degrees, and
    Sanitize is 190 degrees.

    As a previous poster noted, many manufacturers temperatures are really cooler than the name actually implies, and thus "warm" is closer to cold and "hot" is really warm, etc... You can achieve hotter temps by selecting a higher "temp" and also, if your machine has the capability of "boosting" the temp with a "stain treat" or "steam" option or cycle, I would select it for loads where you need extra cleaning you are looking for. You may need to test some of these out with a thermometer to see how hot your temperature selections really are.

    These have been really good guidelines with my machines, and if you can set-up your LG's cycle to take cycle duration, water temp, and mechanical action meet these guidelines, you will basically mimic my Miele. You should start seeing better results.

    One last thing... make sure you are using ENOUGH detergent. Since you have a really big machine, you will probably have adjust the dosage upward. (I use between 1/4 to 1/2 Miele detergent scoop depending on load size and soil level.) One good test to see if you are using enough is to open the door after a few minutes of wash action. If the water feels sudsy when rubbing your fingers through it, then you most likely have used enough detergent. The soap produces a few small bubbles that you will see at the bottom of the washer's window; however you should NOT see a lot of sudsing. If you do so a lot of suds or see a lot of suds in the rinse water, than you probably have over dosed (ha ha).

    Good luck and have fun.

0