Since I got married, I've switched to generic products to save money. In that time, I've noticed that my clothes don't seem to be coming out as clean as they used to. The same can said for my dishes, which seem to be spotty more often than not. To add insult to injury, I just bought a store brand laundry detergent, and now I have a nasty rash on my back.

I think it's time to switch back to name brand detergents. I'm thinking this may be one of those instances in which the extra few bucks makes a difference.

What's the general concensus here? What has been everyone's experience when it comes to name brand vs. generic detergent?

I buy whichever detergent is least expensive. Usually this means a generic brand although sometimes a name brand on sale is the best deal. My clothes and dishes are always clean and I've never had a skin rash.

i have a lot of allergies so I have to use name brand - with no perfumes or other stuff added

I'll either use Generic or Store Brands, they usually have the same ingredients as The Name Brand, sometimes with Dishwashing Detergent...it's best to get the Name Brand because the dish detergent is mostly water and it doesn't work.

It depends on what product you get.

I've noticed that my clothes don't seem to be coming out as clean as they used to. The same can said for my dishes, which seem to be spotty more often than not.

Didn't CA ban dish detergents with phosphates? If they did that's probably why your dishes aren't getting clean. I use both name brand and generic detergents for washing clothes, I suggest the name brands for clothing and generics for stuff like bath towels, wash cloths, etc.. If there's a Big Lots in yoir area you can save big on dish or laundry detergent there.

Name brand. I once used generic laundry detergent and it didn't clean my clothes well.

I "splurged" today and got the name brand stuff. I'm trusting that it was worth the extra few bucks.

I usually buy brand names but I will share a little money saving tip. Cut your dryer sheets in strips. You only need 1 strip for a load . It works just as well as a whole sheet.:)

Doesn't matter to me, as long as it's cheap(ish) and is free & clear. I suddenly became sensitive to scented detergent several years ago... I have free & clear liquid softener as well as free & clear dryer sheets. :) (there's a whole lotta white bottles/boxes in the cabinet! :lol: ) But for dishwashing soap, name brand all the way. The cheaper ones are more like water and don't work as well for me... Dawn all the way, man. :lol:

Gotta use name brand stuff here. That generic stuff dosent work as well, especially the generic laundry detergent.

I really dont care. Im not a picky girl.

I use mostly name brand, they seem to do a better job.

I tend to use the generic stuff more often than not, have never had a problem with a rash, sounds like a horrible allergy. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Yeah. The rash might actually be a reaction to medication. I'm going to call my doctor in the morning.

So I'm already noticing a difference with the name brand dishwasher detergent: I bought Cascade on Tuesday, and haven't noticed spots on my pots and pans since.

My mom's laundry detergent of choice is Tide and she has used Tide for a while because it's great but we never buy the store brand because Tide is much cheaper. My mom used to use Gain but when they changed the formula she stopped buying Gain. In fabric softener Mom uses Downy because it has a great smell and she even has the famous Downy Ball that you drop in your washer and when Downy is on sale it's always a great deal for my mom. Dishwasher detergent my mom hardly uses because we eat on paper plates when we have dinners but when we have dinners my mom uses Cascade or Ajax whenever it's on sale to wash our forks and spoons. One time my mom bought the Sears Plus Detergent and it ended up giving me diaper rash when I was an infant and we have never used since now that i'm grown up. Another laundry detergent my mom loved was Era and she would use it all the time but when Era became scarce to find Mom switched to Tide. My mom is a huge Dawn fan and that's become the only dish soap we use and she likes all the different smells of Dawn and it really does "take grease out of your way"
Bestie

Dawn dish detergent and Arm & Hammer free & clear laundry detergent. I use generic fabric sheets.

Name brand, never generic.