Laundry Detergent must meet Standards

Last week I did some shopping.  I was very glad to find a nice Bobbie Brooks shirt in my size for only $6.  It is the same shade of purple that the ladies wear at meetings of the Red Hat Society.

The royal purple reminds me of the story in the Bible about the businesswoman, Lydia, and how hard she had to work to get such a bright shade.
I thought about wearing my red ball cap with it on Sunday morning, then thought again, since a regular brim would not be a good stand-in for a true Easter bonnet.

Mainly, what I was looking for in several stores was laundry detergent.  Ever since the pump on the front-loader washer had to be replaced, I have been very wary of too much suds.
Even though the ALL Free & Clear detergent said it was fine for high-efficiency machines, the repairman said it maybe could be the problem.

So I became a hunter.
The detergent must be chemically balanced for the high-efficiency washer.

It could not have any perfume.  My allergy to smells is legendary.

When we wear the clothes, nobody in the family should itch….
…or worse, get a rash in personal places.

No phosphates….it’s hard enough for me to justify using a dishwasher detergent with them (the dishes really do feel better).

The other Fragrance Free HE detergent I found was TIDE HE liquid.

I’ve done 5 loads with it so far.  There still seems to be a little bit of suds at the end, even with the Extra Rinse function on.  The clothes seem to be softer than they were with the ALL (which leads me to think that the suds too much and rinse not enough), but when I’m handling wet fabric, such as tossing into the dryer or hanging with clothespins on the line, the cuticles of my fingers get tingly and seem to get cracks easily.
The clothes are fine after they are dry, but that problem in the middle needs further study.
My husband says I am quick to give meaning to something which may, or not be, the aggravating condition.

I do like how my new purple shirt still looks nice and bright after two times through the laundry.

It bothers me that I had to look so far in stores before I could find proper detergent without perfumes.  Doesn’t it cost the manufacturer more to add the smells?  Why are they called such weird names like Mountain Breeze or Floral Spring?
And where did plain old Arm-and-Hammer laundry powder go?  It was what I washed all my babies’ diapers in for years.  Of course, that was in a wringer washer.
The A & H Fragrance Free is not formulated for HE washers.  I did try, really I did, but there is a box still half full on the shelf.

For the next 30 loads of laundry, it looks like I’ll be using TIDE HE.
And I’m ever so grateful I can do them in the basement rather than hauling it all to a wash house.
Thank You for being a good provider, my sweet Husband.

~~love and Huggs, Diane