Tide Washing Machine Cleaner

I actually had to spend the money to purchase this item in order to review it. I must admit that I had my preconceived notions of the product. Granted I am an advocate for baking soda and vinegar. Sometimes, there are some cleaning products that simply must be bought already made. I have decided to purchase this one to see if it was a must buy or a must make. After all, my goal here is to save you beautiful ladies money.

First let's discuss what the product is and it's intended use. The product claims to clean your special HE washer. By doing so it eliminates the odors that these machines are prone to developing and leaves your clothes cleaner. It is specially formatted to work in your HE washer.

My experimentation was done by using my neighbor's front loading HE washer, complete with platform, steam cycle, and shiny red finish. He complained about the moldy smell coming from his washer. He supplied the washer for this review and I supplied the Tide Washing Machine Cleaner 3 Pack. First I followed the directions to a "T". I could smell the freshness of the cleaner like fresh laundry on a Saturday morning. My neighbor and I were distracted with the NFL games on television for awhile. I was pretty sure that the product worked since I could smell the freshness from the other room. My neighbor was nice enough to toss in the laundry and do a cycle for me.

15 minutes later, as the cycle ended, we both made the "what's that smell" face. We went to the washer and low and behold, the musty moldy smell was back. This time it was all over my clothes. Of course my neighbor was grossly over-apologetic. After reassuring him I returned home to write my review. I tossed the same load into my ancient top-loader and out it came smelling so fresh and so clean.

The verdict

For $2.67 a bag this product should work better. Perhaps I should rephrase that and say that this product should work for $8 a box. It not only left the odor in the machine but also it transferred the odor to the clothing. Perhaps after a few more uses the problem will be rectified but this is not implied by the advertising on the packaging or t.v.

Ladies, save your money and add a cup of vinegar to your load instead.