Product Review: Tide HE with Febreze

Can I say how much I love my high efficiency (HE) washer and dryer? With laundry to do for three little boys and their daddy, I'm kept busy doing at least one load of laundry a day (usually more). Luckily, I own a HE washer and dryer set. The great thing about HE washers is that they use less water and at the same time wash more clothes. But, the downside is that I have to use specifically formulated detergents and softeners that can cost more and are more difficult to find.

Typically, I use Tide HE and have since I first purchased my HE washer and dryer. According to the Tide.com website, "since HE washers use less water to clean, the water is dirtier. Tide HE has special dirt capturing ingredients to help suspend dirt and dyes in the water, which helps keep them from re-depositing on your clean laundry."

And regular detergents won't work. Their high sudsing ingredients will gum up the works on the inside of the HE washer. Depending upon your area, you will pay anywhere from $12 to $14 for a 100 fluid ounce bottle of Tide HE (a recommended brand for my HE washer and about twice the price as the same amount for the regular detergent).

The newest Tide HE detergent on the market is Tide HE with Febreze. Tide HE with Febreze is a 2X concentrated liquid. Basically, it's the same amount of cleaning power in a smaller volume of liquid. The 100 fluid oz. bottle will wash approximately 52 loads of laundry. And the scent is "fresh, fruity-floral fragrance, highlighted with a hint of citrus."

My opinion? It worked well. Of course, I expect any Tide product to work well. I did several loads of laundry using Tide HE with Febreze, with and without liquid softener. My children's mud, paint, and goodness knows what else stained clothes came clean. My husband's jeans were thoroughly washed. And all with a smaller amount of liquid than I'm used to using! However, I expected the Febreze scent to last longer and it didn't. The scent didn't make it through the dry cycle (although the clothes smelled clean they just didn't smell like Febreze).

The towels were the biggest surprise. We go through towels like you wouldn't believe. The boys insist on brand new, clean towels each day. Well, so do my husband and I. But, I end up with more towels than time to wash them. Unfortunately, they start to smell after a day or two sitting in the laundry basket. When I washed them with the Tide HE with Febreze (no softener used), the musty smell was gone and the towels looked and felt very clean. However, I did notice that they were a bit stiffer than when I use regular Tide HE (no softener used). The stiffness disappeared when I used liquid softener.

Would I recommend this product, Tide HE with Febreze? I would and I wouldn't. Tide HE works just as well and with a better, longer lasting scent. However, Tide HE with Febreze is a doubly concentrated liquid, making the total volume of detergent used smaller (making the bottle smaller and using less plastic). I couldn't really tell the difference in cleaning ability between regular Tide HE and Tide HE with Febreze. Both worked equally well. Just keep in mind that any kind of HE products can be difficult to find unless you are in a major urban area and that they are a bit pricey.