Bio or non-biological washing machine liquid

Joy123

This probably seems a silly question, but I have never been sure whether to buy bio or non-biological liquid for the washing machine. What do people think? The last one I bought was from a Sainsburys home delivery, before we started going out to do shopping again; their own brand House 247 Bio Laundry Liquid. Our local Sainsburys does not stock all the things that we could have in a home delivery and only seems to stock Sainsburys non-biological. Does it really matter which is used?

bouicca21

One wash in bio makes my skin itch. Two washes and it’s a rash.  Non bio works fine.

If you don’t have a problem with sensitive skin, just get whatever is cheapest.

Joy123

bouicca21 said:

One wash in bio makes my skin itch. Two washes and it’s a rash.  Non bio works fine.

If you don’t have a problem with sensitive skin, just get whatever is cheapest.

Thank you.

Debran

Remember, don't shoot the messenger but "Which?" says that tests have found no evidence that biological powders/liquids cause skin problems when used for laundry.   I have a sensitive skin, e.g. can't use deodorants, have to wear gloves when using cleaning up detergents, can't use adhesive dressings etc but I have used biological powders/liquids probably for 30 years and have never had a reaction to them when used in a washing machine.

Shall I duck now?

The enzymes break down stains more effectively than non-bio.  However, you should not use them on leather, silk or any other organic fabric as, obviously, they'll break that down too.

There are eight best buys (all are bio) and of those, these are the ones with the hightest scores for powder and liquid:

Ariel All in 1 Pods with Oxi Stain Removers bio

Morrisons bio powder

Ariel powder - Sainsbury's bio powder

Ariel liquid

Aldi liquid

|22 June 2021

Ooops - made an error.   Corrections in italics above.

Which? says the high scorers are good at removing difficult stains like blood, grass, grease and mud.

For those who cannot use bio the highest scoring non-bio with 59% was:

Lidl Formil non-bio caps

(did not score highly enough to be a best buy)

theoretica

Debran said:

The enzymes break down stains more effectively than non-bio.  However, you should not use them on leather, silk or any other organic fabric as, obviously, they'll break that down too.

Add (washable) wool to that list - a notably shorter life with bio-powders/liquids. 

sevenhills

Debran said:

Remember, don't shoot the messenger but "Which?" says that tests have found no evidence that biological powders/liquids cause skin problems when used for laundry.   I have a sensitive skin, e.g. can't use deodorants, have to wear gloves when using cleaning up detergents, can't use adhesive dressings etc but I have used biological powders/liquids probably for 30 years and have never had a reaction to them when used in a washing machine.

I always tend to put in more powder than required, not even sure how much I should put in, I think that could be a reason why some itch.

I generally use an old vending machine coffee cup, almost full.

C_J

We use non bio, because we live in a very rural area and don’t have mains drainage.

wort

I use an eco egg which last ages !
Bio tends to be good at whites as the enzymes usually have brightners,  and non bio is less likely to make colours/black fade.  
Years ago my daughters legs swelled the Dr said it was the Per $il I was using at the time !! 
If using powder you only need small amounts , recommended amounts are way over the top.

herbily

Bio is for stains of organic origin - it works better on things like tomato ketchup than non-bio. If your clothes aren't particularly stained or sweaty, then it makes no difference which you buy, and usually there's no difference in price.

Debran

Made an error in my post of 20 June.  Said Ariel powder was top scorer.  This should been Ariel capsules.  Apologies.

Re-read the 20th June post for amendments and a bit more info.

Joy123

Thank you, everyone for the helpful replies.