Japanese washing powders

Over the past 5 years, Japanese washing powders and other Japanese hygiene products have been actively promoting in the CIS market. Advertisers, as always, do not skimp on laudatory epithets, vying with each other about the amazing properties of powders from the Land of the Rising Sun. We are not inclined to blindly trust the allegations of people whose main task is to promote the product by any means, so we decided to check this information personally, and at the same time share the findings with you on the pages of this publication.

Differences of powders from Japan

Preparing to write this article, we studied a large number of different Japanese powders and came to the conclusion that they are quite different from those powders that are produced in the CIS countries and even in Europe. Let's name at least the main differences in order to continue to represent what is at stake.

• The basis of the composition of powders from Japan are natural soap and natural minerals.
• These powders are quite expensive, but highly concentrated, which significantly reduces their consumption.
• Judging by the composition, then all the powders we examined from Japan are eco-friendly washing powders.

We decided to consider these statements as preliminary, at least until we conduct our own tests of Japanese washing powders and consider consumer reviews about these products.

To begin with, we will review several Japanese powders and conduct several test washes to make sure they are effective.

Product Overview

We decided to start the review with simpler soap detergents for hand washing, and then gradually move on to more serious and effective Japanese products. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, first things first.

SHABONDAMA SNOUL. This is a soap powder from Japan designed for hand washing delicate items. For automatic washing, this tool can not be used categorically. SHABONDAMA SNOUL is suitable for washing newborns and children up to three years old. If you look at the composition of the product, we see that 99% of the substance in the package is ground and specially processed soap, and 1% is a natural fragrance in the form of a plant extract. Price - $ 12.60 for a package of 1 kg.

When you pour this powder soap into water, you understand why it was subjected to special treatment, since the particles dissolve, barely touching warm water. The dissolution rate of particles can only be compared with the dissolution rate of freeze-dried coffee granules. In just a couple of seconds we get a soap solution in which we soak for a few minutes several children's t-shirts stained with juice and borsch, and then wash them. From the juice and borscht there are no traces left.

Miyoshi Soap. Another variety of powder soap from Japan with a pronounced floral aroma. The product is intended only for hand washing and, according to the manufacturer, is completely safe for human health. Composition: 60% soap, 39.9% alkali (silicates), 0.1% metal ions.

We did not give this powder to a chemical examination, so we were not able to figure out what kind of metal ions these were. For the most part, the powder consists of a completely safe alkali and an even safer soap. Washes as well as the previous soap powder - the spots of juice and borscht left the t-shirts immediately, I didn’t even have to work very hard. The cost of a pack of 2.16 kg is $ 22.85.

Washen. Highly effective universal synthetic washing powder (concentrate). The manufacturer claims that this powder is suitable for all types of fabrics. You can wash it both in the washing machine, and manually, white and colored things. The powder consists of: 15% anionic surfactant, 30% minerals with magnesium and calcium, about 55% sodium citric acid. A pack of 3.2 kg powder is worth $ 20.

Powder tests were carried out as follows.Several large rags, contaminated with three types of stains, were thrown into the automatic washing machine:

1. lipstick;
2. machine oil;
3. fruit juice.

Set a quick wash program for 40 minutes at a temperature of 40 degrees. The drum of the washing machine is 3.5 kg, so, according to the instructions on the bundle, you need to put 35 g of powder in the powder receptacle, so they did. As a result, lipstick and fruit juice were ideally cleaned, but the trace of engine oil still remained, although hardly noticeable. We repeated the procedure again, only now the stain from the engine oil was previously rubbed with dishwashing detergent. On the second attempt, everything was removed perfectly.

Allone. Korean concentrated universal washing powder with a more complex composition. The powder is multicomponent, therefore, we can judge the amount of these components only on the basis of information provided by the manufacturer. Composition: enzymes and one and a half sodium carbonate about 15%, lauryl ether and sodium percarbonate 15%, sodium bicarbonate 30%, the rest is sodium citrate. In general, there are no dangerous components, half of them are used in the food industry, so draw your own conclusions. Powder can be used in a washing machine.

We conducted a similar test. We also took a few rags with three types of stains, set the same washing program. As a result, there is no trace left of the spots. The price for a pack of 4 kg is $ 20.60.

Allone powder washed machine oil without any dishwashing detergent the first time, which suggests that it is more effective than Washen powder.

Tokiko Japan. Concentrated bactericidal universal powder from Japan. It can be used for both hand and machine wash. Required powder concentration: 20 grams per 30 liters of water. Composition: sodium sulfonate, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, sodium sulfate. The components are safe for health. The manufacturer did not indicate the proportions of the components. The average cost is $ 4 per pack of 1 kg.

Dissolving, this washing powder creates an alkaline environment in which bacteria die and dirt is better broken down.

The effectiveness of the powder was checked as in previous cases, lipstick, fruit juice and machine oil were applied on several large rags. They gave the spots to dry for 3-4 hours, and then threw it into the washing machine. The powder was poured according to the norms indicated in the table on the bundle. As a result, the rags cleaned perfectly. Our technician brought home items stained with felt-tip pens and grass from home. They washed these things with Tokiko Japan powder, the result is excellent - there were no traces from the spots, they were specially searched under the magnifying glass and nothing.

Daiichi Funs. Super effective concentrated washing powder from Japan. It is sold in packs of 900 g. According to the manufacturer, the powder effectively breaks down any dirt leaving the laundry perfectly clean. It is stated that the powder is completely environmentally friendly, but in the composition we see: surfactants, alkali, aluminum salts, stabilizers, oxygen complex, components that protect against re-contamination, fluorescent substances.

It’s not very clear to us since when did surfactants become an environmentally friendly component, moreover, formulations like “fluorescent substances” leave a lot of questions. It is completely not clear what is hiding under them? Surely a mixture of some kind of chemistry cannot be determined without examination, and we will not take the word for a foreign manufacturer. In general, the environmental friendliness of the powder is in question. The average cost of a pack of 900 g is $ 6.60.

Test the effectiveness of the powder. Just as in previous cases, we throw contaminated rags into the drum. Program 40 minutes 40 degrees. As a result, the washing ended in complete failure, only a spot of juice was normally removed, the trace of lipstick remained discernible, and engine oil was not removed at all.We repeated the washing with a double norm of the powder - the result is not much better, the lipstick was removed, but the stain from the engine oil remained in place.

Daiichi Otsu. Powder from Japan concentrated with active oxygen. Suitable for any fabrics, even shedding. The powder can be used for both hand and machine washing. Powder is sold in large boxes of 2.5 kg. According to the manufacturer, the components of the powder easily penetrate between the fibers of the fabric, splitting the dirt and adding linen to the aroma of meadow grass. The cost of a large pack of 2.5 kg is about 10 dollars.

Now about the tests. Our simple tests showed that the powder copes with dirt on the C grade with a minus, because it does not completely remove stains from fruit juice and engine oil, but without any residue it cleans lipstick. The environmental friendliness of the powder is also in doubt, since it contains incomprehensible components, in particular a surfactant, a fluorescent whitener, an activator, and so on.

This washing powder does not contain phosphates, which is already very good.

Consumer Reviews

Albina

I bought a Japanese soap powder for washing clothes of a newborn Miyoshi Soap on the advice of a friend. Immediately I didn’t even realize that it was crushed soap, the particles were very small and quite solid - very similar to ordinary powder. Then I poured the powder into a basin of water, and it became clear that it was soap, although the powder dissolved almost instantly. Baby poop was easy to remove without any soaking, so I was pleased with the powder. If he was cheaper, I would take it regularly, but I won’t buy it anymore, I’ll wash it with baby soap.

Eugene

My acquaintance with Japanese powders began at the moment when I first fell for advertising on the Internet and ordered a pack of Tokiko Japan powder. I was really impressed, because he even washed clothes with old pollution, which I was going to throw in the trash. Then I decided to try Daiichi Funs, it turned out to be very good too. Now I use these two powders and I do not know grief. Compared to what is sold in our stores, Japanese powders are just gold. Recomend for everybody!

Alexey Petrovich

2 years ago I decided to give my wife a new washing machine for her anniversary, she had wanted for a long time. I bought a car, but I also wanted to buy some unusual application for it. He looked on the Internet and immediately stumbled upon detergents made in Japan, decided to buy a pack of Daiichi Otsu and a pack of Daiichi Funs. The wife was more surprised at such an application for a gift than was delighted, but when she tested the powders, her joy knew no bounds. Now she forces me to order these powders constantly, and after all, my wife is not easy to please.

In conclusion, we note that quite often Japanese powders are called not only products produced directly in Japan, but also South Korean powders and even Chinese ones. In our case, this is not the point, if only the powder was really good. Choose your powder wisely!