Is all washing powder the same?

people love to initiate 'urban myths' - and that is how this notion comes about also. Critically, there is a germ of truth, but the true picture is more complex and tedious to explain.  So people don't - they reach for the soundbite version instead   (I don't mean the OP - my haughty tone belies no disrespect to anyone or their opinion on this thread).
So, in some cases different retail products may indeed be the identical thing to something sold by someone else as 'their' own product - value cornflakes (all supermarkets) would be an example.

often one manufacturer - who will not be a household name - will make a number of similar products for different retailers - encompassing top-of-the-range to bottom-.

Similar, perhaps, but are they identical products? I suspect that the ingredients would be adjusted to produce a cheaper end product.

A cheaper 'end product' is not necessarily an inferior product...it may well give better results. Albeit unlikely.

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/06/best-washing-powders-revealed-by-which-3...

Phoned 'her indoors'...... she say "don't be stupid"

http://www.superscrimpers.com/home-and-garden/product-comparison/budget-wash...

fwiw I recall telling the Mrs that I read that washing powder was better than liquid, but she didn't appreciate the advice.

I gave up on using washing powder years ago.

If you saw the mess it leaves in the drains, so would you!

AP, quite correct, the problem with powders is that the 'bulking agent'(sodium sulfate' is fcking useless at anything except messing up the environment, it costs pennies to produce in great quantities and makes the buyer think they're getting loads of 'product' for their money.

The truth is up to 75% of the box is this sh1te and the rest is made up of surfactants, optical brightners, bleaches, etc etc.

Liquid is better for many reasons I'll not get into here. btw dissolve your liquid in a bottle/jug before adding to the wash for better dispersion, it's just good practice.