If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know how dedicated I’ve always been to Persil Megaperls. It’s a fantastic powerhouse detergent with just one major drawback – it is has a very strong smell. Even using 1-1.5 Tbsp of Persil results in highly scented laundry. I became extremely sensitive to scents during pregnancy and even the Persil Sensitive Megaperls version was too strong for me to be able to tolerate. I embarked on a long journey of trying various unscented detergents and trying to find a good balance of stain fighting power and mild formula, but that is the topic of another lengthy blog post. These days I can handle a little bit of scent in my laundry, but not as much as Persil leaves behind, so it was back to the drawing board yet again.
Today I’d like to tell you about Miele UltraWhite. I had been meaning to try it out for a really long time (literally years!), but would always repurchase my trusty Persil instead. Then a couple of months ago I was feeling adventurous and decided to give Miele a try. And I’m so glad I did, because it has quickly become my new favorite!
Since having Mila I have definitely streamlined my laundry practices and where previously I loved sorting everything into a million different loads, each with its own detergent, these days time is of the essence and I found myself searching for ONE detergent that could cover 90% of my needs. Persil was unfortunately not it – as wonderfully as it cleans, it is just too scented to be used on kitchen towels and baby clothes.
Miele UltraWhite Review
Miele UltraWhite is a true powder detergent with blue specks, unlike Persil, which is more like little blue and white granules. I love how little dust Persil gives off, and I know a lot of folks with allergies appreciate the granules over traditional powder.
Both detergents have a very “Euro clean” scent, which I enjoy, however even at very low dosages and with multiple rinses the scent of Persil does not rinse out enough for me. Miele UltraWhite, on the other hand, has a much lighter scent, and while it’s not completely gone out of the dryer, it is light enough that I can hardly smell it. I do give kitchen towels, napkins and baby clothes 1-2 extra rinses to make sure that all of that is gone, and it rinses out beautifully.
Cleaning-wise, these two detergents come incredibly close, with one major difference: the Persil is a lot more concentrated, so where I could get away with 1 Tbsp of Persil I need 1.5-2 Tbsp of Miele.
They both get the vast majority of household stains out with no pretreating (even before Mila I refused to pretreat! Ain’t nobody got time for that.), and both struggle with one specific type of stain: Sriracha/Sambal chili sauce, especially if it’s been left to dry out for a few days. Also dried out carrot-based baby purees can be tricky, but I tend to wash baby clothes at 40C/104F and I don’t think that would be an issue at higher temperatures.
Here’s an example from today: our dog’s throw was in the wash, so I put down a white “human” throw and… forgot about it for at least a week. It had all sorts of dirt and gunk, but one wash at 50C/122F on the Wrinkle Free cycle in my washer (no prewash) and it came out spotless.
Conclusion
So these days I’m using Miele UltraWhite on pretty much everything except for darks and delicate fabrics. It can handle pretty much any kind of stain, leaves behind a light and pleasant fragrance, and is a fantastic universal powder detergent. The biggest con? The price. While both Persil and Miele are pricey, I’m using almost double the amount of Miele per load, so I’m going through it much quicker than I was with Persil. Overall though I can say nothing but great things about Miele UltraWhite!
You can purchase both detergents on Amazon (Persil, Miele), and also find Miele at your local Miele retailer.