Fabric Enhancer? Fabric Saviour more like it! (Downy Enhancer)

Member Name: Redhead23

Product:	Downy Enhancer
Date:	19/01/02 (1021 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works *really* well, fab smell, long-lasting

Disadvantages: none

Ever since I started my full-time job last August, I have been able to afford some of life's simple luxuries such as buying nice-smelling washing-up liquid instead of supermarket's own brands or swapping our terrible budget toilet paper for that nice, soft stuff with the cute puppies in the ads.

Another one of my newfound luxuries is buying proper fabric conditioner, since both mine and hubby's clothes were slowly but surely getting a tad stiff and unpleasant to wear from frequent treatments with cheap no-brand washing powders. Okay, so my nasty habit of chucking all clothes in at 60° (no matter what the label says of course - I should really know better!) might have had something to do with it too, but thankfully the days of scratchy and stiff clothes are now over once and for all.

After experimenting with various brands of ~ordinary~ fabric conditioners, I stumbled upon a reduced price offer on the much-advertised 'Downy Fabric Enhancer'. Around £1-70 instead of the usual ~£2 still seemed quite hefty considering the relatively small size of the bottle, but since fabric conditioner was on my shopping list anyway and my basket was already laden with cat food and other necessities (well, at least according to my cat!), I decided to grab one of the handy 750ml. bottles (I chose 'Relaxing' since this was just before the stressful Christmas shopping season) and struggled my way to the till and subsequently to the bus station.

I have since bought another bottle (this time 'Invigorating' since spring is quickly coming along!) and I can tell you in all honesty that I am not in the slightest considering ever buying a different fabric conditioner again - well, at least unless they roll out some more lovely new fragrance variations of this wonder stuff!!! Here's why:


~ What is this Downy Stuff??? ~

Well, in fact Downy is not as such a 'fabric conditioner', but as the name says a
fabric ENHANCER.
This means that it enhances the touch and 'wear-comfort' of your clothes and any other hand- or machine-washable fabrics and improves the exchange of air, heat and moisture through the fabric. It also smoothens out creases and thus makes your kit easier to iron or can even eliminate the need for ironing some fabrics altogether. Since neither hubby nor I are required to wear shirts at work, our iron is now nigh-on unemployed, which is a very welcome change because like most people, I am not one to enjoy slogging over the ironing board for hours on end.

Washing, hanging/drying, folding and putting away several machine loads of washing is already enough work in my books, so anything that helps you to avoid the dreaded ironing board (which in my household is now used to fold washing on, and, erm, yeah there's some other rubbish that keeps collecting up on it since we are still very short of work surfaces and storage!) can only be a change for the better!

Downy is available in compact 750 ml. bottles (there are 500ml. ones available but I think they might have been promotional) and comes in 'relaxing', 'harmonizing' and 'invigorating', all very pleasant fragrances that keep your house (especially when you use your central heating radiators to dry clothes on - works better than the most scrumptious aromatherapy oils!) and clothes smelling absolutely gorgeous for a long time, even while you are wearing them (The clothes, that is, not the house! Hope that was obvious...). I could swear I have seen a third fragrance in a shop somewhere (if anyone knows, please say so in the comments section!), but our local supermarket only seems to stock those two. Maybe that was just wishful thinking though, since I am sure it would be just as lovely as the other ones I tried, just a little different - you can never have enough variations of gorgeous smells in your house after all!


~ How do you use it
and does it actually work? ~

In spite of being more than a traditional fabric conditioner or -softener, Downy is used pretty much like these products - simply put in the rinse drawer of your washing machine or add to a hand wash and off you go!

The big difference though apart from its great results (and this is why the price is actually justified even for such a small bottle) is the fact that this stuff is also highly concentrated. This means that using a full cap for a large wash load will only set you back by less than 30 ml. whereas twice that amount with normal fabric conditioners would usually not even suffice for a hand wash.

After about 10 wash loads, the first bottle is still nearly half full, while the first four or five loads with the 'invigorating' fragrance have barely touched the contents of the bottle.

The compact bottle is transparent so you know exactly how much you have left, which is pretty handy since you don't want to prepare a large load of washing just to discover you've only got enough left to enhance a pair of knickers with! The easy-grip shape of the bottle and its small size also means that you can easily grab a hold of it when you're trawling down to the cellar/laundry room etc. (I don't have that luxury though) with your washing basket and washing powder in tow.

The only slight design fault in my eyes is that the coloured cap (which, along with the label, indicates which fragrance it is - dark turquoise for relaxing, purple for invigorating and salmon/orangey for harmonizing) isn't see-through, which (due to the rather tiny size of the cap) means that you are hard-pressed to actually spot the markings on the inside that tell you whether you take out enough for a hand wash, a small or a large load. Then again, you just wanna chuck in as much as possible anyway because it really does smell fabulous!


As for the effects this stuff has on fabric, it is absol
utely amazing!
Not only do your clothes feel and smell lovely, but even older and stiff clothes are given a whole new lease of life. In particular towels, bathrobes and washable bathroom carpets come out of the machine soft, fluffy and absorbent as if they were new! The greatest thing is that even my Dad's 10-year old towels (he's a barber) that he's given me for when I dye my hair come out perfect!


~ Final Verdict ~

This is one of those rare moments where I tried a new product that I had, admittedly, seen in adverts before and discovered that it actually does everything it promises to do!

Not only do my clothes seem to have forgiven me for mistreating them for so long - even my 'awkward' jumper (shrinks in length but grows in width!) is behaving well now - but all our towels and bedding are now soft, cosy and fluffy as new.

Downy lasts for ages and the bottles are small enough to carry along with a massive load of shopping or washing, and last but not least it makes everything treated with it smell absolutely fab.

So all in all a picture perfect product - just a shame you can't use it on scruffy, smelly cats and hubbies!
;-)

(c) 2002 Redhead23

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