Sick of buying products that are radically changed

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,173
524
126
Most recently:

Era liquid laundry detergent. I've been using Era for at least 10 years, mostly just because I liked how it smelled. The last jug I bought smells like turpentine. Washed one load of clothes and I couldn't even wear them until they were washed again in something else. I've been in a number of different stores, and wondering if I just got a bad batch, I've taken the tops off of jugs on the shelves and given them the sniff test. And they ALL smell disgusting.

Bounce Outdoor Fresh dryer sheets. Again, I liked the smell. Fresh, without being overpowering. I don't use them in every dryer load, but when I want to minimize static, they help a lot. I bought a box a few months ago. Got it home and the scent was so overpowering that all of the groceries in my bags smelled like the dryer sheets. I put the box in the basement laundry room and couldn't stand to be in the room. I put them outside(!) on the back porch for a week. Still too much, so I threw them away. Again, thinking I might have gotten a bad batch, I bought another small box last week. I didn't think they smelled overpowering in the store, but I got them home and they're the same.

And today... I opened a jar of Vlasic dill pickles and they taste like kerosene.

WTF?
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
Maybe you should stop sniffing gasoline.

But when it comes to products changing, I know how you feel to a degree. Many things I use have changed too. Not really seeing it on the Vlasic dill pickles and kerosene though. Maybe you should just stop buying stuff from wherever you got those from. I've noticed stores have been storing/treating items very poorly. I've passed by lunchmeat sections that I'm pretty sure they left out on the dock in the sun for 8 hours or something. Wouldn't be surprised if the pickles were chilling next to gas containers in the warehouse in typical retarded modern store fashion. I'm picky about what I buy and from where. Its not just the closest XYZ store but the closest XYZ store not run by inbreds.
 

Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,173
524
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Food, possibly.

It's not an explanation for laundry supplies, and not when the same product at different retailers is the same.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
70,677
13,838
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www.anyf.ca
when I was trying to figure out what was causing my skin condition I decided to try another laundry detergent. I switched from Tide to Sunlight. I did not make it through more than a single load. That stuff smells like some kind of concentrated bug repellant or something and made all my clothes smell. Any laundry detergent that leaves a strong smell sucks. Tide seems to be the only one that leaves no smell.
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
when I was trying to figure out what was causing my skin condition I decided to try another laundry detergent. I switched from Tide to Sunlight. I did not make it through more than a single load. That stuff smells like some kind of concentrated bug repellant or something and made all my clothes smell. Any laundry detergent that leaves a strong smell sucks. Tide seems to be the only one that leaves no smell.

Um no. I used ALL unscented or Free&Clear lavender. Tide in comparison is pretty strongly scented.

Tide is actually one of the most irritating laundry detergents on the market to me personally.
 
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Carson Dyle

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2012
8,173
524
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Yeah, Tide Free is pretty good. I like to keep both a powdered and a liquid laundry detergent on hand, though.
 

NoTine42

Golden Member
Sep 30, 2013
1,387
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Um no. I used ALL unscented or Free&Clear lavender. Tide in comparison is pretty strongly scented.

Tide is actually one of the most irritating laundry detergents on the market to me personally.

I can't handle any Tide (including Free) either. I'm only allergic to a few things, and Tide is top on that short list.

We generally use Arm and Hammer.
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,577
3,764
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Yeah its pretty annoying. If I find things I like and they are reliable\durable I like to stick with them but sadly the market is driven by needing to be 'New!' and 'Improved!' while often cutting costs.

Most recently I found that Sikkens reformulated their deck stain which explains why it is now sold at HD and didn't last nearly as long as it used to. Now, next spring I have to strip and restain with TWP.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
Um no. I used ALL unscented or Free&Clear lavender. Tide in comparison is pretty strongly scented.

Tide is actually one of the most irritating laundry detergents on the market to me personally.

Ditto. I like the SEARS laundry detergent though.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
Hormel chili changed some time in the '90s and has sucked ever since. In fact, I can't find any chili that tastes like all chili used to in the late '80s and early '90s.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,994
1,622
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Yeah, I notice this too. Always frustrating when something you really liked just isn't available anymore.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,239
10,685
126
What pisses me off is electronics that keep the same model#, but change the guts. Can't tell if the stupid thing will work without checking the chipset and firmware revision :^S
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
They did this with Dr Pepper in the UK.
Slapped a small "New improved" logo on it so that you barely notice it without looking, because you assume if you're buying Dr Pepper you're buying Dr Pepper and don't expect anything to be different.

The "improvement" is taking out a third of the sugar and replacing it with the Coke Zero (I think) sweetener.
When Coke did this recently, they called it something different, Coke Life. Dr Pepper they just say "new improved" and get rid of the original full sugar version entirely. Although for now it is Coke which makes Dr Pepper in the UK. Soon it will be made by someone else and hopefully they will go back to the old recipe.

(This is in the UK so by sugar I mean sugar).
 
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mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Picked up a tin of Quality Street chocolates for Thanksgiving. They're noticeably sweeter than in the past. They still make them in the UK but they're definitely not using the recipe for English chocolate.
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,710
136
I buy laundry detergent to get my cloths clean, not to smell nice. I almost always get the scentless and colorless versions because I generally don't care for the perfumes they use.
 

Kadarin

Lifer
Nov 23, 2001
44,296
16
81
I buy laundry detergent to get my cloths clean, not to smell nice. I almost always get the scentless and colorless versions because I generally don't care for the perfumes they use.

Likewise. Same with dryer sheets.
 

Ichinisan

Lifer
Oct 9, 2002
28,298
1,235
136
They did this with Dr Pepper in the UK.
Slapped a small "New improved" logo on it so that you barely notice it without looking, because you assume if you're buying Dr Pepper you're buying Dr Pepper and don't expect anything to be different.

The "improvement" is taking out a third of the sugar and replacing it with the Coke Zero (I think) sweetener.
When Coke did this recently, they called it something different, Coke Life. Dr Pepper they just say "new improved" and get rid of the original full sugar version entirely. Although for now it is Coke which makes Dr Pepper in the UK. Soon it will be made by someone else and hopefully they will go back to the old recipe.

(This is in the UK so by sugar I mean sugar).

Here in the USA, that's just another variety of Dr. Pepper called "Dr. Pepper 10" - from a whole line of 10-calorie-per-serving versions of various popular soft drinks.
 

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
79
86
Personally, I am sick of buying products that haven't radically changed in the decades we've had them. Will someone please think of the children and innovate already?
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Smell a few things for calibration purposes.

If bananas, oranges, apples, carrots, and chicken also smell like petroleum products, maybe the things you're buying aren't the problem. ;)


(I've never had a pickle that tasted like kerosene. Sweet pickles taste like sugary vomit, but not kerosene.)




Yeah its pretty annoying. If I find things I like and they are reliable\durable I like to stick with them but sadly the market is driven by needing to be 'New!' and 'Improved!' while often cutting costs.

Most recently I found that Sikkens reformulated their deck stain which explains why it is now sold at HD and didn't last nearly as long as it used to. Now, next spring I have to strip and restain with TWP.
That can be why they'll put "New Look!" or "New formulation!" on the package.

They implemented some kind of cost-saving measure and are trying to distract you with fancy colors and graphics.