Name that detergent!
May 10, 2017 10:25 AM   Subscribe

Similar to this question. Trying to ID a laundry detergent by smell without having to buy a bottle of each. This is in Mexico.

It smells like sandalwood, or at least, that's as close as I can get to describing it. It's not Ariel; it smells less sweet and more woodsy or spicy than Ariel. Can you help me narrow it down?
posted by bricoleur to Home & Garden (6 answers total)
 
This may be outing myself as relatively trashy, but can you open the bottles in the store and smell them? Laundry detergent, at least in the U.S., doesn't have a safety seal or anything. Just close them up tightly when you're done.

This is what I would do (and have done) but possibly I am one of history's greatest monsters.
posted by Aquifer at 12:21 PM on May 10, 2017 [3 favorites]


where in mexico are you? could it be a splash of pinol? imo it does not smell like the american pine-sol. do not smell it straight from the bottle if you want to keep smelling things. it's very strong!

also see:
-jabon foca
-jabon zote
posted by cobain_angel at 12:27 PM on May 10, 2017


Response by poster: I'm in La Paz (Baja Sur). I don't think it's Pinol, it doesn't smell piney. It's specifically a laundry detergent (or possibly a softener); it's what my clothes smell like when I've had them laundered.

I'm not really comfortable opening the containers in the store, but it's a reasonable suggestion.
posted by bricoleur at 1:20 PM on May 10, 2017


Can you ask at the place where you had your clothes laundered? The scent may be a detergent + softener combo.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:21 PM on May 10, 2017


That said, what you described (as contrasted with Ariel) could be Roma.
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:35 PM on May 10, 2017


In a Mexican laundromat, the detergent is likely powdered and you're also smelling the softener. Ariel, Foca, and Roma are popular detergents and a popular brand of softener is Suavitel. They will only use the bar soaps (Zote or Lirio) for spot stain removal if at all. If you go to Mega or Chedraui, you can easily and without any damage open up the liquid detergents and softeners to take a whiff.

(Hi from Mexico! I'm in Mazatlan right now, but hope to be in La Paz when our boat gets fixed and back in the water)
posted by vivzan at 4:20 PM on May 10, 2017


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