That free & gentle is the exact opposite of Surf. It has no scent. For some people the scent in detergent triggers allergies so this variant is to help with that. But I use it to gauge how well the laundry is being cleaned. Based on wash temperature, loading etc the clothes once washed should have no smell. Clean means smells of nothing. Not the fancy words that accompany these products.
Another use is with
scent beads. A non scented detergent allows the scent beads to prevail more instead of mixing with whatever scent is already in the detergent. The company that makes those beads sent me a free sample of their scent free powder detergent that worked fine but they have not made it available as yet. This company is making a local more affordable variant to Downys
Unstopables that came out a decade ago.
HUL has its
own scent beads product now. Their 100 day claim is more likely using a dryer than line drying. So many glowing reviews for a HUL product? Maybe its the Rs.90 cashback doing the talking here
Something I don't understand is
people say it
helps prevent unpleasant smell from
clothes in the monsoon season. I've never experienced this problem even though the clothes can take two days to dry outdoors. Maybe its an issue with unheated washes with top loaders. Or these people are using cheap detergent and drying clothes indoors. Branded detergent
contains cationic surfactants that kill the bacteria which grows in the clothes during slow drying indoors. Technically, you don't need these scented beads at all.
When it comes to scents i find the floral scents in general to be stronger and longer lasting than the fruity ones. But i like the fruity ones better because they don't get up your nose as much. Also the difference with scent beads is augmented by the use of a dryer by at least 40%. So they're popular in the west. But with line drying the scent is much fainter after a day on the line. So you end up doubling the dose and then it becomes uneconomical.
There is another US Tide
version with perfume available but I have to say I paid half as much a year or so ago. No idea why it doubled since.
There is always the
fabric conditioner route if you want scented laundry but i discourage its use in front loaders as it can lead to build up later. Some say if you dose in moderation its perfectly fine but I just don't agree with the idea of coating my laundry in grease. So I never use it. I have got into arguments over this with British washer enthusiasts.
As i said earlier my cynical take about these scent boosters is to hide less than proper washing. And it can take up to 8 washes to rid your clothes of this greasy crap (!)
Be careful what you wish for in your quest for scented laundry
Tide for front loader is a recent introduction in India. You can read my thoughts about it
here as there is a bit of a backstory. The powder seems similar to Ariel in that it foams as much which is a little more than Surf. I haven't tried the liquid. Why don't you since you are more familiar with Ariel liquid which I've never tried.
Part of the reason i didn't mention these imports because i didn't want to push liquids being a powder user
