Downy laundry detergent gets nod in Korea for cleaning performance

Seen is P&G Korea’s laundry detergent Downy Odor Deep Clean Fresh Clean, which recently won an excellent grade in all cleaning performance categories from the Korea Consumer Agency. Courtesy of P&G Korea

Procter & Gamble (P&G) Korea said its liquid laundry detergent Downy Odor Deep Clean Fresh Clean earned the highest grade of "excellent" in all cleaning performance categories in a survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), the company said Monday.

The company said the KCA conducted the survey on liquid laundry detergents for washing machines. According to the survey of 1,000 consumers who purchased and used liquid laundry detergents within the last three years, the most important factor when choosing a laundry detergent was cleaning performance (53 percent), followed by safety (21.9 percent), cost-effectiveness (9.5 percent) and prevention of color change (8 percent).

While recently launched laundry detergents are emphasizing various features such as long-lasting fragrance, all-in-one detergents combined with fabric softeners and trendy designs, this survey showed that consumers still place significant value on cleaning performance, the company said.

In a stain removal test evaluating 12 products of liquid laundry detergents for washing machines, P&G Korea's product received the highest grade of excellent in all three cleaning performance categories.

The experiments were conducted in three areas — oil, dirt and other contaminants that can be found in daily life; blood, ink and other contaminants that are difficult to remove; and sebum.

P&G Korea said that its product not only shows outstanding performance in cleaning performance but also in deodorizing. This means that consumers can not only get rid of dirt, but also don't need to worry about odors, such as damp-smelling laundry and other odors of summer.

In particular, Downy Odor Deep Clean Fresh Clean does not simply cover odors with detergent fragrance but also removes the source of unpleasant odors that can remain even after washing.

"Recent changes in consumer trends have led to the emergence of laundry detergents that emphasize various features, but the essence of a laundry detergent is on its superior cleaning performance," a company spokesperson said. "With more than 180 years of laundry technology, we believe Downey laundry detergent will help consumers who value both cleaning power and fragrance to solve their laundry woes."