Learning Laundry at Tide’s Fabric Care University!

If you are a regular reader, you know a few things about me.  I am a self-proclaimed science geek, I don’t cook, and laundry is my nemesis.  Although I consider myself an educated woman, I confess that I know little about the proper way to do laundry. Fortunately, Tide figured I could use a little help and invited me to Fabric Care University!

Last Monday, I packed my bags and headed to the P&G Headquarters in Cincinnati to learn all about Tide, how they develop and test a line of products, and the proper way to use them….and did I mention Tim Gunn was there, too?

I am sure Tim knows all about fabric care, and welcomed a fabulous group of bloggers to participate in a mock Project Runway the first night we were there. We were presented with a white T-Shirt and a random bag of accessories and were told to “make it work!”

<insert blank stare here>

Create an innovative outfit? Huh? I must be in the wrong place. Despite my hesitation, my Team (Stacie from Divine Miss Mommy, Sarah from Blissfully Domestic and Felicia from Go Graham Go) and I managed to create a shirt which we labeled “Playground Elegance.” Just when I thought we were done, we had to present our concept to Tim Gunn.

<insert another blank stare here>

Somehow, I was elected spokesperson for Playground Elegance. That was a BIG mistake. LOL! But, I cannot stress enough how nice, genuine and friendly Tim was (yes, we are on a first name basis). He offered great suggestions and made us feel like we created a great design (although he was clearly lying through his teeth).

On Day Two, we hit the ground running and made our way to the labs, which is definitely more my speed. We were shown several presentations on how Tide is developed and tested. The Scientists were so passionate about their jobs that it made it hard not to get overly excited about doing laundry! At first glance, you think making detergent can’t be all that difficult, but you would be amazed at what goes in to making the products before hitting your laundry machine.

Did you know that your body creates 50 grams of soil A DAY?  Ewwww….I need that off my clothes and I want to buy the product that does it the best.  In the laboratories, Tide simulates the water quality from all over the WORLD in order to test their detergent. They wash clothes in all types of water and in all different types of machines to make sure that their product will work well in every condition imaginable. Fabric samples are even analyzed under an electron microscope in order to assess removal of soil in Tide versus other leading brands. I saw this first hand and I can tell you that I will only buy Tide after seeing the evidence.

Some of my Fabric Care University Classmates (from left to right): Felicia of Go Graham Go, Yours Truly, Toni of Just Stop Screaming, Laurie of Tip Junkie and Danielle of Extraordinary Mommy)

Much of Day Two was embargoed, so I cannot tell you about the new lines coming out soon from Tide and Downy, but I can say that they are un-freakin-believable. Thanks to Devries PR and the incredible employees at Tide who made this trip a learning experience I will never forget.

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I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.  Tide did cover my airfare, hotel and meals while on this business trip.  All opinions remain 100% mine.