What's the best laundry detergent brand?

everyone is unique and i am sure each one of us has his own standards of "best". the best detergent for me may not necessarily be the best for others. i choose laundry detergents based on their capability to easily cleanse dirt without so much effort on the person, the price, their smell and the effects they do to my skin. my mother washes our clothes well and i consider her to be an expert in that department. we didn't have washing machines before and she did it by hand. she says there is no best detergent for her, it just depends on how well a person washes the soiled clothes. we always had very good-smelling clothes when we were younger. now, we use washing machines to wash our clothes and i always feel that there are still delicate areas of our clothes that the machine really needs to do "overtime" or the machine needs to "explore and find" in order to thoroughly clean them. i always pay particular attention to the neckline, armpit area and the hems of shirts. dirt gathers there and they are these parts that easily become darker if not thoroughly scrubbed each washing.

I like Gain and Tide also but I'll only buy them if they are on sale. I buy Arm & Hammer alot and usually Purex. I also bought Fab not too long ago but that was a big mistake. It made everyone in the house itch.

I don't like scented products so my big gripe is having to pay extra for unscented. Which I don't. I suffer with the smell. Actually, most detergent is pretty much the same if you don't have allergies. They break up the tension of the water so that it can flow through your clothing. You don't have to use as much as they say, either, that's just to boost their sales. Use half or less of what they tell you and see if you notice a difference. I'm betting you won't. And it'll cut your laundry costs in half.