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  • CBS Sunday Morning - Washing Machine Collectors
  • CNN Great Big Story - Only Men Do Laundry
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About Our Company

A Growing Consumer Problem – SUDS!

A bad combination: Today’s detergents are too sudsy and new machines are wired for low water use, so the suds never easily or completely rinse out. Cleaning agents are bound up in the suds.

Suds don’t clean laundry!

Suds dampen mechanical action, they don’t rinse out easily, they clog recirculating pumps, they can overflow and destroy expensive electronic parts, and they leave residue.

Enter Rosalie’s Zero Suds: It eliminates suds so all the wash water in your machine can go to work, giving you cleaner clothes and a cleaner, safer machine.

The Journey

Founder and CEO Jon Charles has been rebuilding and collecting washing machines since 1980. He now has 33 machines, the oldest daily driver from 1938.

As a founding member of AutomaticWasher.org, a global club for washing machine collectors (currently 3,000 members), he was inspired to remake one of the original low-sudsing detergents from the 1950’s for the vintage machines that the club collects and restores. “Low-sudsing” detergents were invented in the ‘50’s for front loading washing machines and were a dream for clothes (cleaner, brighter) and boon for washers (no residue or damage).

Today’s detergents just don’t cut it. They damage washers and don’t properly clean clothes!

With a degree in physics; a love for laundry; a passion for keeping vintage machines running; and the growing epidemic of modern front loading machines with low water restrictions, he began a journey that led him to invent Rosalie’s Zero Suds.

Research & Development

Jon learned that all the old detergents from that time were dependent on phosphates for cleaning ability. Phosphates were an inexpensive natural boosting agent for detergents that promoted deep cleaning and great rinsing. But they are also a great agricultural fertilizer and ending up down the drain after wash it was felt phosphates in detergents were contributing to algae blooms across the country so the detergent industry voluntarily abandoned their use over 30 years ago.

In his research, Jon learned from experts in the appliance industry that customers were very unhappy with the current crop of detergents on the market. The complaint was that the detergents were over-sudsing in the new low-water-use machines, not rinsing out clothes properly, and causing electronic boards to burn out. The repairs were frequent and expensive and not covered under warranty, as it was considered “operator error.”

He discovered a well-known industry secret -Suds DO NOT clean clothes! This was true even back in your grandmother’s day. This is especially true since today’s machines struggle to rinse the suds out, and the suds bind up the cleaning agents! Today suds get in the way of cleaning!

Another major problem: in order to avoid too many suds in the new machines, consumers cut back on the amount of detergent they were using. The outcome has been poor cleaning and rinsing, with some machines becoming toxic with residue build-up. As evidence, on the market now are products designed just to clean your washing machine! The Department of Energy mandated low water use, but the detergent industry has had difficulty responding to new washer technology.

Jon Charles says, “In development we addressed several key issues. People were happy with detergents back in the 1960’s-70’s, so we needed something similar. We had to develop a cleaning formula that was phosphate-free but worked as well as the old phosphate laden brands, did not use suds in the cleaning, and have ingredients that comply with the EPA’s Design for the Environment – “DfE” criteria.”

It took seven years to create the concentrated Rosalie Zero Suds technology that would: deep clean oil, grease and dirt; leave clothes clean and bright; rinse away in any machine at any water level to keep the machine running at top performance; be gentle on the skin; and be environmentally sound in the process.

Testing began on Jon’s own 33 vintage and modern machines and then on machines owned by the washing machine club members. This formula worked so well in all of the machines from the 1930’s to 2016, that the product was patented and the business began its journey to launch. Today the product is for sale online and at 10 - and growing - stores in Massachusetts.

Rosalie’s Zero Suds is absolutely the best detergent for your washing machine, your clothes, and the environment. Order now and see for yourself!