The One Thing Gain Laundry Detergent Does Better Than Tide Every Time

If you've been doing laundry for any length of time, you are probably acutely aware of just how many different detergents there are to choose from. The most popular ones on the shelf, however, are Gain and Tide. They've both been on the market for over 50 years and are the top two-selling laundry detergents in the United States. While there have been many comparisons exploring the pros and cons of each and an endless amount of online debate between the two, there is one aspect in which Gain wins out every time: its long-lasting fragrance.

While Tide gets praised by users and review sites for its stain-fighting prowess, Gain seems very much into the fragrance game, as it offers a significantly larger variety of scents than its competition. But what stands out about their scents is their well-known staying power. Their Original Scent Liquid Laundry Detergent actually snagged the top of the 'Best' list on our Popular Laundry Detergents Ranged From Worst to Best roundup and touts a six-week-long-lasting fragrance. That's a long time to keep your go-to jeans-and-T-shirt casual vibe smelling good. But if you're serious about extending the fresh-from-the-dryer smell of your clothes, Gain's Fireworks scent booster beads are the laundry hack that will keep them smelling fresh. When combined with their Flings laundry pods, the fresh scent can last up to 12 weeks.

So just how does Gain manage to create such a long-lasting scent? It comes down to their formula, which uses something called microencapsulation. Essentially, the liquid detergent contains super itty-bitty (not a formal measurement) capsules that have even tinier beads of scented oil inside. You can't see them as you pour the detergent, but they are there, ready to do their ultra-long-lasting fragrance job. As clothing gets soaked in the wash, they attach themselves to the fabric and stay there, even through all the rinsing and drying.

Those sneaky little capsules only break open when they get jostled hard enough. So when you pull your clothes out of the dryer and everything is a bit crumpled together, moving them from one place to another creates a bustle that breaks open the capsules and releases the scent. Everyone knows that first big wave of fresh laundry smells good. But you'd think the more you wear your clothes, the more the scent would fade. With this formula, it actually does the opposite. Each time those capsules open as you move around, a new wave of scent wafts out. Though it might not be the best way to determine how often you should do laundry, you'll know it's definitely time for a wash when you no longer get those waves of freshness bursting from your shirt as you put it on.