There is a body of opinion that says liquid detergents, HE or not, will leave deposits inside the washer, leading to odor and mold. Unfortunately the selection of powdered HE detergents is much smaller than liquids. Sears has a line of powdered HE detergents that some people are happy with, and when they go on sale they can be pretty inexpensive. I've been using Sears Ultra Plus Free powder for a while, and it's been fine.

There's a difference in a true HE detergent and one that's HE "compatible". People have argued about this ad nauseum in numerous threads here. Some scream that you'll "void your warranty" if you don't use an HE detergent (I guess the warranty people have spies in your house to see what you use) and other claims. You can read them and form your own opinion. And there's the big argument on liquid vs powder which I find equally amusing.

I think the concern you have is for oversudsing. Most any detergent can oversuds if you use it improperly. There are many brands of detergent out there that are low sudsing and have been used for decades by people in millions of machines. Contrary to what many want you to believe, front loaders have been around a long, long time and long before HE detergents came out. But then again, there's some people who think that if you don't boil your clothes they're dirty.

I stand by the advice I give people to try out different detergents and see how they work for THEIR use and needs. Some people, including myself, have more than one detergent and/or switch off on types. It's not required but sometimes one kind works better on certain clothes or soiling.

Watch for oversudsing. See which works best for you. Learn to use your machine for best results. And remember, there's not always ONE right answer for everyone.

We use (most of the time) "All" brand dry powder that we get at our local Smart-n-Final in a large bucket.. It's sort of a stealth package as the "He" is in fairly small print (unlike Tide et-al).. We get these pails for about $15 on sale -- a bit over $20 when not..Never had a sudsing issue with it.

I've used a variety of HE detergents since buying my Maytag Bravos HE TL washer about a year ago. The most inexpensive is the Sears Ultra Plus powder (I bought the Stain Fighting formula in a bucket at half price - fantastic deal). I've also used liquid Tide HE w/bleach (wish it came in a powdered formula), liquid Tide HE TotalCare (love it for our nice office/church clothes), and liquid Cheer HE ColorGuard (which I hear is no longer available).

I have not had any problems with any of these detergents.

As cynic points out your results will vary depending on many factors. I'm convinced that in the last few years P&G has changed Tide to be less sudsing in its "regular" formula. I've used it (granted only a tablespoon) in a Danby for years with excellent results and no oversudsing. I have an old top load machine I use it in too with half a scoop and noticed it there are much less suds than years ago. I think the whole HE thing is a game the manufacturers play. Like cynic also points out front loading machines have been around for a LONG time. You need to find out which detergents have too many suds and which don't regardless.

Tom

Oh I forgot to mention the Tide I use is always powder. I think all the liquids suds more. All I think has always been low-sudsing. I've used both the powder and liquid (HE and non) and been happy with both. I think if you use liquid in a front loader you should just pour it in the tub first rather than have the machine try to wash the liquid crud from the dispenser into the tub.

I asked my service tech this very question the other day. (Ended up with a clogged pump after trying one of those Purex washing sheets that I got as a sample. That's what I get for deviating from my normal detergent.) Anyway, my service tech said it doesn't matter what brand or if it is liquid or powder. He said it doesn't even matter if it is natural or commercial. He said as long as it has the HE symbol on it it's fine. He said just adjust the amount used to your machine and wash load to prevent overdosing of detergent.

Just pick an HE detergent you think you will like and then experiment with the amounts. If you use too much, just put the load through another fast wash and rinse and that should get the excess out. During the final spin you should see no more than a tiny palmful of suds on the window if any at all.

It is true that different brands may give different results as far as cleaning performance, but no matter what brand you use, as long as you don't use too much, your washer will be just fine.

Anybody notices those Persil and Perwoll detergents do NOT have HE symbol on the box?

When I gave some Perwoll to my co-worker on her Duet sport, she told me she didn't want to try it because the box do not have the HE symbol.... =.="

{{!gwi}}

Well, I know only the US uses an HE symbol, for the most part. Detergents usually designed in or for other countries are either already low sudsing by nature because all washers are front loaders or are distiguished by the term "matic", like Omo matic or Drive matic, which are low sudsing too. Unless one is familiar with the detergents of other countries it is not surprising the Co-worker would not trust anything without the HE symbol. Assumming that you are both in the US that is.

We Europeans are completely baffled by this dialogue about so called HE detergents. In Europe everyone uses a front loading machine and has done for decades, so all the detergents are formulated to be low lather. As far as I can tell most American detergents are now mostly low lather - so they will work in any machine. The BIG difficulty I have is finding which products in the US are biological (with enzymes). Does anyone know?

I use the Costco "Kirkland" brand of HE detergients. Both liquid and solid forms work very well at a much lower price point than Tide or other major HE brands. If you think that they are not necessary, just go to a site where people relate their unhappy experiences with front loaders. Most brands of machines specify HE for a reason. Too much foam defeats the pump and the machine floods. Sometimes the water sits in the sump and stinks eventually. Sometimes it gets into hoses and causes air locks. It is not worth the risk in my opinion.

Laundermatic, as a general rule, unless it's labeled "Free" or extremely dirt cheap, it contains enzymes of some sort.

Thanks to product labeling laws, you need only look at the back panel to determine for sure. It will list either the main ingredients, one of which will be "enzymes", or will have a tag like "Contains Enzymes" on the back panel.

Since most Americans was in too cold a water for adequate mechanical cleaning, enzymes are necessary in most laundry detergent formulas to produce satisfactory cleaning.

- IT Geek

IT Geek, thanks I will look..I think some packaging may say and others not.

I tend to bulk buy a load of detergent when I fly to the UK - as I find the choice and labelling there generally superior. For example Asda (Walmart) in England sells liqui-tabs (the kind that melt) in big tubs for only around 8 bucks and they are clearly labeled BIO in big letters on the front.

I also thought the water had to be warmed to a correct ideal temperature to activate the enzymes too, not just cold.

I remember my Servis front loader in England twenty five years ago had a "Bio" button on the front that only allowed cold water to enter which then heated to the appropriate temperature selected. Seems way ahead of it's time. My Bosch machine today has the same button - except it's called "Power-Wash" for the US market.

I think the new mega-concentrated 2X liquids should be called "laundry syrup" because that's what they're like. Sticky, messy and hard to rinse out.

I can easily imagine them causing build-up in dispensers and outer drums of low-water use machines.

Yup. It's a common thought that liquid detergents, being liquid, disperse very quickly into the wash water and are more suited to cold water ... but the goopy liquids still must 'dissolve' and cold water tends to be an impediment same as with powders.

Maybe this will help.

HE detergents WITH enzymes (biological):

Tide HE (powder and liquid)
Tide Free HE (liquid only)
Cheer HE and Cheer Free and Gentle HE (liquid only)
Gain HE powder (original sent only)
Gain HE liquid (Original and apple mango tango sents)
Era HE (liquid only)
Wisk HE (liquid only)
Sears HE (both liquid and powder)
Seventh Generation HE (both liquid and powder) *Many other natural brands too, but it will be listed if it does.
Arm and Hammer HE with Oxi Clean (liquid only). *This is also the only liquid arm and hammer makes anymore with enzymes.
Many store brands, but it will be listed on the back. It will say some kind of surfactants and enzymes. Two examples are Walmarts Everyday Elegance HE (in liquid only) and Sam's Club Members mark HE (in liquid only).

HE detergents WITHOUT enzymes (non-Biological)

All HE (liquid only all varieties)
Purex HE (Liquid only all varieties)
Sun HE (Liquid only)
Arm and Hammer HE (liquid only in clean burst scent)
Charlie's Soap HE (Powder and liquid)
Country Save HE (powder only)
Store Brands of HE. It will be listed on the back and will list some type of surfactants. If there are NO enzymes, than you will not see enzymes on the list.
Many natural brands like the afore mentioned Charlies and Country save have no enzymes. Two other examples would be Green Mountain Baby HE (liquid only) and Ecos.

I hope this helps.

As pointed out Tide Free and Cheer Free both have enzymes. Never heard of "Free" meaning without enzymes. It means without additional dyes or perfumes added.

Another way to get an idea is virtually all Procter & Gamble products have enzymes, including Tide, Cheer, Gain, Era and Dreft. In other products, Wisk has enzymes. The Great Value brand powder from Walmart has enzymes or I should say had them last time I bought it which has been a while. This is made by Huish and most of their products do not have enzymes but there are exceptions.

Not all the Sears Desoto detergents have enzymes. Last I heard the Stain Fighter one does.

Arm & Hammer has NO liquid detergent that uses enzymes. They do use enzymes in powdered detergents but I don't know if they do in all of them.

I just used Woolite HE (white bottle) this past weekend for the first time. It washed well -- laundry came out clean and soft.

I used to really like Woolite for Darks when I had a conventional washer -- wish it came in an HE formula. Until then I'll continue using Tide Total Care HE for our dark fine washables.