Use the balance of your detergent in very small amounts.
The problem is that regular detergents will cause over sudsing, stain removal and rinsing will be very poor.
Tide HE is very good, very close to excellent in washing and rinsing. Give it a try.

I would not recommend using a non-HE detergent in an HE washer. For one thing, usage of non-HE detergent will invalidate most warranties. For another, non-HE detergents can damage the washer's motor. There's a poat about this in another thread here.

The thing I don't understand and nobody seems to be able to explain is how using non-HE will invalidate a warranty. How can they prove you used non-HE? Improper use of non-HE detergent is no different than improper use of HE detergent! So does that mean they'll honor a warranty for abusing HE detergent but not non-HE? I doubt it. I suppose they could send some residue to a lab to try to determine which formula it was to determine if they'll honor a warranty or not, but this too I doubt quite highly.

What causes trouble is too much suds and eventually this can damage the unit. If a single overdose will invalidate a warranty, 3/4 or more of all first-time FL users will void a warranty and ruin their machine. I have trouble with this argument.

Using a lower sudsing detergent in an HE machine IS important however. But as you can read from many many threads here from very experienced and knowledgeable people, there's lots of low sudsing non-HE detergents out there. After all, special "HE" detergents are relatively new to the market while front load (HE) machines have been around since the 40s at least! This hype over HE detergents gets a little out of line IMO.

I will say though, that I'd be particularly careful with Tide formulas since historically, the regular versions can be a bit sudsy. The important thing is to carefully measure the detergent and that is often a problem with people. So many people overdose and don't know it. And with conventional top loaders you seldom know it, then there's thread after thread where people blame the detergent for not rinsing or something when it's clearly pilot error. Front loaders with the glass doors make it easier to see when you overdose.

And there's a lot more involved which is why this isn't just a simple question. Your water chemistry, temperatures, machine, fabrics, soiling level, condition and type will make a big difference in the detergent needs and performance and that's why what works well for me, might not work well for you and vice versa.

I would suggest getting the HE and even with that be careful on measuring your detergent. People seem to measure powders more carefully than liquids for some reason. Assuming you have a chain store you're buying from they probably can't special order the HE formula for you but there should be other sources to buy it.

FWIW, I recently read that Tide's load calculations are based on the "line 2" of the measuring cap. I have a large capacity top loader and I seldom use more than to about line 1 and occasionally even less and I have excellent cleaning results. If the load is extra dirty I go to line 2 and rarely if ever have I used a line 3 dosing in nearly 2 years of using Tide Free/Sensitive Skin formula. Given this, I would think that you'd be using too much going to line 2 in a FL machine. I'm a firm believer that people use way more cleaners of all types than they need to and it's not always without detriment.

Detergents contain cleaning agents, which act on fabrics and soil, as well as water conditioning agents, which soften water and neutralize chlorine. Compared to old-style washers, HE machines wash the same size load, or larger, in less water. So it makes sense that they would need detergent with a different ratio of cleaning agents to water conditioning agents. I think that's what HE detergents are.

Of course the required amount of cleaning and conditioning can vary with the factors that cynic mentioned. Nevertheless, HE detergents are presumably a better fit than non-HE detergents, for HE machines.

cynic, your detergent dosing doesn't do much to guide anyone else, unless you share where you stand on all those other factors you mentioned. You only stated your machine type and soil level.

Old front-loaders, which have water visible in the window, aren't the same as modern HE washers.

I don't think anyone is saying a single use of the wrong detergent will damage a machine and invalidate the warranty. But if a manufacturer sees machine damage that looks like it was caused by repeated use of the wrong detergent, they could deny warranty coverage on that basis alone. You could sue them if you enjoy that kind of thing, but most people would probably rather avoid the trouble.

suburbanmd, I take it you then agree that this damage could just as easily be caused by an overdose of HE rather than only non-HE. That's my point. I guess you must believe there's something magical in HE detergents that they can't oversuds, or HE suds can't damage parts or something. Perhaps that's something in the special formulation. Non-damaging suds! Great concept. :)

And of course as I've said repeatedly machines vary. I guess I need to point out that even in today's HE machines the water levels vary tremendously. Some use in the area of 5 gallons per cycle while others can use 3-4 times that. Obviously that would also make a difference in the needs. And of course, as I've suggested on a number of occasions, Line "X" is rather relative given the myriad of variables but given that I use a high volume of water verses a lower water unit, comparatively speaking, using the same amount would likely be overdosing.

I shouldn't need to repeat these things, but apparently for some I have to. Moving on...

Which HE machine(s) use maximum 5 gallons of water for an entire cycle (wash and one or more rinses)?

Cynic, I was going to do an experiment this evening and post a couple pictures, just for you -- run a set of twin sheets in my Calypso with an overdose of Tide HE powder to see what happens with the sudsing ... but my camera is on a tripod for a photography job in-progress and can't be disturbed. We'll both be around here for a while yet, I suspect, so stay tuned.

What does using too much HE detergent have to do with it? No one has posted in favor of using massive overdoses of HE detergent. But cynic, you're always posting that HE machine owners should feel free to use non-HE detergent because HE detergent is just a marketing gimmick.

I have a friend that bought a Neptune in 1999 and she has never used anything but regular powder Gain in it. The only problem she has had was with the door lock/board and that was replaced years ago and she hasn;t had any problems since. So I figure she is lucky or the HE isn't as important as we think, although I use HE BUT I have cheated and used powder Tide w/bleach a long time ago. I actually think the regular powders are better for them than the liquids(even HE) because they usually want to make things stink more but then that is JMO.

i'm not convinced that he detergents are not a marketing gimmick since i have found several non-he detergents to also have very low sudsing....and i haven't noticed, visually, any difference in wash loads done w/ he and non-he detergent. but, surely, the chlorox he chlorine bleach that they're now selling is a gimmick??? yes?no? i don't know, but i am quite skeptical about that one!!!