I would say I use Tide he "Original" powder for almost all loads. I still have 1.5 boxes left of the real Original scent, before P&G ruined the beloved, clean scent of Tide Powder. When I run out, I might return to Persil or use Gain he. I do like Tide he Original liquid too, but for some reason I always gravitate to powder detergent!

Tide just does not work alone anymore. Furthermore the liquid does not rinse well period. And low dosing the powder has become ridiculous. Take a look at the new Persil thread FYI.

mark

@ Mark, I agree Tide and Gain and most "he" liquids do not rinse very well. Tide/P&G must be aware of this, as they have released Tide he Turbo!! It is extremely low sudsing, high performance and guarantees clean and thorough rinsing! It is hard to find, as it has just become available. I found literally ONE small bottle, when I picked up some new Persil at Walmart! It was Tide he Turbo Clean Breeze!

use to love tide, but due to the high sudsing, even HE versions, I am fazing it out. I switched to sears detergent, seems to clean my laundry as well as tide and super low sudsing, rinses much better too

I've never posted before, but have been reading others posts for months. I just thought I would give my two cents as to what I use. I have a bravos Power wash Xl set, that my SO bought when I wasn't there. I was happy just to have a new machine, as my old fl literally needed more repairs than it was worth. It took getting used to, and through trial and error I learned what worked best. I live in Minnesota so I have HARD water. Really hard water. I wish I could use powder, but with my machine it isn't happening. I have to use liquid. I can not let any stained clothes go into the machine, it has to be treated and scrubbed before I wash (which is absolutely ridiculous, since I live with a electrician that gets crazy dirty and have kids too) any clothes. I use Liquid Tide HE, either Ultra stain release, or bleach alternative. For darks, delicates and hand washing I have been using the new Seventh Generation Ultra Power Plus. So it will be interesting to see how that works out. Wasn't impressed with SG 4x liquid. I wish I could use more green detergent on all clothes, but it simply won't cut it, especially in my machine. I have tried wisk deep clean he, and I do like it, I dont get a lot of suds, probably because my water chemistry. So I get that sometimes too. I am interested in tide turbo clean, and also persil. Their have been so many good things said about persil I want to try it, I just dont know if it is the same formula I have hears rave reviews about.

My favorites are Sears Ultra "free" powder (although in a different topic discussion it looks like the name is changed to Kenmore) and Charlies Soap. I also use Woolite "Darks" sometimes. We are perfume sensitive so have to use the "free" versions.

My usual choice was liquid Tide HE. Last time I picked up liquid kirkland he. I love it even better. It's cheaper, last longer, and wash our clothes as good as Tide.

Too much scent or suds is usually from the use of too much detergent. But some people who use too little detergent may have problems with keeping the unseen parts of the washer clean. The primary determinant of detergent quantity is water hardness and the total soil in the clothing. The recommend detergent dosage from the manufacturer in the U.S. is probably for moderately hard water and moderately dirty laundry.

My newer LG FL washer simply doesn't use enough water to do a good single rinse. If the final rinse isn't almost clean water, what remains coating the washer and clothes is somewhat dirty rinse water.

The premium Tide liquid apparently uses the term "ultra" in the name. The current Tide powder is at least as good as the ultra. I use the powder as the primary detergent. Finished clothes have little scent because I've used the correct amount of detergent, and do two rinses.

The common red bottle tide variants in the grocery store is not P&G's best effort in making a laundry detergent. Consumer Reports rates the best tide products as the best laundry detergents. My Safeway sells none of these detergents.

It seems to me that the correct dose of any HE detergent has just a little suds at the end of the primary wash cycle. No regular detergent should be leaving anything like fabric softener level scent in dried laundry.

dzzmiller, I'm not quite sure what you are saying in your last 2 paragraphs. Could you elaborate please?

Pat

As far as Tide, the detergents consumer reports rates as best are Tide Ultra and Tide Vivid powder. Neither of these are available at my grocery store. I think people who are concerned about stain removal should try the best Tide products, which is not the common Tide original.

My last paragraph is in response to people reporting about too much suds or too much scent from HE detergents. The former problem is usually from using too much detergent in soft water. The later is usually insufficient rinsing.

My water saving LG FL does not rinse adequately using default settings (it always defaults to single rinse). I think the newer FL that minimize water use may need two rinse cycles.

The new Tide HE Turbo Powder should help your suds problem since this formula is lower sudsing and what suds that are there die faster after the wash cycle--clearer rinses.

Tide Free & Gentle powder for my conventional (non-HE) washer. Thanks to this forum, I learned that liquid detergent was responsible for leaving a build-up of soap on washcloths. I went back to powder and the problem was solved...believe it or not, bluing used in the water also helps. However, I just last week noticed some buildup in a couple of washcloths and was also just reading here about Tide changing some formulae. I'm going to do some more reading.

Any brand in the natural category- all other detergents' chemicals make me itch.. favorite though is liquid Meyer's in lavender.

Sears, recently renamed Kenmore. I am sensitive to detergents and even the scented ones by Sears work for me. They clean well,even dirty work and "barn" clothing, and rinse well.

I have super-sensitive skin, and even the free and clear versions of regular laundry detergents make me itch and break out in rashes. I use Charlie's Soap with some Nellie's thrown in. We have very hard water, so I add a tablespoon or more of citric acid powder to every load. I wash colors in warm and whites in hot (adding some hydrogen peroxide just to the white loads), and everything comes out nice and clean. The citric acid and the Nellie's help soften things a little, as I cannot use any form of fabric softener. I used to use white vinegar, but switched to the citric acid powder as my husband said he could smell the vinegar on the clothing.

I know these are not popular choices, but I write about Charlie's and Nellie's for others who, like me, cannot tolerate the more popular detergents and soaps.

hisown, I'm glad you like Charlie's because I need to try it again for myself instead of listening to others' comments about it. And citric acid POWDER? Hmmm. Will try that too.

Pat or isherwood or whatever I've been converted to at Houzz.