I think MamaP would have said it is the sodium carbonate. Also what kind of water do you have? Soft-Hard? what kind of machine. Front or top loader? HE? I have a front loader with soft water and only need a little less than a tablespoon of powdered detergent. I always do three to four rinses. jRecently my towels started to feel scratchy I washed them without detergent and found plenty of suds. I keep meaning to buy STTP (correct name?) as per MamaP's suggestion, but never get around to it. That helps pull all extra detergent out and makes clothes softer

Here are Mamas words of wisdom on the subject....

She also use to chime in on conversations about various powdered detergents and how some had so much sodium percarbonates she’d never use it.... I miss her to pieces...

Someone here said their towels were softer and not as scratchy with liquid detergent. I gave it a try and agree.

I'm starting to use more liquids because it is difficult to find free & clear powders. I also think liquid detergent helps our clothes come out softer. I never use fabric softener (allergic).

I can find ALL Free Clear in a powder at WalMart and that's it. And there is Charlie's Soap powder, which is a godsend for me, but it has its limitations too.

When I add oxygen bleach, I cut back in the powder detergent dose by the same amount. Keeps the suds down and that scratchy feeling.

Thanks to everyone for confirming I've not lost my mind. I've noticed the same phenomenon with using powder detergent and Biz versus new Tide Liquid Heavy Duty 10X. I may also try Persil Deep Clean Stain fighter.

Cavimum - I am allergic to fabric softeners too! (And dryer sheets.) I’ve never met anyone else with the same allergy!

I notice a huge difference with using powder versus liquid. I always use liquids on towels because of this. Adding sodium PERcarbonate shouldn’t make the clothes feels harsh or scratchy in low or normal doses. Sodium Carbonate will. Warm rinses should help the clothes feel a bit softer when using powders because it will help to dissolve and remove those remaining compounds.

Dorey... exactly! I miss typed that... should read sodium carbonate, not percarbonate.....

Another thing about powders that I've noticed, and this could just be my imagination, but when I slightly overdose (not enough to cause lots of extra suds), I think the Sodium carbonate doesn't get rinsed out well enough and we feel it after the laundry is dry. I cannot control the rinse temp on my machine, it is only COLD that is heated to 86°F. On some machines, that might qualify as WARM.

It sounds like the carbonates aren't getting rinsed out. If you're line drying, try throwing items in the dryer for a few minutes before putting on the line.

Not sure what powder you're using but I've never experienced this with ALL Free powder.

What temp is your water? Perhaps the powder is not dissolving well enough.

I only wash in hot (125 to 150 degrees) and warm (90-105 degrees).

Thanks for all the great answers. I have been using Tide f/g powder since that hasn't changed. Sometimes I add a Clorox2 pod or two. With water on the soft side, it's really hard finding something that rinses good-for me any way. Damn pandg and tide. They just can't leave well enough alone.From their ingredient list the he turbo f/g doesn't look so he anymore and I hesitate trying it. Oh well, it is what it is.

I do miss MamaP, we all do.

Water on the soft side Tide + Clorox pods might be a slight overdose, depending on the size of your laundry load + dirt level of the items. We have moderately hard water and it is so easy to overdose, when I miscalculate dirt levels for the size of the laundry load, and synthetic garments need a bit less detergent, yadda yadda, and my laundry ends up on a bit crunchy.