I read somewhere that liquid detergents are cheaper to make than powder. That is probably why the manufacturers are going that way plus there are a lot of people that use liquids. Personally I like powder best plus I understand it causes less problems for our front load washers.
I guess we will just have to take what we can get?!

I'll just keep buying Sears powdered detergent. Just really hacks me off. I've never liked liquids and never will.

There are many powdered alternatives to grocery store brands that work as well or better. I've tried liquids -- can't say I find anything special about them that would make me want to switch from my powder -- and they're messier too.

You're lucky that your detergents aren't being dumbed down - although powders and liquids are widely available here (powders more than liquids), lazy ways of dosing detegrent i.e. with tablets and liquid sachets are taking over here - I know more people who use tablets/liquid sachets than powder/liquid that is measured yourself.

Does seem a shame though that powders seem to be being brushed under the carpet there, and not everyone has the time or effort to want to special order "non-grocery store" powder, when powders really should be available on the supermarket shelf from the leading brands.

I guess though, as with everything, the consumer has power and possibly people are just buying more liquid than powder as a whole.

Jon

I still see jumbo boxes of Sunlight powder in the discount department stores in Toronto. However, American liquid brands in bizarre scents are rapidly taking over store shelves and advertising space. I get the impression that many people view liquid detergent as superior, or at least more upscale, than powder.

I think liquids are messy and I don't think they clean any beater than powder. The manufactures keeping flapping their lips about how convenient liquids are. I don't see it. I think they just want to get you to think so for their own advantage.

I definitely noticed this at the supermarket (major chain) last week - one row of powders (none HE) and 3 rows of liquids. Fortunately, my local Target carries powdered Tide HE, which I like much better than the liquid Tide HE. If I get around to it, one of these days I'll order a box of the Biokleen Premium the sshrivastava recommends, to compare to the Tide (which she says she used in the past and liked much, but doesn't hold a candle in her opinion to the Biokleen).

I can't find any HE powder in the stores any more, so I order it from Amazon, 4 boxes to an order. It's convenient and I get what I want.

I read recently (can't remember where) that one should use powders over liquids for economical reasons. Apparently the manufacturers use a lot of water fillers in the liquid detergents, so you don't get the bang for your buck as you would with powders.

I use All Free and Clear liquid in my FL; not the HE kind. About 2 tablespoons per load. One of those huge jugs (about a gallon??) lasts for months. I don't even remember what I paid for the last one or even when I bought it: $12 on sale, I think.

As far as I'm concerned, lots of bang for my buck.

Powdered additives that I sometime use leave a crusty residue in the washer where the detergent enters (not the dispenser itself), have a tendency to spill on the ground and have to be swept up. Powders do not seem more convenient to me.

However, the tendency to provide wide selection of highly perfumed liquids (or powders, for that matter) is not very encouraging to me. I have an allergic family member who itches if perfumed laundry detergent is used -- it doesn't matter if the scent is light or it smells nice instead of stinky, or it's very not strong -- if there's perfume, he itches. I've become accustomed to no perfumes and have come to prefer unscented clothing. Now I find the laundry perfumes to be particularly obnoxious.

YMMV,
CMC

At least most folks dont have to special order your powder at 50-100 bucks per order like we Persil users do in small town USA. It lasts a good long time though. I order about once every 9 months if I just get one box.

I use All Free and Clear liquid in my FL; not the HE kind. About 2 tablespoons per load. One of those huge jugs (about a gallon??) lasts for months. I don't even remember what I paid for the last one or even when I bought it: $12 on sale, I think.

I also prefer liquids, for lack of mess. 2 TBSP per load sounds about right. I typically buy 100oz jugs when they're about $3 or $4 on sale. Like you, we only buy unscented detergents. I just can't abide the smell of the perfumed varieties.

--Steve

I was so glad to be able to use powder when I got my FL w/ heater. I used powder sometimes in my old TL, but since my water wasn't very hot, it never dissolved well. Liquids always dripped and left a sticky mess under the bottle and I prefer the powder. I ordered 4 boxes of Tide HE and 4 of Gain a few months ago from Amazon, as I cannot get it in any store I have seen. I better start searching for more if it's getting even harder to find. I don't get the "scents" of the new liquids. My FL rinses out all but a trace of the smelly Tide HE so I don't think these new smells would stay in either. I previously used Tide Free in my TL, as I couldn't stand the smell of regular detergents. My wash just smells fresh now.

My Asko machine was built for powdered detergents, not liquids. Although you can use a special plastic insert for liquid detergents, there is no similar insert for the pre-wash detergent compartment. If you put liquid in there, it runs right out. So even if you use liquid for your main wash, you have to use powder for your pre-wash.

I suppose for most people it's a preference thing, but it's too bad powders are disappearing from store shelves -- choice is a good thing. If you spill some powder, you can vacuum it up in a snap, but if you spill liquid you end up with a gooey, goopy mess that you'll never be able to get out of nooks and crannies.

My Asko machine was built for powdered detergents, not liquids

Every European (and any other frontloading) washing machine is built to take liquid or powder detergent, so that statement is untrue. There is no insert for the prewash compartment simply because the detergent will be flushed in straight away, the liquid detergent insert in the mainwash compartment is there exactly so that liquid for the mainwash isnt released until it's supposed to. Besides, it's very rare that you should need a prewash anyway so I doubt it's a problem for most people.

Several brands here also offer liquid dispensers to put in the drawer, but most people (including myself) just use a dosing ball that comes with liquid detergent. I use liquid sometimes and on normally soiled laundry there is no problem at all, especially on darks. It's generally whites where the performance difference between powders and liquids really shows IMO, at least with the detergents we get here.

I personally don't see much of a problem with liquids though, compared to the other dumbed-down pre measured tablet and liquid sachet detergents we get here - though I must admit I bought a box of Ariel Colour tablets yesterday as Sainsbury's don't seem to sell the bigger boxes of colour powders anymore.

Jon

I switched to liquids for my top loader a few years ago when Purex and Arm & Hammer were on deep discount for a long time in the southeastern Michigan area. I found they cleaned very well and I thought that a liquid was much easier to use than powder. I didn't get a nose full of detergent dust when I measured it out either. I preferred Arm & Hammer detergent because it was very effective for removing odors. I now use HE All Small & Mighty or Wisk 3x concentration in my front loader. They also clean very well and are ultra convenient to use.

About 80% of people nowdays prefer to use liquids.

Odd, I was just noticing this too. My local Walmart is remodeling and they have just a tiny section of powders on the laundry aisle now. The grocery store I usually go to redid the laundry aisle recently and now there are only a few powders on the bottom shelf.

I've used liquid for years and years....started it after my then toddler son climbed up on a stool and pulled a whole box of powder down off the dryer onto the carpet. You just *think* it all vacuums up....that spot attracted dirt like crazy and we finally had to just rip the carpet up there. At least with a bottle of liquid I could reseal it after opening.

I'd been thinking about giving powder a try again though (youngest is mostly past the dumping stage;-) and now there's nothing to choose from.

There will be even less choice if people only post in online threads and don't write to the management of the stores they shop at. I'm sure they don't want to lose customers.

Bruno

Every European (and any other frontloading) washing machine is built to take liquid or powder detergent, so that statement is untrue.

Aquarius, if you don't own an Asko then please don't comment on their usage issues. Of course all front loaders will acommodate liquids, but Asko's design for liquid detergent does not work well. If you put liquid detergent into the detergent compartment and run a cycle with pre-wash, the liquid in the detergent compartment will slowly leak into the pre-wash and you'll have nothing left for your main wash. No matter how tightly you insert the liquid insert, there is always a hairline of gap at the bottom, which causes the liquid to slowly trickle out.

It is absolutely true, from my experience, that Askos were designed with powdered detergents in mind. Accommodating liquid detergents was clearly an afterthought. If I had only liquid detergents to choose from, I'd be a very unhappy camper.

Besides, it's very rare that you should need a prewash anyway so I doubt it's a problem for most people.

Again, poppycock. My partner does a lot of work on his car, so I run at least one or two loads per week using the heavy cycle, which has a pre-wash, to keep everything sparkling white. You're again generalizing based on your experience, so please don't tell me that I should rarely need a pre-wash when I most clearly do, on a regular basis. Using liquids for these loads would prove utterly useless given Asko's somewhat flawed design for liquid detergents.

Of course all front loaders will acommodate liquids, but Asko's design for liquid detergent does not work well

That was my general point... your Asko is still built for use with liquids, whether it works well or not is another story and it wasn't supposed to be something posted against you. We had a Hotpoint frontloader before that had a similar liquid dispenser and that wasn't too clever at keeping liquid in too, but that's not still to say it wasn't designed for use with a liquid, more that it was built for liquids but just poorly designed. The Miele dispenser on the other hand, is so well designed that water remains in the liquid dispenser. In the other point I made, I was referring to the public as general and most people I know don't have the need or the bother to use a prewash, again your mileage may vary, in fact I use the prewash option too for severe soiling usually once a fortnight. And, as I have also said, I've found powders to be generally better on whites with the detergents available here... and I wasn't explicably telling you to use liquid detergents.

BTW, from the Tide HE liquid I have sampled (thanks to a friend who managed to get some from the US), I have noticed it is a lot thinner than our liquid detergents which are quite thick, which I suppose could also contribute to the problem. Thick liquid is less likely to flow through a hairline gap, and being European the Asko liquid dispenser was probably designed with this in mind.

FWIW, I don't think there was any need for your harsh attitude, especially as I have helped you in the past.

Jon

BTW, from the Tide HE liquid I have sampled (thanks to a friend who managed to get some from the US), I have noticed it is a lot thinner than our liquid detergents which are quite thick, which I suppose could also contribute to the problem.

I don't have experience with liquids in Europe (always used powder when laundering there), though Jon wil remember the report on the one Spanish liquid detergent that was not as good at cleaning as water.

When I llived in England I found that there was a wide international variance in cleansing abilities even for products with the same name. The UK version of Sunlight dish soap was much less good at cutting grease than the US version (we ended up buying dish soap on trips to Italy, where the stuff is curiously fantastic), US powders like Zud and Barkeepers Friend had much more acid (=cleaning power) and less perfume than the UK counterpart, but UK laundry soap was better than both the Italian and US counterparts.

This was several years ago, I do not know if the products in Europe have become more homogeneous, though I did do some laundry last year in Italy and found the powder I used completely acceptable. - DR

I predict more and more complaints about smelly machines due to detergent buildup. At least till they learn to drop the amount used per load.

I prefer powder myself. i've got to check out what is available on Amazon, as my choices are severely limited in the stores around here.

I think the manufacturers may have gone to liquid so that people will use a lot larger dose than needed. It's very easy to just pour and guestimate with liquid than with powder. The way the powder boxes are shaped you need to scoop it with something to get it in the tub, so you are likely to measure with their scoop. However, with the liquid you don't really have to use the cap, you can just pour. While all of their scoops and lids will over dose your machine, particularly a FL, pouring w/o measuring will be even worse. More money in their pocket and more washer troubles for you. So, maybe they are even in cahoots with the appliance manufacturers.

I'm glad I know exactly how to measure. And it does take me a long time to go through whatever i'm using.

Just my .02

sue

I noticed with my Frigidaire Front loader, when I use powdered detergent, some undisolved detergent granuals will be left on the upper half of the porthole glass. Requiring a wipe down with a damp rag.
I happen to like powders, but liquids just are easier to control when filling the dispenser drawer of a front loader.
Many times when I come accross older top-load washers at thrift stores, they always have rust in the corners of the fill flume from caked up powdered detergent holding moisture.
-Alex

All detergents have a potential to cake up somewhere in the machine. But there is little excuse for it to cake up in the dispensers. Owners have to have SOME responsibility for maintenance of machinery, just like you do with your automobiles, lawn and garden equipment, etc. This is why we see so many lawn mowers, weed eaters, and appliances in the landfill. Too many folks use it till it breaks and buy another. Never spending a few minutes of thier time in maintenance.