There's a BUNCH of threads on this very topic in the laundry forum. Worth spending some time reading it. Be prepared to sort out a lot of, well, dirty laundry shall we say? But there is a lot of good info there from some very reasonable people who have a lot of experience with this issue. The one thing I find curious is people suggest using 1/2 the amount recommended for a top loader. This doesn't make sense to me. The claim is that a TL uses about 30 gal per load and a FL uses about 5 gal per load. Seems to me that you're going to be way overconcentrated (by 3 times) by using 1/2 the amount! Mathematically, in this case it would make sense to use 1/6 the amount of detergent. After all, if you do a 1/2 or 1/4 size load on your TL machine, don't you use 1/2 or 1/4 the detergent or risk massive sudsing? or do you need a special "small load" detergent? LOL Detergent manufacturers all say you can use HE detergent in a TL. They recommend twice as much as for a front loader. So that way, two times the amount needed for 5 gal of water is sufficient for 30 gal of water in a TL. But I doubt that, for I'm a skeptic. I just think the math is mixed up. There is a lot of chemistry involved in laundry and amount of water, detergent, types of soils, type, temp and hardness of water, all contribute to differences in cleaning. Everyone agrees that you need low sudsing in a FL machine, and actually you don't want a lot of suds in a top loader either! Usually if you have a bunch of suds you have too much detergent! This can also be true, even the article mentioned above admits you can use too much HE detergent. Most laundromaniacs/laundroholics recommend when you switch to a front loader from a top loader that it's a good idea to wash the clothes at least once without any detergent to determine how much residue is in the clothes. There may or may not be leftover detergent in your clothes depending on how much you use and how well you rinse. Every article I've read on HE detergents that claim you cannot use anything else fails to give plausible reasons for their claims. One attempted to, by suggesting that insufficient detergent won't suspend the soil to wash away. That made some sense. But it doesn't address my question on the difference in water useage, since the formula would be the same. Not one article has ever said what the formula change, or different chemical or whatever the difference is, except to again talk about suds, which is what everyone else has said! And again, when you consider 1/6 the amount of water being used, I'd certainly start with no more than 1/6th the amount and see what happens. There are many low-sudsing detergents out there. And there's some "HE" detergents that are rather high sudsing. Finding the combination that works with your machine and your water (and all the other variables) is the challenge. All that said, I think if I get a FL, I'll start with some HE detergent and see what happens. Especially during the learning phase so I can eliminate or at least minimize the impact of one variable. Perhaps the HE-only advocates can comment if I'm in error on my math or something.

For those who live far from a 'regular' Sears store - did you know there are independent Sears stores in many towns? They usually mainly stock appliances and other things, and they do carry Sears laundry detergent (mine had all the different formulas the last time I was there). The one in my town saves me a longer drive to the next closest Sears store at a mall, and I love the convenience of being able to buy detergent there. I've noticed just recently that I can't bring up the Stain-Fighting formula at Sears' website, and I wonder if they plan to discontinue that formula? I certainly hope not! If they do, I'm definitely going to stock up on it, and may have to do that at my neighborhood independent dealer. If someone sees the Sears Stain-Fighting formula at Sears' website, PLEASE post that info here. Thanks!

jrdown, I wash whites in hot, pastels/colors in warm and darks in warm. I really noticed the fading on Navy cotton kids p.j's and on a black 95%cotton/5%spandex t shirt. Both items had been washed numerous times with Tide, Sunlight. After washing with the Sears I realized that it was not great for darks. It works good on whites though. I am probably not washing in too hot a setting as my washer does not have an internal heater Cabrio with agitator. I am glad you have not experienced any fading. I am too nervous to try it out on any more darks as I wear many of these clothes to work. Let me know what you think.

@Mitch, thanks for the info! Yes, I think you *need* to order them to give them another try. Or if you want I would be happy to send you some so you can test them out! Do you still like the German or UK persil powders? I tried the German liquid/gel and the scent was too strong for me (I like very mild scents), so wondering about persil powder, but I think I recall Larsi saying that the german persil has changed in recent years and is no longer so great? @Mama, I recall the Ph of Tide liquid being lower than powder detergents....for a while I used Tide liquid F&C and was pretty happy with how it cleaned. Hmm, laundry has become quite complicated--ph, water temp, water hardness, presence of enzymes, rinses, cycle time, soak, brighter, bleaches, liquid vs. powder... OH MY!