I'm a powder fan for the simple reasons that if you spill some it's easier to clean up, and if you put too much in the dispenser it's easier to remove. I also believe powder is less likely to create deposits in the machine but have no proof to buttress that theory.

I've used both powder (Sears Stain-lifter and Oxi-Clean HE formulas) and liquid detergent (Tide w/Bleach, Ultra Cheer ColorGuard, and Woolite - all HE formulas) in my Bravos. They all seem to clean very well.

I really like the Sears powdered detergent. It cleans well and is VERY inexpensive compared to the others. regus_patoff posted a link below showing that the Oxi-Clean formula is on sale for half price through October 4. I'm posting it for you in case you're interested.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears Oxi-Clean HE detergent on sale

I also like the Sears powders. I also noticed it leaves NO WHITE RESIDUE on my black pants like the Tide powder did.

I've had an Oasis HE for just over 2 yrs. I've mostly used liquids...primarily All & A&H simply because they were inexpensive and easy to find and worked well. We got a Sears appliance store very near my house a while back so I've been using their Stain Fighting Formula powder lately and like it as well. I can't tell that either are preferable for the machine though I definitely prefer the even greater economy of the Sears powder.

GL! I've been very pleased with my Oasis!

We've never had any white residue from Tide powder (the only HE powder readily available in my area). What could be causing that?

For many years I used powder until we had to have our septic cleaned and it was full of caked powder soap. I have used liquid every since.

Susie

The Sears laundry detergent label says it is safe for septic tanks. One thing I like about it is that the scoop is so small; each load uses a very small amount of detergent. It's not nearly as much detergent as my old non-HE detergent scoop used.

It's a tough call, because a lot of people think liquid detergent is not good for HE washers. And the Sears powdered detergent is a terrific bargain. I haven't tried their liquid formula, but it's much cheaper than other brands too.

The reason for the white residue left from the Tide powder is because of the 'fillers'. The caked septic tank funk was undesolved powdered detergent. The Sears detergents desolve really well. I swish the detergent with one of those plastic paint sticks before I put my clothes in. I was using A&H liquid detergent for about a year because I got some really cheap and within a couple of months my washer developed a funky rancid smell. Once I went back to powders and started using the Sears for the last 6 months, no more funky smell. BTW, I sold the last 6 containers of A&H at my last yard sale. Now they are funking up someone elses washer.

I have used Tide HE powder for years and have septic and do not have undisolved detergent in my tank. Furthermore most front load washers do not fill with tap cold unless your water is semi warm almost and I see no residue ever on my clothing. If you have residue you are obviously overloading the machine. Tide HE powder is far better than Sears detergent period and nothing gets stains out like Tide. Towels need only 1-2 level tablespoons and 4 tablespoons for wash and wear items, 2 tablespoons for jeans.

If the wash program uses the on-board heater, powder. Otherwise, liquid.

Liquids + Heater = sudsy mess!

MRB

Wow, I had no idea Tide was that good. And here I was thinking about trying Sears detergent.

I should add to the above that we've had the occasional small amount of redidue in the dispenser drawer but never (at least not yet) on clothes. Our Duet seems to do a good job of rinsing away Tide's relatively mild scent.

If you're seeing undissolved powder building up in your septic tank you are using too much product! I do vastly more laundry than most people (1,500+ loads per year) and even if it all ended up undissolved in my septic, that's a very small physical quantity, certainly less than one of those plastic containers of cat litter, because I don't pour it in by the cupful.

I have to disagree, too, with a couple of other statements: liquids + heaters do not necessarily result in oversudsing, just under certain circumstances due to particular water chemistry, choice and formulation of liquid product, and of course over-dosing. Many people use liquid Persil products, as an example, in Euro-style front loaders
with extremely powerful heaters. All without overwhelming suds.

And secondly, many FL do use tap cold at the beginning. I know some of my machines (Asko brand), are only connected to the cold line and I have set my other machines (Miele) to be filled in the same manner. And my tap-cold in the winter is usually about 50F.

If you see extra, moist but sort of stuck-on, remaining powdered detergent, it means not all of your dosage was correctly dispensed. On my machines it also means that the water running in for the rinses would have been contaminated by the left-over detergent residue simply due to how the machine refills for the rinse(s) by running water through the theoretically now-empty detergent compartment. That's something you can check out by watching your machine during all of it's rinse operations. If this is a problem for you, there is a simple cure: before you dump the powder in run a towel in and dry off the floor and sides of the detergent compartment. And of course, make sure you're not overdosing with product.

This is a problem for me when I use the delay start setting on my machine; unless the detergent compartment is absolutely dry the detergent powder will partially melt and get stuck on.

Even under non-delayed circumstances (and with a fully dried compartment), I found that Charlie's Soap almost always formed a brittle clump as soon as my water hits it, which interferes with correct dispensing. Since I don't use Charlies for everyday laundry, but reserve it for particular loads, I just try to remember this issue and work around it. That's a perfect example of a product interacting with a particular water chemistry.

HTH,

Molly~

Liquids no matter how little you use is difficult to rinse and many here would agree. I have noticed that Clorox 2 for colors aids in rinsing and that I use at its recommended dose-wash and wear mostly and jeans. FYI Whirlpool Duets and its Kenmore clones do not use tap cold for the main wash cycles. This is not Europe.

The first inrush of water (and possibly the entire wash fill) into any machine may be cold, if it's far enough from the house water heater.

In my experience, Tide HE powder is not better than Sears detergent - it cleans and gets stains out as least as well as Tide, if not better. YMMV due to varying water types (our water is not hard) and water temps (we live in a warm region of the country, so our 'cold' water is tepid in the hot months of the year).

I wash for two guys who work in HVAC, one of them works on his car almost daily, thus I wash greasy, grimy, grungy jeans/work clothes for them. I just washed a load yesterday with Sears Ultra Plus Stain-Fighting HE powder detergent, I used just one scoop, did not prewash or soak, and the jeans/shirts not only came perfectly clean, they also had no odor but that of clean clothes.

I have nothing against Tide HE detergent; I've used the HE powder and liquid formulas w/o any real problem, though I do wish I could find the HE powder detergent w/bleach, as I used that non-HE formula for years in my old conventional washer and really liked its whitening power. Because of this, I've bought the Sears Oxi-Clean formula to see how it will do on white laundry.

The Sears detergents cost MUCH less than Tide - the price difference is huge because I've been buying the Sears detergents at half price, and its full price is already a lot cheaper than Tide - they clean and rinse extremely well, I haven't yet seen any difference in their and Tide's cleaning power, so I honestly can't see the point in spending more money for Tide. JMHO

I should add: I've only bought the Sears powder detergents, not the liquid. Also, there are many reviews on all the Sears detergents, both liquid and powder, at the Sears website, and I have not seen anything but VERY positive reviews there.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears laundry detergent (more formulas are available at Sears stores)

Overdosing is such a common cause of complaints and problems and one of the most difficult to get people to understand. You don't have to fill and overflow that measuring cup. I used liquids for probably 20 years and the last 5-7 years of those I used the dreaded Arm & Hammer but for some reason my machine didn't get funked up. I wonder why? Perhaps I was dosing my washes correctly? Granted I didn't like the cleaning of A&H and don't use it anymore but I chuckle at how powerful a bottle of detergent can be.

The last 4-5 years I've used a mix of powdered and liquid, mostly powder. I don't find it easier to clean a powder spill than liquid though. A paper towel wipes up liquid. Powder bounces and spreads all over and about all you can do is blow it onto the floor and sweep and have the powder residue on everything, then wash it down. So I'm just careful not to spill. And if I can go back to a well-worn point, if you don't overdose, you're less likely to spill anyway! ;)

Powder or liquid? It's a personal preference mostly. What should you use? Use what works best for you and your laundry conditions. Water makes a difference as does the person doing the laundry. Right here, I think it's easier to clean up liquid, someone else thinks powder is easier to clean up. Your water conditions are different than mine. So try different ones and see what works best for you and your conditions. I tried powder again after swearing it off years ago because of the caking problems. That seems to be taken care of these days. I don't know how much powdered detergent I threw away because it was like a rock, wouldn't dissolve and was a waste of money. But I've been using powders happily until I got such a deal on the Tide that I'll be using liquid again (and very happily) for a long time to come. 5 bottles will last me for years. Plus I have a box and 1/2 pail of powder here too. So I'm set for a long time.

When you say "a paper towel wipes up liquid", won't that leave some residue? I agree that introducing water to the process (especially early) will simply produce a lot of suds. What powder we can't sweep up and reuse is typically ingested by the vacuum cleaner, which, handily, happens to reside in a closet in the laundry room.

Well I used the dreaded liquid A & H, used 1/2 the amount always and it still gunked up my washer. Oh, I also have soft water.

I have used both powders and liquids over the 10 years span of my marriage. It depended on what was the cheapest when I was first married. I use to use the A&H powder for my hubs work clothes a lot as it was cheap per load and got them really clean and destunkified. LOL! I make up words sometimes so bare with me. Then I used Tide Free powder a lot too before my FL. Powders are just cheaper in my area per load.

Kinda funny, my FL now seems to prefer powders so the choice is really outta my hands now-a-days.

I have soft water so I use powder, the Sears kind. It rinses out really good. I won't even think about using liquid detergent especially with my soft water. It'll take forever to rinse out.

I live in Southern California we have hard water

I have use powder of all kinds
Foca,Ariel, Gain and list go on. I have never had a problem with it every. I recently learn that if you add water softener such as TSP it makes a great different. I would fabric softener in final rinse it just mostly gave a smell and that I use different brands as well.

I remember buying a bottle of Arm & Hammer with Oxiclean and getting several blue laundry detergent stains.

Powder is easier to clean up
Liquid if you have stain you have to use stain remover and sort of methods. How is that easier.

Don't someone think of add it was not diluted properly I try add it before it fill up and after words no differents