Like you, I thought liquids would be better....I always thought powders never fully dissolved and would get caked up...but I guess I was wrong.

I'll be switching to powder....hopefully that will help prevent my mold problem.

While liquids may dissolve somewhat more readily than powders, particularly in cold water, they still do have to dissolve. And think about how goopy and slimy is a spilled mess of liquid detergent. Undissolved power residue is a particulate, perhaps more readily to flush away with the wash and rinse water than slimy, sticky residue from liquids.

When I read kcred's post, I remembered that I had a bottle of HE liquid in my laundry supply cupboard, turned upside for a month+ (probably two months) to drain the dregs into the cap. I went for a look. Here's a backlit pic of the bottle. Note the residue stuck to the bottom/(top). It did flush away upon rinsing the bottle.

This 2nd pic is the cap. The lighter area is where I wiped with my finger.

Thanks for the responses!
dadoes, since I'm very dense, did your reply suggest using powders over liquids? All the time or occasionally? Again, any help here is welcome. A little preventative maintenance goes a long ways.

I've never quite understood the wide-spread switch in the American market place from powdered laundry detergents to liquids. The liquids always seemed to me to be a sort of goopy, messy alternative. Powders are easy to measure (I just scoop out a measure full from the box), don't drip, and are easy to clean up, should I happen to have a minor spill. I've never had a problem with undissolved detergent.

The same is true for dishwasher detergent. I much prefer the powdered varieties. No mess, and much easier to measure,

Some years ago I was poking around my old dryer and discovered that the fan had a thick hard buildup from powdered detergent dust coating the plastic impeller. Had always used regular powdered Tide or Kirkland in the TL on hot water wash. Just goes to show that both types of detergent resist dissolving completely into water to a greater extent than one might expect.

Could you link to the thread on the moldy F&P you mentioned. I would like to read it and I cannot find it. Thanks!

I usually switch it up between both powder or liquid.

I do find powder tends to fade clothes more.

laat2,

How did you confirm the residue on your dryer fan was detergent? Did you wash the fan and get suds? I'd assume it was compacted lint residue, not detergent. Just wondering ...

Buffalotina,
Here is the link you requested...

Here is a link that might be useful: Moldy F&P

(stands back as the Holy War begins)

Is there a perfume and dye free HE powder?

LOL, weedmeister!

I use both liquid and powder detergents, depending on what I'm washing and what temp wash water I'm using.

Liquid detergent does integrate better into cold water. I like to use it on delicates, clothes I wash on the Handwash cycle, and office/church clothes.

Powdered detergents seem to give better cleaning results on really tough stains. I use them only in hot or warm wash water. I like both Sears Ultra Wash Stain Fighting detergent (which is made for both regular and HE washers), and Tide powder HE detergent.

Whatever detergent I use, I use white vinegar in the final rinse, which serves to rid laundry of any detergent residue and also seems to help keep 'gunk' from collecting in washer components.

Here's a perfume and dye free HE powder. I use it in my Miele W4840. Never do cold washes, so I don't know how it would work in cold.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03209880000P

Cheer Free is a perfume/dye free and low sudsing powder. Many people around here in the past swore by it for their HE machines. And yes, I realize the folly over powder vs. liquid is churning.

weedmeister,
LOL! That gave me a chuckle. I needed that. Thank you.

granite man,
Besides the Sears Free Powder HE suburbanmd mentioned (which gets great reviews by users), there is also Seventh Generation Free Powder HE, Country Save Powder, and Charlie's Soap. The Seventh Generation got good reviews on consumer reports as a best buy. Country Save and Charlie's soap have also gotten good reviews by users too at Amazon. Unfortunately with any of them they are not widely available at just any store. But you can find all of them on the net for purchase.

As for the debate between powder and liquid, I say use what you like. I get mold in my washer not matter what I use. In fact, it's getting to the point I'm going to have to call the service guy out to replace the gasket in my FL. No matter what I use or how hard I scrub, the mold won't go away. It just lightens a little with bleach.

I much PREFER liquid detergents. I find powdered ones TOO harsh. I feel they fade clothes much quicker than liquids.
When the load is done washing with liquids, at least you don't have the white powdery residue in your washer tub after using a powdered detergent. This is what Ive found after using powder..when I run my finger around the wash tub.

The link below gives the official industry line on the advantages of liquid vs. powder detergents. No disadvantages are mentioned :-) Nevertheless the rest of the cleaning101.com site is also worth exploring.

Personally, I don't see how one can accurately measure the new concentrated liquids, since they're so thick and the dosages are so small.

Sept. 2009 issue of Consumer Reports had an article entitled "Shake, rattle, and squeeze: How much is left in that container?" They "emptied one of each product in the usual way, waited a few days for the remains to settle, and poured, squeezed, shook and tapped as much as any frugal but rational consumer might." Liquid detergents tested were All and Tide, concentration not mentioned. 7-16% of the contents were left behind in the bottle.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://cleaning101.com/laundry/LaundryFSRev.5-10-25-05.pdf

Okay,
So it looks like there will be residue buildup/leftover with either powder or liquid. Guess it's just the nature of the beast. So, don't overuse the amount of detergent, run a hot water wash cycle occasionally, and use what works best for you.
This is what I've learned so far. Thanks to all and keep on washin'!

P.S. to kcred's message: White vinegar (other vinegars will stain laundry) in the final rinse cycle will strip out detergent residue. 1/2 cup is usually sufficient for an HE washing machine. 1 cup might be needed in a traditional washer.

One particular place not to use liquids is on waterproof, breathable fabrics, such as Gore-Tex -- the wetting agents (or something along those lines) in liquids can cause the waterproofness to degrade.

Other than that, I'd love to find a stink-free powdered detergent that works well in HE front loaders (no scent, no Aloe, no soy)-- You have to beat Tide and/or Mrs. Meyers, depending on which of us you're convincing.

Sears Ultra Wash powdered laundry detergents work well in HE (and other) washing machines, and have virtually no scent. They are also very inexpensive.

My favorite formula is the Stain Fighting formula, but all formulas get good reviews. They are sold in mall stores and in Sears appliance stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears Ultra Wash powdered detergent

I use liquid about 90-95% of the time. My all time favourites are Persil Color Gel (for darks & coloured items) and Persil Universal Gel (for whites). They are quite expensive (sadly, about 4-5x what it costs in Germany and Europe), but do actually last a long time. I also like Surf Powder. It's not he, but it is very low sudsing, especially in my German Miele W4840 washer. Smells really great, very light and clean. After the wash, there is very little smell. So if you want something super perfumated, the Surf powder might not be for you. Persil though has a wonderful smell, and lasts and lasts. If you do not like smells, then Persil is not for you. It does smell great though, like old fashioned laundry soap..clean and nostalgic. Nothing like Candied apples or tropical nonsense!!

sfjeff: Thank you for the reminder about Gore-Tex fabrics. I had forgotten all about that the last two washes -- oops. I generally use Eco-Ver liquid for most loads: it is very thin, not goopy at all, and my now 5 year old Mieles have never had a mould issue. I generally use Charlie's Soap powder for my waterproof breathables when I remember.
DianeKy