# High Efficiency Laundry Detergent **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994 "2005-05-09T01:22:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![uxorious69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7ab992/32.png) [@uxorious69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uxorious69)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/1 "2005-05-09T01:22:03Z")
I have a new washer that recommends using “high efficiency” detergent. Unsurprisingly, this type of detergent is only sold by the “biggies” (P&G, etc.) and is very expensive. Is there really any difference that makes it worth using this soap or am I better off continuing to buy the cheapest detergent available? I’ve read that the only real difference in these products is the dollars spent on advertising. What’s the deal? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/2 "2005-05-09T01:32:54Z")
I’m no industrial chemist, but that claim smells of the stuff you want to wash _out_ of your clothing. 😉 Try this: Buy the supermarket brand X for $2.49 a gallon and see if your clothes are acceptably clean. Then see if you can get a sample of their Super-Duper-Ultra-Clean and conduct your own comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/3 "2005-05-09T01:43:02Z")
I have one of those HE washers. The big difference between the two detergents is that the HE stuff foams less. That may not sound like much, but when you open the door and there’s suds still all over the tub, it suggests a difference between the two. There’s at least one low-cost HE brand, Purex. Also, my Sears store had low-cost HE powder for awhile. There’s another option. Take your regular detergent and cut the amount in half. If that gets your clothes clean without extra sudsing, problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Carroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tom\_Carroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Carroll)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/4 "2005-05-09T03:58:57Z")
I have an H.E. washer made by Frigidaire. I used to use Tide with bleach HE powder which is the same price as the regular Tide with bleach powder. That detergent gave me a rash after a while. I switched to All Free Clear powder. It doesn’t have any extra stuff added to it and it doesn’t foam up a lot like regular Tide powder. Also, a tip for you. Don’t use the detergent drawer to add the detergent. Just dump into the washer before you add your clothes. The detergent doesn’t get all out of the drawer and makes a mess of the drawer. Well, at least mine does. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/5 "2005-05-09T09:39:08Z")
> [@uxorious69](#): > > I have a new washer that recommends using “high efficiency” detergent. Unsurprisingly, this type of detergent is only sold by the “biggies” (P&G, etc.) and is very expensive. Is there really any difference that makes it worth using this soap or am I better off continuing to buy the cheapest detergent available? I’ve read that the only real difference in these products is the dollars spent on advertising. What’s the deal? You mean the low sudsing industrial type? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/6 "2005-05-09T12:44:27Z")
“High Efficiency” detergent is not a scam designed to make you pay more for detergent. Rather, it’s detergent formulated specifically for use with energy-efficient, eco-friendly, front-loading washing machines. If you have a more conventional top-loading washer, then you shouldn’t buy HE detergents. Front-loading machines are designed to wash clothes with far less water than a regular machine uses (which also means you use less energy to heat the water). But if you use regular Tide or Fab with a front loading machine, you’ll create an ocean of suds that will probably overflow the machine, and that you’d have to run numerous rinse cycles to get rid of. Hence, there are now HE detergents that we can use in our front-loading machines without fear. They’re more expensive than regular detergents because, right now, there are far more top-loading machines out there, so there are far more “low efficiency” detergents on the market competing with each other. Over time, as front-loading machines become more popular (many cities are now encouraging the purchase of front-loading machines; Austin gave me a rebate for buying one), I imagine more companies will make HE detegrnets, and the price will fall. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/7 "2005-05-09T15:01:15Z")
Didn’t Cecil once do some experiment that suggested in an offhand way that detergent doesn’t really do all that much for your clothes, or did I imagine that? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/8 "2005-05-09T15:50:13Z")
At risk of dragging this to IMHO territory, I’ve tried the Costco Kirkland HE liquid and it’s just a big sudsy mess that needs a soap-free cycle just to rinse the stuff out - at the end of a regular wash with extra rinse, there were still bubbles. :mad: I wound up giving it to a neighbor with a top-loader. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/9 "2005-05-09T15:58:45Z")
I’ve been using front-loading washers for about 10 years now. We’ve found that for an average load of laundry (no grape juice stains kind of thing) that reqular old powered detergent, at about a third of the quantity, works just fine. My WAG is that the combination of less water used, and manufacturers’ desire to recommend more soap then is really needed means I can get away with a lot less soap. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/10 "2005-05-09T17:35:10Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Didn’t Cecil once do some experiment that suggested in an offhand way that detergent doesn’t really do all that much for your clothes, or did I imagine that? [You did not.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_007b.html) However, he didn’t go so far as to claim that detergent does nothing for your clothes. He merely discovered that washing the clothes in plain water seemed to get them about as clean as washing them with Tide or whatever. There could be a few explanations for this, including residual detergent left in the clothes from previous washing. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-efficiency-laundry-detergent/302994/11 "2005-05-09T17:55:22Z")
I see that Consumer Reports lasted tested laundry detergents in August, 2003. They found some difference in quality between brands, but even the lowest rated tested “good” overall. The cheapest, something called “Xtra,” came in dead last. But Gain With Bleach powder was excellent and cost quite a bit less than Tide.