Thinking back to the 1960s/70s in the USA
I remember seeing directions on detergent boxes in the USA (e.g. Tide) that advised using half the normal amount of detergent if using a front loader. Westinghouse still sold FLs, though they had only a miniscule market share by that time, plus there were surviving machines of other makes (e.g. Bendix) in US homes. Typically the directions for Tide read "1/2 cup for top loading machines, 1/4 cup for front loading machines" (i.e. 200 ml or 100 ml). We did not have two varieties of Tide, because the market was >95% TL.
There used to be a low-sudsing detergent called Dash which emphasized its lower sudsing properties in advertisements. It was readily available in all supermarkets, was regularly seen on tv, and was not what I'd call a hard to find, specialty item. We never owned a FL, but I wonder if perhaps FL owners knew about Dash and gravitated toward it, rather than using half doses of Tide. If so, Dash would have served as our de facto "HE detergent" during those times.
Given the fact that both FL and TL are common in USA (FL sales now exceed TL sales, but if you count existing machines in US homes, TL are still in a majority though shrinking), we are in the same situation as UK was in the 1960s, with both varieties of detergent on the shelves of stores.
(as a kid growing up, I first began helping with laundry in secondary school. I was not allowed to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">operate </span>the washer, but did have the responsibility to remove clothes from washer to dryer, start the dryer, and then remove and fold clothes from dryer. My mother was fearful I would "ruin" the load if allowed to run the washer myself. On the other hand, I was<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> loading/unloading/operating</span> a KA dishwasher from age six!! I learned to operate a washer the night before I left for university! At any rate, I used either Tide or Arm&Hammer detergent during college, and I remember the Tide package having two dosing recommendations, for both TL and FL).
[this post was last edited: 6/12/2011-10:42]
