HE Detergents in non HE machines

[whitekingd]

What exactly are HE detergents? Are they simply low sudsing detergents? What is the procedure to use them in, say, a wringer washer or old style automatic? My Kenmore wringer from 1967 has a tendency to create LOTS of suds. Will the HE work better? Thanks for your help!

 

[jeffg]

> What exactly are HE detergents? Are they simply low sudsing detergents? <

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, detergent manufacturers aren't required to label their products with complete ingredient lists, so only they know what the exact differences are.

But if experience is any indicator this HE stuff is marketing more than anything else, with the main goal being to get consumers to use more product -- which they usually fall for, to get the same amount of suds. I haven't noticed a difference in performance between HE and non-HE versions of any detergent I've used.

 

[thomasortega]

Greg is 100% right!

You can use HE detergent in your wringer.
but I think the best option is continue using non-HE detergent, but use less.

 

[frigilux]

Since HE machines generally use a small amount of water per fill, HE detergents are designed to suspend the soils of a large load of laundry in a very small amount of water.

Non-HE detergents don't have the same difficult task, because there is more water in the tub to help keep soils suspended.

Having said that, I had a front-loader long before there were HE detergents and had excellent results using standard detergents. Older front-loaders---even my 2002 Frigidaire---use far more water than a new Duet/Hettie/LG; They may be more reliant on the HE formulation to wash/rinse properly.

 

[panthera]

Thumpers

get along just fine with HE detergents. So do 18lb real Maytags. No idea about the Whirltags, Amanananatags, etc.
Didn't Laundress mention once (or thrice) that US detergents can't keep soil in suspension for much longer than 20-25 minutes, anyway?
Dosage is something worth experimenting with, in any case. I have found that even the least expensive HE detergents clean just as well at the lowest recommended dose as at the highest.

 

[whirlcool]

We use Persil and All HE in our Whirlpool top loader. We like to use those because of the low sudsing effect. If we dare use Tide with our water even in a small amount we'd have more suds than we would know what to do with.
I once asked Whirlpool about this, and they said yes, you can use HE detergents in their toploaders.
Our clothes come out sparkling clean without oversudsing.

 

[rolls_rapide]

There is a difference in composition too.

The current European powdered detergents for frontloaders use a zeolite formulation. This can sometimes leave a chalky residue on darker items of clothing, even after the typical rinse cycle in 'flop & drop' frontloaders.

On the other hand, European powdered detergents for twintubs, top-loaders and handwashing, use a phosphate formulation. This is because the phosphates rinse out better (no chalky residue). This is particularly important in twintubs, as there is no agitation of the laundry during the 'spinarinse' cycle; the water is merely flushed through by centrifugal force.

 

[MrX]

You can't really generalise about

Unfortunately you can't really generalise about European Detergents. The formulations are different in each EU country. The UK seems to have a much more lax phosphate/nitrate control regime than most of Europe. In most of the EU, including Ireland, you will not find phosphate based detergents on the shelves.

Also, twin-tub / top loading detergents are extremely rare and difficult to find. The handwash and topload formulations here seem to mostly use Sodium Silicoaluminate & Sodium Silicate as the builder.

The major builder in Persil standard biological powder here is also Sodium Silicoaluminate

Wiki article below:

I would suspect that US HE detergents are more like European formulas though. It would make logical sense for the multinational detergent makers like P&G and Unilever to use the European R&D to produce HE detergents in the states. They're not very different markets in terms of the kinds of products people expect to see on the shelves and the types of laundry people do and the kinds of environmental regulations that are in force. So, I would strongly suspect that for example Tide HE would be broadly like Ariel in Europe and that Wisk HE is lkely to be similar to Persil UK/Ireland and All HE like Persil Non-Bio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_aluminosilicate

 

[launderess]

Only thing different about American "HE" detergents, is the addition of foam control agents, and perhaps some chemicals to prevent dye transfer and so forth.

It is plainly obvious that American "HE" detergents aren't that much different than their cousins of the same brand, because dosages are given for HE and normal washing machines (read top loaders). This is the same as it was back in the day when there were low sudsing detergents such as Dash, All, and a few others that could be used in front loading, top loading, wringer and twin tub washing machines.

Tide "HE" formulas are VERY high sudsing, and using anywhere near the recommended dosage in front loaders normally causes excessive froth. For top loading machines I'd start with half the recommended dose for top loaders and see where that gets you. Remember by nature "HE" detergents aren't supposed to create masses of foam, but still will get one's laundry clean. It was the lack of foam that put housewives off early detergents, because they didn't foam like soap, Mrs. Average American Housewife thought the stuff didn't work. So detergent makers added foaming agents to keep Her Indoors quiet, and sales took off.

Suds are NOT an indication of cleaning power when it comes to detergents. Soap yes, but not detergents.

L.

 

[mihi]

HEs work great for us.....

We use several HE detergents with great results, and have used them in all types of washers:
Persil
Charlie's Soap
TideHE
Ariel (small doses)
Foca (small doses)
Roma in my wringer