All Formula
The All formula went through changes over the years. The worst was the change around 1980 when phosphates were eliminated and they added soap to control sudsing. Unless you added Calgon or white vinegar to the rinse and then used an additional rinse, the ALL at the time left cottons feeling harsh because the soap in the formula held the calcium carbonate in the fabrics in all but the softest water. If you tried to add Calgon to the wash, the soap in the formula that was added to control sudsing foamed more than the detergent itself. That was a low point for lowsudsing detergents and the front loaders that needed them. By then White Westinghouse front loaders seemed to mainly be sold to condominium builders and if it were not for builders installing them (and the replacement market for those machines) they would have been discontinued. All, Sears detergent, some formulas of Fresh Start, a few private label manufacturers with limited distribution, like the CO-OP brand, and, until the mid 80s, Dash which then changed from the lowsudsing formula in the red box to that crap in the yellow box and yellow bottle were basically it for low or controlled suds detergents. Shortly thereafter, several powder brands reformulated and marketed the much smaller boxes of detergents with small plastic scoops inside. Suddenly formerly high sudsing detergents like Tide and Fab were low sudsing, but stupidity among those who wash clothes brought that experiment to an end when they complained that they could not see suds so they did not know if they had used enough.
I remember the blue and yellow pail of All in our basement by our Kenmore in the early 50s when we lived in Illinois. As I have said before, it was an accidental byproduct of Monsanto's research into low sudsing surfactants for dishwasher detergents. It was an important product at the time with so many Bendix and Westinghouse washers in use.
