Oversudsing with HE detergents

[murando531]

Hello all,

 

Since getting the new Bravos, I've been trying various detergent brands to try and wean myself off of using so many P&G products, and I've noticed that the majority of what I've tried so far generate a lot of suds despite their HE labeling. I always thought that the point behind HE detergents was the fact that they are NOT supposed to suds as much. I've learned with this new machine to generally cut the dosage in half from what the directions say, and I get clean, fresh smelling laundry with only a tiny bit of sudsing, but this also complicates things because so much as half a millimeter more in the cap, and I'll have a layer of foam three inches thick, and I have to run multiple rinses just to get it under control.

 

That said, I wonder if this is an issue any others have found with modern detergents, especially front-load users, with their even lower water use. So far I've used Tide and Gain of course, All, Wisk, OxiClean detergent, Tide Pods, and Purex, and of those, the only ones that don't cause as much of a problem and still give good results are powdered Tide or Gain. I suppose at this point I might as well choose the lesser of two evils and stick to the Tide and Gain, but it would be nice to be able to change it up now and then.

 

[DADoES]

 
It definitely can happen.  I have had oversudsing in my Calypso on a few occasions with small loads or misjudging a light soil level.  One notable incident was when running a couple pillows (with either Wisk or Era liquid) ... the recirculation stream was more suds than water.

 

[yogitunes]

variables in washing conditions could make any detergent suds.....temp, water hardness, soil level, etc......

most HE were designed to be used full strength, only the regular ones you would want to cut back by half....but have noticed for me with Tide and Wisk, on machines that used more water, there was more suds, in machines that used less water, less suds were seen...

try a 50/50 mix of Sears Ultra Plus, and your regular detergent....a shot glass of each usually works best....

 

[appnut]

That's all I use is He powdered versions of Tide with Bleach for whites and light colors and Gain everything else.  And after combo52 admonishing us for over rinsing in late December/early January, I stopped using the extra rinse option--which I had used to use for every load.  I've had not itching issues and don't notice any bubbles or foam in the final rinse either.  So win/win for me.  I've avoided pods and liquids simply because of the reputation for difficulty rinsing out.  I have a Duet and pretty much only use cycles where the supplemental heater is engaged. 

 

[gansky1]

In a sadly not-so-rare moment of weakness at Costco, I bought a tanker truck size bottle of Kirkland Signature "free" liquid detergent.  The markings on the cup are shockingly low.  I have softened water and have been trying to make an effort to not overdose detergents (Jamie will be glad to hear this - no need for nine rinses of the towels! and have been pretty impressed with the results so far.  Another customer in the store grabbed a bottle at the same time I was looking at them and mentioned this was now her second bottle of the stuff and it was really good.  

 

I don't see any foaming in wash or rinse and the final (3rd) rinse in the SQ front-load washer is always clear.  Cleaning seems to be just as good as with the Kirkland Signature pods or Tide HE powder.