This is one of those things where many factors play into it.....and its been said many times, over hundreds of posts, but the main thing is what works for you best for type of laundry and stains, washing conditions, and ease of use and storage....
whats bread into my mind is Powders were always more potent than Liquids....
Liquids are great for pre-treating, cold water washing, have a somewhat longer shelf life as they won't cake up, I for one stock up when their on sale....
Tide Liq and powder with bleach is a very potent detergent, I like it alot, but in todays economy, price comes into concern, I buy it and its used for heavy/dirty washes.....otherwise I buy Sears UP powder, very inexpensive, and cleans a variety of fabrics and stains well, they offer a liquid also, just not the same savings.......
many people have issues with sensitivity to dyes an fragrances, so they are limited....
but going back in time, at least for me, WISK was the best known liquid detergent...but you can't change old habits, Mom insisted only on powders, and WISK was just to treat collars, not as a complete detergent only....it was hard for manufacturers to push liquids in the beginning.....took my Mother years to change to using a liquid...
think back, WISK was 1/2 cup per wash, ERA was 1/4 cup per wash, and this was for regular TL's, the main thing people could not get a handle of a small amount of liquid is going to do the same job as a full cup of powder.....these were the true ULTRA's...
many manufacturers used a large measuring cap, just to give the illusion of a equal amount of liquid or powder was being used
now we move on to ULTRA's, less water, more cleaner, saves waste and product packaging, but todays dilema is ULTRA gone too far?, were down to teaspoons to wash a full load, and thats getting hard to believe, whats next?...an eye dropper?
I rather have the little plastic packets or bring back SALVO tablets....