Those with High Efficiency washing machines - Question

luvmykids wrote: I sent DH to the store, he brought home non HE detergent...can I still use it, but use less? It's already the "ultra concentrated" kind or whatever, do I use even less since it's concentrated but not HE? will it ruin my machine?

jcc64 replied: I use it all the time, though I was warned not to. Sometimes I just can't get to the store that has HE detergent. It just makes it more sudsy, and sometimes you might need to do an extra rinse to get the suds off. Using less would probably work too.

luvmykids replied: Thank you...same dilemma, the store here doesn't always have it, next store is 35 minutes away. Not happening

moped replied: Just use a lot less......

gr33n3y3z replied: I use both bc not always I can get HE in the brand I like

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: use half the suggested amount. that makes it 'equal' to HE detergent

Jamison'smama replied: Does it hurt the machine at all? If not, it seems like it would be a lot cheaper to just buy the regular and use half. The regular is often on sale--the HE never seems to be.

luvmykids replied: I did a little research online....supposedly, the HE is not just concentrated but also formulated differently, because of less water use not only is it supposed to be lower sudsing but also made to trap the dirt in the water somehow since the rinse cycles use so little. I don't know, in a way it makes sense but on the other hand it just got me more annoyed

I have done a few loads and either used too little to get any suds, or used a tad too much and got a lot, but as far as the clothes being clean, they are (which was one of the things the HE sites said was important, that with regular detergent in an HE machine the clothes don't get as clean.)

Hillbilly Housewife replied: We just use the costco brand, and use about 1/3 of the recommended amount. Seems to work just fine.

My2Beauties replied: I have an HE machine and wow, I just have always bought the same detergent never paid attention to whether it was HE detergent or not

lisar replied: Just use less. It will be okay.

Brias3 replied: I had to search around for this topic, as we just got a new washer and dryer combo installed the other day. I was told my warranty was only good if the "HE" detergents were used. Looking at the store today, I noticed some were labeled "HE 2x concentrated" and some were just "2x concentrated". What's the difference? All of the ones labeled "HE" said specifically for front-loading systems- which is what we now have.

Would using less also apply to me? I don't want to risk our warranty if there is some other feature of the "HE" soap that would have an effect, outside of strictly a higher concentration.

luvmykids replied: According to my research, and two different salesmen at two different appliance stores, HE is formulated very differently. I asked if just using less is ok, they said in a pinch yes but that it doesn't clean the same as HE detergent does, and that it's not just a matter of sudsing but also that HE detergents are formulated to draw the dirt into the water as opposed to redepositing on the clothes, important since there is less water used, etc....And that using non HE, even a smaller amount, your clothes may not get as clean.

In a nutshell, I'm not totally convinced that HE is necessary but at the same time I do think it's formulated to work differently so to be safe, I'll stick with it in the future.