Liquid or powder?

@dfollin (25379)
United States
January 29, 2009 10:39am CST
Which detergent do you prefer for both your dishwasher and your clothes washer? I prefer liquid,powder has a habit of not getting rinsed out and sticking to the dishes and clothes.Sometimes on clothes if it is not caught and rinsed right a way then the powder detergent can cause the color of the clothing in that area to fade. My mom say's that she prefers powder because it is cheaper.It is not cheaper if you have to run it again,buy clothing dye or buy some new clothes because of the fading.
6 people like this
31 responses
@kykidd (6812)
• United States
29 Jan 09
I have always used the liquid, I think. I may have bought the powder once in my entire life and that was probably right after I moved out of my mom's house. She too uses the powder and I guess I just didn't know any different at the time. The liquid is so much handier. You just grab the bottle and go. The cardboard boxes are harder to manage, plus they may deteriorate if they get wet. And the powder is messy. I just never really cared for it after I tried the liquid.
1 person likes this
@Bebs08 (10681)
• United States
3 Feb 09
we usually use liquid in our dish washing and laundry. It is easy to use just pour it in the washer and fine... I did not see any thing that stains the clothes like the color of the detergent , sometimes we used blue and green color of detergent and our laundry came out fine.
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I use to use powder but it would get stuck on my cloths and streak...Since the liquid has become so popular i always use the liquid in my dishwasher as well as my washing machine....I have used the powder at times in my dishwasher, it does better on dishes than in thw washing machine...I do prefer liquid all the way around....
@4ofmyown (1119)
• United States
30 Jan 09
For my clothes washer I definitely prefer liquid. I, too, have found bits of the powder residue left on the clothes after the cycle is over. For my dishwasher, I really like those gel packs but if I don't have those or liquid is on sale then i only get liquid basically for the same reason. I agree with you about not being any cheaper. I think you can actually use less of the liquid than the powder.
@camomom (7535)
• United States
31 Jan 09
I prefer liquid detergents and soaps for everything. I agree that powders don't get rinsed out all the time.
@ank_47 (1959)
• India
3 Feb 09
i use liquid for dishes called lux which is available here and it is indian product. and for clothes i use powder only called tide. i use in washing machine , powder only ,for cleaning clothes.i use 1/2 cup powder directly in washing machine with clothes and water and it will be good for my clothes.
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I am the dishwasher so I guess I would say liquid.. lol For my washing machine, it is liquid only, I hate powder. It doesn't seem to do the job as well and as you mentioned sometimes it doesn't even liquefy and clumps onto the clothing and that is just more work. I know that I don't need more clothes to do over and over I have enough to do!
@mflower2053 (3223)
• United States
30 Jan 09
If you pour the powder in before you put the clothes in it helps but I rather use the liquid for both my dishwasher and my washing machine. It just makes life easier.
• United States
30 Jan 09
I prefer the liquid. When me and Brad first met his mother always used powder and she washed his clothes one day and I was putting them up and noticed that the clothes had white stuff all over them. I soon discovered that it was powder. She would pile the clothes in their and pour like 2 cups of powder all over the top of the clothes. So all the clothes on top would have white stuff all over them. After that we bought liquid powder. I have used powder a couple of times at the laundrymat before. I would put it in the washer first then turn the water on and let them bin fill up and start washing for a couple of minutes and stir the powder up and then put my clothes in the washer. That is the only way that I can use powder. Thanks for the discussion. Have a blessed day.
@lazeebee (5461)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 09
Hi Dfollin, I agree with you - the powder tends to get stuck especially in the washing machine, so I've switched to liquid. As for washing dishes, I don't have a dishwasher; however I also use dishwashing liquid rather than powder.
@jessi0887 (2788)
• United States
30 Jan 09
It doesn't matter for me. I just go with one. I prefer liquid sometimes. I only like clear liquid though.
@noniefam (284)
• Indonesia
30 Jan 09
i use both. liguid for formal n party dress. powder for under n home cloth
• United States
30 Jan 09
Hello, I prefer liquid for the dishes and for the clothes. But I have found that with tide the powder with bleach works better on whites. With money being tight I use powders now and have been buying the less expensive brands.
• Philippines
30 Jan 09
In washing my clothes, I prefer powder because it does not irritate my skin. IN washing dishes i like to use liquid. I hate soaps which hurts my skin.
@angemac23 (2003)
• Canada
30 Jan 09
I prefer powder because one time I used liquid and it made the colors in my clothes run is I never used it again.
@eagle_f15 (1827)
• Malaysia
30 Jan 09
I use liquid detergent for for washing dishes and both liquid and soap powder for laundry. Would alternate using liquid and powder for laundry.
@marisriel (1156)
• Philippines
30 Jan 09
I don't think there are a lot of brands offering liquid detergents for washing clothes. We only have soaps in powder or bar form. When I was young and I wash my own clothes, I use bar soaps because we don't have washing machines then. And the powder types are not that popular. Now that washing machines have come cheaper than before, more women are already using the powder type. As for the dishwashing, electric dishwashers are still expensive, we only use liquid dishwashing liquids. I also remember using the bar soap when I was a kid, but now, I think it's not safe to use that anymore because there are lots of soap residues on plates when you use that. Our favorite brand is the one being promoted by Michael V.
@bamrahkirti (1821)
• India
30 Jan 09
Since both dish washing and clothes washing are done by our maid and she prefers powder detergents over liquid ones,so you can say that we use powder detergents. But i wash my baby's feeders myself and i like to wash them with liquid detergents like prill or vim whichever is available because you are right in saying that powder detergent is hard to wash off and it does not get dissolved easily. So my personal preference is for liquid detergents.
@MissAmie (717)
• United States
30 Jan 09
I can use either, but I prefer powder. I've never had it leave any residue on my clothes, but you're not supposed to pour it on the clothes anyway. You start the water, dump in the powder, let it dissolve for a minute and then toss in clothes. I don't like the sticky drips that run down the side of the liquid detergent either. I guess it all comes down to personal preference and how you've been taught to do laundry. We all do what works for us.
• Mauritius
30 Jan 09
liquid is better . when you use powder detergent at times it get stuck on your clothes.