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There is a direct ratio and proportion to water and detergent when washing your clothes. That ratio has changed to use less water but many users are still using the same detergent ratio & proportion that they did years ago!
"Most of us learned how to use a washing machine or dishwasher in our parents' house many years ago and haven't really changed our methods, even though most appliances have evolved radically since then. We rarely, if ever, read the manuals when we buy a new one or glance through the instructions on the box of detergent or bottle of dishwashing liquid."
I have the front loading washing machine, which I use 2 T of liquid detergent and the 2 drawer dw machines that take 1 baby spoon size detergent. My clothes and dishes come out sparkling. I have the dates on both detergents and they both last 1 yr. If you use the amt. of detergents that you had in your past machines you will have to service them and will not last as long.
On clothes washers, yeah. The actual amounts of detergents in the bottle (even the concentrated ones) are just a small percentage. The rest is water and chemicals to make it look "thick". When people were used to using laundry soap, the dilution was needed to make people think they were getting a lot for their money. Now that shipping costs are up and companies are trying to save pennies, they use increased concentrations to reduce shipping water and claim "new and improved!"
Dishwasher detergents are a different story. Many are now being re-formulated to eliminate phosphates and some are even using non-reactive solids (think silt) to bulk up the new formulas.
I use powdered detergent for my front loader. I use so little of it that a box lasts me for a year. It's so much cheaper than the liquid stuff, like Harry said, it's mostly water.
If you have good soft water, either from your source or from your own softener, you really don't need much detergent, probably 1/4 the detergent manufacturer's recommended dose. Their recommendation is based on average water hardness, and D'oh, they sell soap for a living so have little reason to recommend you use less.
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