Washing powder or washing liquid?

[Kittykat7]

I keep reading conflicting advice. Powder clogs up the drawer but contains enzymes & optical brightners. Liquid is better but leaves a brown sludge in the machine. I have heard to maybe put powder directly in the drum. I 'm not in the UK & can get my washing on the line everyday so the sunlight helps with stains.
I currently use a bio liquid & a gentle Earth liquid. Not sure whether to switch to a powder.

I use powder straight in the drum with no problems. I also use liquid straight in the drum for dark washes as there's no bleaching agent so slows fading.

I think its the liquid tabs that leave residue in the machine as I've never had problems with liquid. Its good to do a service wash every few weeks with either no powder or a pint of distilled vinegar on the hottest wash. It helps clean the machine out but might need an extra rinse cycle afterwards.

in the UK, powder contains non-chlorine bleach so is better for whites, but liquids don't so are better for not fading colours. Both are available bio and non-bio. It used to be thought that non-bio was better for irritable skin, but it is now widely thought that the formula and perfumes used in different brands are what makes the difference. Bios do come out better on test for cleaning performance. Liquids are often used for low temperature washes and lead to an accumulation of sludge, mould and bacteria, needing a hot hot hot maintenance wash.

Yes, powder thrown into the drum avoids soapy deposits in the drawer.

The guy repairing our machine said he knew I used liquid because without the bleach the machine got smelly

I put powder straight in the drum.

Bio powder everytime. I used liquid for a while but found that the lack of bleaching agents was leaving underarms musty and they were going hard with salt buildup from sweat that the liquid wasn't shifting.

Overtime, bio powder does cause fading, but I found all colours fade overtime anyway just by washing them. I'd rather have a bit of fading and cleaner washing. Plus, powder is better for your machine.

I don't bother putting it straight in the drum. The drawer needs cleaning every month or so anyway to keep it going mouldy and actually found putting the powder in the drawer keeps the drawer and the internal pipes cleaner

there are some powders without bleach, for colours

One of the reasons liquids leave the machine sludgy is that they are often used on cool washes. Hotter water is needed to dissolve powder well, and helps keeps the machine cleaner.

Thanks everyone I'll switch back to powder.

In my house :

Powder for whites (straight in the drum)
Liquid for colours and darks.
Whatever is cheaper plus bleach with dirty kitchen towels and cloths.