If you live in an area with really hard water that makes clothes come out less than white and clean looking, try this:

For dingy whites, use liquid detergent plus Biz powder plus Cascade powder dishwasher soap.  Use quit using Tide when they changed the formula and charged more.  Now I use All or Arm & Hammer, plus Biz and Cascade.    I think the Biz and Cascade is the big difference.  I use about 1/2 cup of each for a large load--sometimes a little more of the Biz and Cascade.

If the clothes are badly yellowed or grayed, fill the machine with clothes, water, and the three ingredients, let the load swish for a few seconds, then stop the machine and let the load sit for 1/2 hour and soak.  Then turn it back on and finish the load.

For washing colors and other clothes, use only the All or other liquid detergent and Biz.

For Under Armour, other polyester clothes, and athletic shoes, use the Tide and Biz.  Cascade and other chlorine bleaches will make those materials yellowish and they will never be white again.

Wash soccer shin guards with Cascade or bleach added to wash to really freshen them.  They are usually under socks anyway, so if you don't care that they get a little yellowed, the bleach really gets the smell out.  Wash them with towels or bedding, things that the Velcro fasteners won't ruin--they stick to whatever is in the machine with them.  Take them out of the machine and lay them flat on a drying rack or on a hanger so air can circulate and dry them.  Don't put them in the dryer.

If you wash athletic shoes, tie the laces before washing and put them in with bed sheets so if the laces do get tangled it's only one or two items, not 50 individual socks tied up in the laces.  After you take the shoes out, put a dryer sheet in each shoe and put the shoes near a heating or air conditioning vent to dry for about 12 hours.  NEVER put shoes in a dryer.

Little update here for Summer 2009...I am now using the cheapest detergent possible, but I still use Biz and either Cascade or Clorox Ultra Gentle Bleach--using even a tiny bit of either of those with bleach in them really freshens the clothes.