Ariel (detergent) Automatic" powder. Though with the increasing popularity of automatic front-loading washing machines, a suitable low-suds variant "Ariel Automatic" was eventually launched in the early 1980s. The mid-eighties saw the range expanding to encompass liquid detergent and compact powder. The compact powder was originally known as "Ariel Ultra"; and was subsequently reformulated into the nineties as "Ariel Future". This was possibly in response to Unilever's launch of the ultimately doomed "Persil Power", which was seen to damage clothes. Compact powders never proved popular in the UK, so when the tablet variant appeared in July 1999, the compact version disappeared. In 2003,
Phosphates in detergent of somehow being polluted with it. By the 1970s it was established that high phosphate levels in water were a consequence of pollution. Discussion began about how to respond to the effects of phosphates as a pollutant in both fresh and marine water. Detergent companies claimed it is not cost effective to make separate batches of detergent for the states with phosphate bans (although detergents are typically formulated for local markets), and so most have voluntarily removed phosphates from all dishwasher detergents. According to the "Washington Post", phosphorus keeps "minerals from interfering with the cleaning process and prevent food particles