HE machines require less soap than normal machines - or at least I should say, they require less suds to clean. This is because a high suds soap would be too much for the very small amount of water HE machines were designed to use. This is great for microfiber towels because their greatest enemy is soap deposit. I have a Maytag HE and I use only HE detergent (it will have HE on the bottle or box), this kind of detergent is low suds by design.
I never use box detergent, however, and stick with liquid for all my laundry, including detail and microfiber towels. Sometimes I will use only dedicated microfiber cleaners, such as those by CGs and Blackfire. If I use Griot's microfiber and pad cleaner, I mix it with a little ALL Free and Clear laundry detergent as Griot's, unlike the others, is not a stand alone cleaner and needs to be added to your detergent. If I use a dedicated microfiber cleaner I never use more than a couple ounces.
I also never use fabric softener in my washer (or dryer either). When I wash microfiber towels I always select "extra rinse" and "high extract" (which rings out the towels to nearly a dry state, thereby minimizing the amount of time they need in the dryer). Usually, I will line dry the towels anyway, at least I do in the summer and when it is not blowing pollen around. I like line drying better than machine drying and the "high extract" mode found on many of these HE machines makes the drying time much less.
I do use the fabric softener setting but pour white vinegar in the fabric softener port. The machine "thinks" it has softener to dispense but instead dispenses the vinegar during the extra rinse cycle. These HE machines use so little water that only a small amount of detergent or microfiber restorer is needed. It is the action of the machine that gets the clothes clean by "pulling" water through the clothes or towels rather than through agitation like standard machines use. It is a much more efficient way to wash and although it takes a little getting use to you will find it will save you detergent and water.
Keep in mind the cycles usually require more time with an HE machine than standard. In fact, the 40 minutes you show is less than the hour or more time my machine requires. The time needed for the load is dependent on many factors such as size and the settings you punch in such as heavy soil, extra rinse, etc. Probably more than you wanted to know but there you have it.
