Ever seen white residues on your clothes after washing and thought... “I’ve used too much laundry detergent in that load!” Well, not necessarily! Despite the evidence, the chances are that you’ve actually put too much washing in the load rather than too much detergent! Today’s energy efficient washing machines use less water. Too much laundry will soak up all the water so there isn’t enough to completely dissolve the detergent.
Loading the machine
To prevent this from happening, leave a gap about the width of your hand between the top of the drum and the laundry.
A washing machine works by immersing the laundry in a solution of water and washing detergent and tumbling it. Modern, low water fill washing machines are designed to use less water, so owners of these should be particularly careful not to over fill. For the best possible results, there has to be enough water for the detergent to dissolve and enough space for your clothes to move around. If the gap between the top of the drum and the laundry is less than a hand’s width, your machine is probably too full. If this is the case, the laundry may soak up so much water that there isn’t enough left to dissolve the detergent!
You should be aware that more delicate fibres and faster wash cycles require a smaller load to give the garments more space to move around.
How much should I use?
The key facts to consider are...
- How dirty the clothes are
- Size of the load
- Water hardness
It is important to dose correctly as under dosing can result in poor cleaning and stain removal.
- Dirt levels: The more heavily soiled your clothes are, the more detergent you will need to use in a load. This helps to remove dirt and stop it returning to your clothes.
- Drum size: Detergent dosage is based on the drum size of a conventional washing machine. Most fully automatic washing machines now sold have bigger drums (5-7kgs). Larger wash loads bring in more dirt, so to get great results on every wash you need more detergent.
- Water hardness: Water hardness varies throughout the region. To get the best results, people in hard water areas need to use more detergent.
ALWAYS CHECK THE DOSING INSTRUCTIONS OF THE DETERGENT YOU ARE USING. For an easier dosage, try pre-dosed laundry capsules, like the Ariel Automatic 3in1 PODS Original. Just pop in a capsule, if you have to deal with heavy dirt and/or hard water, pop in two.