When Doing Laundry, Be Careful Not To Overdose
Our less-prone-to-hysterics sister publication Consumer Reports says some laundry detergent caps lead to overdosing when it comes to adding detergent to the wash. Why is this a problem? Aside from wasting money, leaving soap film on clothes, and increasing lint levels, it can actually damage high-efficiency washing machines.
The problem stems from the way the caps are designed, mostly:
"If the lines aren't clear or are hard to see, it's easy to overdose and use too much detergent," says Pat Slaven, a program leader in our Technical department who conducted the detergent testing. "Plus, for all the products we tested, the line for a medium load-the most commonly done load-is less than a full cap, which makes it easier to use too much detergent." The line for a maximum load is also typically less than a full cap.
I'll admit, I overdose my clothes every single time I do laundry—there's some irrational part of me that thinks more detergent=more cleanliness, which of course means God will be on my side and help me smite my enemies. You, however, should not be so vengeful in your laundry chores; take time to read the instructions carefully, and if the cap's fill lines are hard to see, mark them with a Sharpie so you don't have to think about it the next time you're adding detergent. Your clothes and your washer will thank you, and I'll have more God to myself for smiting power.
"Some laundry-detergent caps can lead to overdosing" [Consumer Reports]
Post a comment
Comments:
I've started using what I *used* to consider a negligible amount of laundry detergent based on this kind of reasoning. I figure if my shampoo bottle wants me to "rinse and repeat" then the laundry bottle is probably fudging a little on amounts, too.
We've had our HE washer for going on 4 years and have never had a problem with it, not even the "smelly washer syndrome" that everyone complains about.
We have always used HE specific detergent. As it was explained to me, it's formulated differently to produce less suds, so it washes away with the smaller amount of water used.
If unsure of amount, err on the side of too little detergent as opposed to too much, you can always wash your clothes again if really needed.
And lastly, leave the door open to air dry the gasket after you're done washing for the day.
Gods, I mind was invaded by the image of Mrs Cleaver, a dangling cigarette hanging from her half-sneering (perfectly painted, of course) lip, slouching in the laundry room with Mrs Dennis the Menace and Lucy Ricardo (who's cursing loudly and plentifully) while the menfolk, children and cameras are away. Playing craps with the shopping money while recklessly abusing laundry detergents.
So, Consumer Union... Thanks?
But Chris, he's empty just liiiiike you.
@floraposte:
Every time you overdose your laundry, God kills a kitten. Please, think of the kittens.
Jimi Hendrix, Layne Staley, Janis Joplin, John Belushi... they all used too much detergent.
The cap marks are hard to read so people tend to use more than they need and the manufacturers make more money. So what's new?
I generally use 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended amount of detergent with no problem.
You can also screw up your skin. I thought a little shake more was better back in my powdered-detergent days until I started getting rashes. When I cut back to a little less than recommended, they went away.
@bnelson333: Bah, the formula is almost if not identical to standard detergent, with added H2O. Not only from my Appliance Business background, that of my customers, but from my own Maytag Neptune, a quarter inch in a regular sized cap, or roughly a shot glass of standard detergent will clean effectively and not cause problems to your unit.
Not to mention the savings on detergent adds up.
I've always been of the school of thought that goes, "if some detergent is good, more is better. More! MORE! MORE!!!" But then, I also own my own washing machine, so I should probably watch it.
I thought this was going to be about the overpowering stench in some laundry soap. I can smell when my neighbors are doing laundry. In my house with the windows shut and the homes are not close together. It smells like an obviously fake pine tree air freshener.
I usually use half of what the laundry soap container tells you to use. With some I have to use half again or it leaves soap residue in the clothes.
@MustyBuckets: WRONG!!!!!!
For one thing...HE detergent costs the same as regular..
using less of the regular = less suds, but it also = less cleaning.
The main advantage to HE detergent, other than the low suds, is the fact that they can basically form a web around pigment/dirt molecules. Since the washing action is so different, and you don't have 30 gallons of water to rinse everything out, this different chemistry is important to keep stuff from redepositing.
I didn't believe the hype until I finally bought a bottle of Tide HE and compared it to the identical, non HE stuff I was using before.
The word of the day is meniscus
@bohemian: I would think you're smelling their dryer exhaust more than their laundry detergent. I never use those dryer sheets or fabric softener because of the nasty fake smells they have.
Whenever I wash my clothes, I use a very precise amount of detergent: a metric shit-ton. Is that too much?
@RedwoodFlyer: Thanks for the excellent info. I was wondering if it really was important to get the HE detergent.
@Trai_Dep: Unfortunately my Flickr search for "junkie" didn't turn up any housewives tying off their arms to shoot up, so I had to go with a less colorful photo.
@thesadtomato: If you do use the dryer sheets, for static cling for example, try cutting them in half and only using one half per load. It cuts down the overpowering perfumey smell and works just fine (plus cuts your dryer sheet costs in half).
Don't use them in loads that have microfiber items, though. The chemicals coat the microfiber and reduce its effectiveness/lifespan.
Working off the incredibly probable assumption that they were trying to rip me off I've been using half of the 1 level for my clothes. If I have a really heavy triple load, I may use the 1 level. Maybe.
I use just about enough detergent (Tide HE - the concentrated one) to cover the bottom of the cap - enough to fill it to around 1/4-1/2 an inch. Unless I'm washing a load of really, disgustingly filthy clothes (in which case, yes, I use a little bit more - but still nothing that even comes close to the lowest of the lines on the cap), that is plenty, and everything washes perfectly.
I do an absolute fuckload of laundry each week, and one bottle of Tide must have lasted me 10 or 11 months, I swear.
The key to getting your clothes really clean is not overloading your washer. Give the clothes plenty of space to get swished around and they'll get clean and rinse clean of whatever detergent you put in. Personally I'm a less-than-line-1 for single load washers, full-line-1 for the big triple front loaders at the laundry mat. I buy dye and perfume free detergent (who in their right mind would WANT dye in their detergent??) and when I'm feeling really foxy will throw in a scoop of Oxyclean too.
@MsAnthropy: its people like us that make the detergent cos rig the lines to recoup what they lose from us from other suckers.
I've owned a frontloader since 2005 and have always used HE detergent, probably too much. I'm going to start cutting back and see what happens. My brand-loyal (Tide) husband is finicky, or I'd try cheaper HE varieties.
I've also never had stinky washer syndrome. Here's the key:
1) Don't leave the washer shut tight--leave the door cracked when you're not using it if at all possible.
2) Occasionally use chlorine bleach.
Number 2 is easy for us, as we switched to all white towels a few years ago so that we could bleach them. We made that decision before we knew about stinky washer syndrome.
The only issue we've had with our frontloader was not related to detergent. One of the braided metal hoses' clamping valve just started randomly clamping and cutting off the cold water supply. We wound up replacing the damn things with some laundromat-grade braided reinforced hoses that don't have the $*(&!)% clamping valve. I am eternally grateful to our super handy neighbor for saving us a service call on that.
@Juliekins: our front loader features a "baby" cycle - not to wash the actual baby, but it uses white-hot water to disinfect baby poopy clothes. I use that in addition to the bleach to wash my cleaning rags, and that freshens the washer nicely.
Yeah, the one unintended consequence of the new concentrated liquid detergents is that it's just that much harder for me to go halfsies on the detergent line. I occasionally wish I had an old school jug o' detergent that I could dilute my concentrate into, just so the measured amount wasn't hovering down around the tablespoon level.
@RedwoodFlyer: First of all, the savings doesn't come from the cost of the two detergents, but the fact you use a fifth or less a load from non HE to HE, secondly yes, HE is suppose to help stop colors from transferring in the wash, but there are no standards regarding it.
Third, as you say using less of regular gives less suds, which you say is less cleaning, then go right on to mention HE is a low suds formula. You need to use less of regular as you are diluting it with 30-40 gallons of water, you are diluting it with 16-20.
Which brings me back to my family run appliance store, and my experience with this issue. There are two reasons to choose HE over non-HE - if you are worried that you or someone using your washer will put a full capful of standard detergent into it, or if you are afraid that you'll be 'caught' using standard detergent voiding your warranty.
But maybe my experience in the matter is shadowed by your shouting of WRONG. Who am I to know.
@MustyBuckets: Sorry, brain fart, regarding the color transferring issue, most clothes, after the first wash or two, stop bleeding. Then the color transference is no longer an issue. As for the suspended 'web' of dirt? Bah - Soap is a hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecule, half of the soap molecule will stick to the dirt and grease, and half will stick to the water washing out. There is no magical web created by HE detergent, it is just soap doing its thing.
@Chris Walters: And some of the not big Proctor & Gamble-type sheets are nice. I like because they're not made with lard-type softeners, but another bonus is that they are not nearly as strong smelling. And the ones I got most recently are on paper that is recyclable after you put them through the dryer!
@subtlefrog: Not p&g type as in more hippy-type - I got these at Whole Foods, don't remember the brand. Maybe the house brand?
@MustyBuckets: I'm curious how you're getting away with using regular detergent in an HE machine.
In my European 24" Gorenje washer all I can use is about 2 tbsp of HE detergent otherwise it'll oversuds and I'll have a porthole full of suds that takes an extra run or two of the rinse cycles to tame. The recommended amount of HE (with their cup) always causes an oversuds condition with my machine. On the bright side, my clothes have never been cleaner than they are with this machine and I'm buying laundry detergent about once every 18 months.
There most certainly is a difference in the formulation of the two, besides concentration. I've yet to find any amount of regular detergent that works without creating a mess.
@bohemian: I'll take the fake pine air fresheners any day over the absolutely vile stench of fabric "softener" or dryer sheets. Why people want to take their freshly-washed clothing and smear lard all over it is beyond me. (Take a look at the ingredients sometime, animal tallow is the primary one.) Even worse are the people who use it so thickly that you can smell it in clothes they're wearing. Ick. Gross. Not to mention how disgusting a fabric-softener-soaked towel feels, let alone how it doesn't dry.
I use a little bit of distilled white vinegar in my final rinse to change the pH. It causes the detergent to release from the clothing and be rinsed clean away. Fresh clothes shouldn't smell like the soap that was used. They won't smell like vinegar if you don't use too much.
@Juliekins: ***NEVER*** put chlorine bleach in a non-American-brand front loader! Unless it specifically has a compartment for chlorine bleach, it's NOT safe to use. All of the non-American frontloaders use stainless steel inner and outer drums. Chlorine eats away at the stainless steel and you will develop multiple pinhole leaks after awhile. Asko/Bosch (Axxis series)/Miele all have warnings about this.
American-specific ones use plastic outer drums due to the prevalence of chlorine bleach used in this country, thus the outer tub won't rot out from the chlorine bleach, but the inner drum will eventually start to pit and fall apart from it.
Not sure why anyone would want to use chlorine bleach with a good front-load washer. Heat and time clean far better than chemicals. That's why most Euro washers have water heaters built into them. Not much can survive a 210F boil-wash. It's worked wonders on my lab coats all these years.
@FLConsumer: and I should point out that down here in swampy Florida, I've been using a front-load washer since '98, still no smell/mildew inside the washer. I DO leave the door ajar when it's not in use, but that's good advice down here for top-load machines as well.
@bohemian: Maybe they do their wash in Pine-sol. I don't think I've ever seen pine scented laundry detergent.
@FLConsumer: [en.wikipedia.org]
Many creatures might not enjoy that chilly 210F water, and would ask you to heat it up. :)
It's well known that A-List superheroes would never fight crime in anything but sparkling white undies.
@FLConsumer: Different strokes my friend, different strokes. Personally I think pine smells nasty. Smell is subjective.
When ANY brand of laundry detergent is being sold at a ridiculously low price I stock up. I usually prefer Purex because its cheap to begin with; last October I found 35 load bottles for $2 a piece at Kroger, combined with (doubled) 35 cent coupons I got the stuff for $1.30. One year of laundry detergent for my cheap top loader only cost me $5.20. I also run the wash on the cold cycle to save money on hot water and haven't had a problem considering that nothing my husband nor I use gets particularly dirty other than the clothes he wears when he's working out in the garage. Considering that those clothes are already covered with grease stains from his previous occupation as a mechanic, all I care about is getting the sweat out.
I line dry my clothes so I don't need to pay for dryer electricity either.
@thesadtomato: I use unscented dryer sheets for that very reason. Well, that and without them I'd get shocked every time I got dressed in the morning.
Use even less for front load washers.
@bohemian: I live in a condo where the upstairs neighbors washing machine shares a pipe with my kitchen sink and sometime we get bubbles or can smell their detergent. There are always notices in the condo newsletter reminding people to use the proper amount of detergent
href="#c13497505">FLConsumer: Now that I live in a humid climate dryer sheets feel disgusting. But if you live somewhere in the desert and forget the dryer sheets your clothes are likely to come out in one static filled ball.
My name is Doug and I'm with the LaundryHE team - which is an online resource from Wisk to clear up the confusion around HE detergent. Glad to see people are using HE and using it properly.
Just wanted to clarify that if you have a front-load washing machine, you need to use HE detergent. HE washers use less water to clean your clothes, so if you use traditional detergents, you get too many suds on your clothes, which are hard to rinse off and can impact cleaning. HE detergents are formulated to work properly in front-loading machines.
You can find more information at www.laundryhe.com if you're interested. Thanks.
- Doug
LaundryHE Team
Overdosing laundry loads makes the Baby Jesus cry.