Choosing a Laundry Detergent
Buying the right laundry detergent no longer means simply putting the cheapest brand in the shopping cart. Today you can choose detergents made specifically for babies, high-efficiency washing machines, dark clothes, delicates, the environment, and more, and it takes a little thought. Here’s what to consider:
What are your cleaning challenges?
Clothes can be all kinds of dirty – baby formula, grass stains, axel grease or just everyday body soil. Know what you’re cleaning and it will help to determine the right laundry detergent to suit your needs.
Powder laundry detergent or liquid laundry detergent
The great thing about powder laundry detergents are that they can be less expensive than liquid laundry detergents and can be better at getting out loose dirt. On the other hand, liquid detergents are great for pretreating, are best for deep, oily stains, and can handle delicate items well.
Cost
While some laundry detergents may have a low price, it may be because they contain less cleaning ingredients and thus have poorer performance than higher priced brands.
Manufacturer’s suggestions
High efficiency washers (front or top loading) can’t use the same laundry detergent as traditional machines. They need detergents made specifically for High Efficiency washing machines. Read your washing machine's instructions to find out what type of laundry detergent is recommended.
Sensitive skin laundry detergent
If you’re washing for infants or anyone else who is sensitive to dyes or perfumes, look for a "free" laundry detergent.
Specialty laundry detergents
To really pamper your wardrobe, you can buy specific laundry detergents formulated for dark clothing, with bleach for white and light clothing, and with brighteners or bleach alternative for colorful clothes.
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Tips & Tricks
Many stains are more likely to be removed entirely if soaked in cold water before it has had time to set.
If in doubt, test your color garment for colorfastness – apply warm water to an inconspicuous part (inside of the hem, for instance), then press this part with a warm iron between two pieces of white cloth.
To protect your favorite garments, try turning them inside out before washing.
Use a partitioned laundry basket to sort your laundry as you remove it.
Overloading your washing machine could mean that your clothes don’t properly get clean.
White streaks of powder left behind on your clothes due to undissolved detergent are usually caused by overloading your machine, and can be removed with an additional rinse cycle.
Washing much smaller loads on non-cotton cycles to give more freedom of movement in the drum and result in better cleaning.
Using too little detergent can cause whites to become dingy as there are insufficient ingredients to hold soils in the water so they don’t redeposit on the garments.
Overdosing in a soft-water area can lead to “oversudsing” which, in extreme cases, can mean suds come out of the machine.
Always check the fabric care label for the manufacturer’s washing recommendations.
Some dyes will bleed even in very cold water, so always sort your washing into light colors, dark colors, whites, and delicates.
To compensate for washing at lower temperatures, try using a Cotton (most agitation) or Synthetic cycle, if the garment care label allows. There are also detergents specially designed to work in cold water.
Whenever possible, dry your clothes outside on a line; you could see significant energy savings.
Make sure to close all zippers, fasteners, and hooks to prevent and reduce abrasion of fabric and consider placing delicate items into mesh laundry bags.
To pre-treat stains, apply undiluted laundry detergent directly onto stained areas. For best results, allow product to sit on stain for a few minutes, scrub product into stain, then wash.
When adding chlorine bleach, always use the bleach dispenser on your washer to ensure that it is added at the right time in the wash cycle. If your machine does not have a dispenser, add chlorine bleach at the end of the wash cycle.
Check garment care labels for recommended wash temperature.
For all HE washers, make sure to use a low-sudsing HE detergent.
Use the right amount of detergent. Follow package directions carefully. For heavily soiled and/or large loads, use more detergent.
If you do not have a detergent dispenser on your machine, add the detergent while the washer fills with water, ensure the detergent has dissolved, then add the clothes.
Keep your washing machine free of residues by running a monthly wash cycle with Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.
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