How Much Laundry Detergent to Use
Often, unsatisfactory laundry results are caused by not using the correct amount of laundry detergent. And while it’s always a good rule of thumb to follow the detergent manufacturer’s recommended amounts, here are a few considerations that might require adjustments:
How Dirty Are Your Clothes?
As you might guess, if your clothes are really dirty or stained you may need to adjust and use a little more laundry detergent. This not only helps to remove the excess dirt, but also stops it from redepositing onto your clothes once it’s in the water. An average wash load contains the equivalent to three large spoonfuls of dirt, so it’s easy to see why heavily soiled loads require a little something extra.
Use the simple guide chart below to determine how soiled your laundry is: (Visual 1)
Are You Using Concentrated Laundry Detergent?
It is key when using concentrated products to make sure you use the right amount. Even experienced laundry-doers often guess the right amount incorrectly, and using too much can lead to over sudsing or in worst case scenarios can lead to residue buildup on clothes and in your machine. The good news is, other than measuring, there is no need to dilute or use the product any differently than regular laundry detergent.
Do You Have Hard Water?
Water hardness is like having a saboteur in your washing machine that keeps the cleaning ingredients in your detergent from working correctly. To avoid this, good detergents include a “builder”, which softens the water and allows the rest of the detergent to do its job. The harder your water, the more 'builder' you’ll need to soften it, which is why most detergent manufacturers recommend using slightly more laundry detergent in areas of extreme hard water.
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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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