Just realized most people use way too much laundry detergent in their washing machines and it actually ruins the machine over time.

I saw a repair guy pull a gunked up drum out of a 3 year old washer last week and he told me the buildup from extra soap causes more breakdowns than anything else, so why does everyone still pour in til the cap is full when the bottle clearly says use half that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elliot15d ago

The soap companies actually want you to overpour since it makes you buy more frequently, that's why the fill lines on the caps are set so high. High efficiency machines only need 2 tablespoons max, anything more just builds up inside the pump and hoses until it fails. Start measuring with a spoon and your washer will last 10+ years instead of dying right after warranty ends.

carr.elliot15d ago

Funny enough, @the_elliot is right about the measuring, but the real trick most people miss is the water temperature. Cold water actually cleans better with modern detergents because the enzymes work slower in hot water and break down before they do their job. So you're pouring in extra soap for no reason and heating up water that kills the cleaning power anyway. That combination of too much soap and hot water is what really gums up the machine over time. Save yourself some cash and just run everything on cold with a tablespoon of detergent.

grantp2815d ago

The soap companies have been getting away with this for decades. It's the same trick you see with toothpaste, shampoo, even coffee creamer. They put those fill lines way higher than anyone actually needs because it sells more product. Your average person figures the cap must be the right measure, so they fill it up every time. But if you look at what the machines themselves recommend in the manual, it's usually a fraction of that. This is the same pattern where companies design products to fail faster or get used up quicker just to keep you buying. The repair guy I know says most washer problems come down to user error, but really the error is trusting the bottle instead of common sense. Once you start measuring with a spoon like the old days, your machine runs cleaner and your wallet stays thicker.