Let's Do Laundry!

Since I'm not cooking anything of much interest these days, I want to talk about Laundry. (Good heavens, what is she up to this time!?)

I keep threatening to do a "Laundry Seminar"... Let's get started!

Washers and dryers have changed. Have you? Seems like a silly statement and question, doesn't it? But with today's new front load machines, it is extremely important. I can give you a long list of customers that didn't listen and learned the hard way what I was talking about. (I'll tell you some of those stories later.)There truly is a huge difference in top load and front load machines. Here is the most important one:

* Detergent: How much you use is as important as what kind.

Let's start with 'how much'. The marketing people have done their job. They have us using just as much as they can possibly get us to use. That sells lots of product and makes them look good. The more detergent you buy, the more money they make. Let's keep more of that in our own pockets!

The proper amount of detergent you need to use should be based on:
1. How large of a load you are doing. (Large loads need more.)
2. How dirty the clothes are. (Dirty clothes need more.)
3. The temperature of the water. (Hot water takes less.)
4. The length of time it will be washing. (More is not always better!)
That sounds like a lot of things to think about, but really it's not. Those are things you already consider if you think about it.

Brace yourself: Most people use 10 to 15 times more detergent than they need to. It's a published fact. The New York Times did a story on it.

That said, just how much should you use? For a front load machine you should be using 1-2 tablespoons of POWDER detergent for an average load. NEVER more than 3 tablespoons. For a top load machine, generally 1/2 the recommended amount.

A top load machine uses 20 gallons of water just in the wash part of the cycle. Then to rinse it uses another 20-25 gallons of water. Front load machines use 1-5 gallons of water to wash and another 3-15 to rinse, for at least twice the amount of clothes. Top loads rinse once and front loads rinse 3 times. There is less water to dilute the detergent in, therefore you should use less detergent. Less water, less detergent. Make any sense?

The reason you bought the front loader is for it's water and energy savings, right? And of course the large amount of laundry you can get in each load. Now you can save even more money by using less detergent, too.

I also said "what kind" of detergent you use, didn't I? By that I mean powder or liquid. Always Powder!

Why? When you are using too much, neither the powder or the liquid get dissolved. You just happen to be able to see the powder easier. It shows as a white flaky stuff all over your clothes. The liquid is there too, it's just harder to recognize.

Do your colors look dull and dingy? Do your whites look grey? Is someone in the family "allergic" to laundry detergents? Sorry, most likely it's liquid soap residue.

When I sell a new front load washer to someone I tell them to not use any detergent the first time they wash a load. You won't need to. There will be enough residue left on the clothes to do the job. If there is more than a thin layer of bubbles on the water and clothes, in a front load washer, you are using way too much detergent!

Again, marketing tells us that more is better, right? Sometimes it is, but not in your laundry detergent. Less is more! Your colors will stay brighter. Your whites, whiter. Your pockets heavier. (With all the cash you save on detergent!)

One more tidbit of info for you to think about: Soap vs Detergent

Soap makes suds. That's what makes it work.
Detergent does not make suds.

Those pesky marketing people put 'sudsing agent' in it to make lots of suds. They discovered that in our minds (Grandma said...!) we relate cleaning to suds. Not so with detergent. It's a lot of science, just trust me. (Google it!)

Oh and by the way, does your washer smell? It's a build up of excess detergent that traps dirt. And it all starts to stink! We'll talk about that next time.