Who Knew? (I suspected)
July 22, 2021 by Jayah Faye Paley
Filed under Uncommon Sense
From the NY Times: Stop Using So Much Laundry Detergent . Published July 22, 2021
If you’ve ever reached into your dryer expecting to pull out a load of downy-soft laundry only to find a pile of stiff, starchy garments, there’s a good chance you’re using too much laundry detergent.
Laundry detergent obviously gets dirt and stains out of your clothes, but if you use too much, you wind up creating a new mess. This is a result of detergent residue that hasn’t been fully rinsed out, and it can turn your previously soft wardrobe into a crunchy, scratchy, uncomfortable-to-wear load of clothes. Too much detergent also creates a surplus of suds that can prevent your garments from rubbing against one another (which helps release trapped dirt from your clothes), according to Tide’s website.
Though it seems counterintuitive, the more detergent you use past a certain point, the dirtier your clothes become.
How much laundry detergent should you actually use?
To effectively clean your clothes, you need to use only 2 tablespoons per load at most—and that’s for big loads weighing 12 pounds or more. As staff writer Sarah Bodgan and senior staff writer Liam McCabe say in our guide to the best washing machines, 1 tablespoon is enough to thoroughly clean an average load, which usually weighs around 8 pounds. And if you’re hand-washing, Sarah recommends that you use even less. “When it comes to laundry detergent, a little will go a long way.”
The amount of detergent you should add varies greatly among brands, but keep in mind that the back of your bottle might recommend that you use more than 2 tablespoons per load. “Some detergent manufacturers are going to lie on the label,” Sarah warns in a Wirecutter video about laundry stripping. “But remember, they’re selling a product, and they want you to buy more of it.”
It can be even worse if you’re using high-efficiency (HE) detergent, which is made from high-concentration, low-sudsing formulas and can be used in both traditional and HE machines. Liam and Sarah explain that HE detergents are at least double the concentration of traditional detergents. To clean your clothes, a high-efficiency washer uses less water than a traditional washing machine, so there’s even less water to dilute the detergent.
Wirecutter recommends liquid detergent only, since it’s predissolved. Though pre-portioned pods are convenient, you have less control over the amount. This can quickly lead to a buildup of chemicals and cleaning agents that stiffen your laundry. We don’t recommend powder detergent, either, since it doesn’t always dissolve and can leave behind clumps in your laundry.
The best way to remove detergent buildup (click on link to read the entire article)
