When do you add detergent to the washer? Before or after the clothes?

[iej]

In Europe a lot of liquid detergents are measured into a dosing device which, in the case of Unilever's Persil liquids is a small cap that's made out of a rubber-like substance.

You fill it to the mark, put it on top of the clothes and start the wash and it just bounces around fairly silently and dispenses the liquid so you don't have to measure anything or deal with drips while trying to empty a cap into the drawer.

Powders, dry tablets and softeners are almost always dispensed using the drawer.

 

[miele_ge]

a bit off topic but ... westie i love your aviatar photo

is it a railroad bridge or a auto bridge?  Beautiful setting!

 

Oh, and I let the Miele decide when to add the detergent  - I load the dispenser, turn the dial and come back to spotless laundry!

 

 

 

[westie2]

miele_ge thanks.  It is an auto bridge for our old main street here in town close to the old downtown area.  This picture was made from twin springs park.  The water is Sager creek than begins on the northeast part of town and goes all the way through the town.  Parks and walking trails are all along the whole creek.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sager_Creek

 

[hooverzodiac12]

With my front loaders ive always been scared the detergent will sit in the bottom of the washer if added before i start theaxhine so now i add it a few seconds after the start

 

[sudsmaster]

It really depends on the machine.

When I was using a Whirlpool belt drive top loader, I'd add the clothes, fill the tub with water, and then add the detergent. That way I could add more, or less, to get a thin layer of suds.

When I used a GE filter flo, I'd add the clothes, put the detergent in the filter tray, and then start the washer. The tray would act as a dispenser and help dissolve the detergent before it hit the clothes.

When I got the Neptune front loader pair, I'd add the detergent to the dispenser and let the machine do the rest.

When I got a Miele front loader, I started out adding the powdered detergent to the dispenser. Then I started to notice that the detergent (Sears HE) wasn't dissolving in the dispenser, leaving a long block of hard semi crystallized detergent in the chute and complicating rinsing etc. After that, I started adding the detergent to the drum, then the clohes, and then start the washer. The powder probably wasn't dissolving in the dispenser because the machine is hooked up to cold water only.

All these methods seem to work well.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

"Then I started to notice the (Sears HE) wasn't dissolving in the dispenser"

 

<span style="color: #000000;">I use the Sears Ultra powder and discovered the same thing <span style="text-decoration: underline;">if there is any moisture  in the dispenser.    I leave my dispenser drawer open when not in use so it will dry, but even then, I add the detergent just before I start the machine.</span></span>

 

<span style="color: #000000;">Kevin
</span>

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

"Then I started to notice the (Sears HE) wasn't dissolving in the dispenser"

 

<span style="color: #000000;">I use the Sears Ultra powder and discovered the same thing <span style="text-decoration: underline;">if there is any moisture  in the dispenser.    I leave my dispenser drawer open when not in use so it will dry, but even then, I add the detergent just before I start the machine.</span></span>

 

<span style="color: #000000;">Kevin
</span>

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

"Then I started to notice the (Sears HE) wasn't dissolving in the dispenser"

 

<span style="color: #000000;">I use the Sears Ultra powder and discovered the same thing <span style="text-decoration: underline;">if there is any moisture  in the dispenser.    I leave my dispenser drawer open when not in use so it will dry, but even then, I add the detergent just before I start the machine.</span></span>

 

<span style="color: #000000;">Kevin
</span>

 

[twintubdexter]

I guess there's no controversy about fabric softener...

I just remember what Robin Williams said in an episode of Mork & Mindy when, after learning that being a "father" was wonderful, he gets confused and masquerades as a priest. A frantic guy runs up to him and says "I'm going to kill myself, I need the Last Rights!" Williams thinks about it for awhile and the guy says "hey, are you sure you're a priest? I'll bet you don't even know what the Last Rights is." Williams says "of course I do, let's see, Last Rights Last Rights, sure, that's when you put the fabric softener in...no wait a minute, that's the last rinse."

the crazy stuff I used to watch...

 

[launderess]

Have no choice

With my front loaders the dispenser takes care of matters when things are placed within.

However for liquid and gel detergents use the dosing device that came with bottles of Ariel gel. That lot is chucked into the tub on top of the wash before closing the door.

Pod wise place the things in the drum before loading the wash. However those containing bleaching agents such as Tide's "boost/vivid" pacs are either dissolved in a large Pyrex measuring cup of tap hot water then poured into the machine as it fills, or placed in the bottom as noted above. It depends on the wash load. Am not too sure about the risk for potential damage to colours (bleached spots) from product coming into contact with wash before it has fully dissolved. with whites this is not a problem, but trust me even oxygen bleaches at warm water temps can bleach out color if product comes into contact with textiles undiluted.

The AEG has a dosing ball system so product is not "wasted" by going down into the tub before the sump is full. With the older Miele one is not sure if our model has the famous Miele "ball" system or not. Therefore hold keep the drawer open for a bit until the machine has had a chance to get some water into the sump and tub.

Because wash products are not being partially flushed into the sump at filling with the "ball" systems one can use less product. Manual for AEG recommends reducing recommended dosage by at least half. Because we have naturally soft water one can take that a step further as well. Indeed have found one literally must reduce product dosage otherwise rinsing results are compromised. There often just isn't enough water to get all the excess product out of the wash in one cycle. This often results in one having to set the machine for another "rinse and spin" cycle to get the job done. For that reason and others don't use anything else but modern European detergents in the AEG.