Smarter: You're Probably Using Way Too Much Detergent

By Pang-Chieh Ho

August 9, 2022

This week I’m giving you a friendly nudge to stop you from adding more detergent than you need in your clothes washer and dishwasher. Also in this week’s issue: How to escape your car if the electronic door release fails, and the best free streaming video services out there.

THE BIG STORY

'A Dose of Reality’

When it comes to using detergent, I’ve long been of the mindset that the more the merrier. I’m pretty liberal with the amount of laundry detergent I use, and I’ve never been too sure about how much dishwasher detergent you’re supposed to put in. When in doubt, err on the side of excess, was my thinking. What harm could it do?

Well, it turns out that I’ve been using way too much more detergent than needed, and that sometimes has a downside.

So what’s the recommended amount to use? Here are our experts’ opinions.

Laundry Detergent
The right amount: It’s typically 1½ ounces for a normal load of laundry. Instead of going by the faint lines of a detergent measuring cup, you can use a shot glass, which is about 1½ ounces, to be more precise. For larger loads or very soiled clothing, use twice as much detergent.

Make sure not to rely on the washer dispenser’s detergent level indicator, because that represents the maximum amount of detergent the washer can handle.

Why you shouldn’t use too much laundry detergent: Because most detergents these days are concentrated, you’re wasting your money by using more than necessary. All that excess detergent is also being dispersed into our water systems and causing water pollution, says Rich Handel, who leads CR’s testing of detergents and whose professional expertise has made him the laundry and dishwasher whiz at home. (He’s proud to say he’s trained his teenage children to do laundry and dishes the proper way.)

Extra tip: Detergent isn’t the only thing you shouldn’t overload in your washer. You should also be careful not to stuff it with too many clothes because you want the laundry to have room to circulate, Rich says.

Dishwasher Detergent
The right amount: For single-dose packs and tabs of detergents, it’s pretty straightforward. As the name implies, it’s a single dose per wash.

For gel and powder detergents, you can follow the line in the dishwasher detergent reservoir that shows the recommended amount. In general, it’s better to go by the recommendation of your dishwasher manufacturer than the detergent manufacturers so you don’t overdose, Rich says.

Why you shouldn’t use too much dishwasher detergent: It won’t make the dishes any cleaner and you’ll just be wasting detergent. Also, it could cause a residue of detergent to be left on your dishware, says Larry Ciufo, who has tested dishwashers for CR for over 15 years. And in the worst-case scenario, it could clog up the workings of your appliance.

Extra tip: If you want your dishes to come out clean, one of the important things to do is to load them properly. Always put cups and bowls facing down, for instance, otherwise they will fill up with water. Load the biggest items toward the sides and back of the basket so they don’t block the smaller items from getting clean, Rich says. And for more tips on how to load your dishwasher properly, read this.

QUIZ

Which household item or appliance can you clean with vinegar?

A. Cooktop
B. Dishwasher
C. Washing machine

(The answer’s at the end.)

THE GOOD STUFF

In an emergency, here’s how to escape your car if the electronic door release fails.

RED ALERT

Some of the most common consumer complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have to do with shady practices by car dealers. Here are some tactics they might try.

🚩 Red flag: Refusing to tell you the full price of the car you’re buying until the last minute.

✅ What you can do: Before you go to the dealer, ask for an itemized “out the door” price for the car, including all add-ons, and have it in writing so that you have a record from the start of your negotiations.

🚩 Red flag: Persuading you to buy worthless add-ons at the end of your car purchase.

✅ What you can do: Watch out for things such as “nitrogen-filled tires” that don’t contain any more nitrogen than the air we breathe (though even tires filled purely with nitrogen aren’t worth your money, according to our tests) or extended warranties on cars that aren’t eligible for them.

🚩 Red flag: Changing the terms of the sale after you have already driven home with your new car.

✅ What you can do: Make sure that your finance paperwork is complete and that it has been approved before you leave the dealership.

There are other deceptive car-dealership practices that the FTC is looking to ban. Here’s more to look out for.

Bonus reading: 7 questions to ask before you buy a new car.

MUST READS OF THE WEEK

💻 Best Back-to-School Sales on Laptops, Headphones, and More
Now’s probably a good time to get the smartwatch you have been eyeing for a while.

🔇 How to Filter Hate Speech, Hoaxes, and Violent Clips Out of Your Social Media Feeds
If it’s getting to be too much, here’s how to hit the mute button.

📺 Best Free Streaming Video Services
There is a whole wide world out there beyond Netflix and HBO Max.

🏎️ Cars With the Fastest Acceleration in Consumer Reports’ Tests (available to CR members)
Speed isn’t everything, but it sure doesn’t hurt.

THE SHORT ANSWER

Can you take a meal delivery service company like Daily Harvest to court if its food makes you sick? Probably not.

QUIZ ANSWER

The answer is A, cooktop. Vinegar, as a recent TikTok hack has shown us, is pretty good at removing burnt stains on your glass cooktop when you couple it with baking soda.

But if it’s a greasy mess you’re looking to clean from your cooktop, you should go for an alkaline cleaner, like ammonia or Borax, because vinegar isn’t effective at degreasing.

You should definitely avoid using vinegar in dishwashers and washing machines. While some people believe that running a dishwasher after adding a bowl of vinegar can help eliminate odors and hard-water film, CR’s testers say vinegar is actually pretty ineffectual at getting rid of water spots. Also, it might erode the rubber parts of the appliance.

The same goes for vinegar in washing machines. It could damage the rubber seals and hoses inside and cause leaks.

If you want to know what other items you should never ever clean with distilled white vinegar, here are seven more things that you’d be better off using a different cleaning product.

Less is more.

Pang-Chieh Ho

I'm a newsletter writer who likes looking into the different ways we can live smarter. The topics I cover typically explore unanswered questions we have about the products we use every day and bridge the gaps between what owners' manuals advise and what we actually do. In my spare time, I like to take photos, critique movies out loud while I watch (at home!), and take care of my ever-increasing plant "children."