Good article on Washers/Dishwashers

[Purseval]

For the Dishwasher’s Sake, Go Easy on the Detergent

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/your-money/13shortcuts.html?src=me&ref=general

 

[heatherleigh]

That was a good article, thank you for sharing.

 

[Muushka]

Thank you! I need to cut down on my laundry detergent. I know I am adding too much.

 

[minnie1928]

I just started recently using a Greenwash Laundry ball to wash my clothes instead of detergent. I was surprised how much softer they are and they seem to be less wrinkled when they dry (on my drying rack). It's as if the detergent made them stiff and helped them hold onto the wrinkles.

 

[Purseval]

Thank you! I need to cut down on my laundry detergent. I know I am adding too much.

Pretty interesting how the pros say to use 1/2 to 1/8th the recommended amount of detergent. I realize detergent folks are in the business of selling their product, but to the point where it can make your clothes worse and damage your washer

 

[Muushka]

Pretty interesting how the pros say to use 1/2 to 1/8th the recommended amount of detergent. I realize detergent folks are in the business of selling their product, but to the point where it can make your clothes worse and damage your washer

Yes, it was good to read the article. And I just finished a load of laundry with my new and improved less than half of what I used to use.

Result: Great! My washing machine spins to the point of wrinkle problems so I have decreased the spin speed (just for winter when I use the clothes to put moisture into the house). I just took out my husband's collared shirts and they have about half the wrinkles they had pre-detergent-overload!

Thanks again

 

[allison443]

I saw this article too and I did what was suggested-ran a load of towels through with no detergent. Just like the article said, the water still got sudsy from leftover detergent! Three times!
I am cutting down on the amount of detergent I use.

 

[Purseval]

We just emptied the dishwasher after using half the recommended amount and the dishes looked exactly the same as when we used more detergent. Next time we will try 1/4 the recommended amount.

 

[thebeesknees]

Thanks for the article. My mom told me that she read that 2 T detergent is what is recommended for her dishwasher, not the markings on the cup. I tried that and my dishes still come out fine. I'll start cutting back on the detergent in my washing machine, too. 1/8 to 1/4 the markings on the cup, per the article? Think of the detergent savings!

 

[minnie1928]

We just emptied the dishwasher after using half the recommended amount and the dishes looked exactly the same as when we used more detergent. Next time we will try 1/4 the recommended amount.

I've also found that running the quick wash setting is often enough to clean my plates. We don't pre-rinse out plates, and as long as it's just plates/bowls that we've eaten on (not baked in) it does a good job. That cuts my dishwasher cycle from 1.75 hours to .5 hours.

 

[ceecee]

My dishwasher has two places to put detergent and I fill them both up!!!

 

[Deesknee]

thanks so much! Great advice.

 

[mantaz]

I have a front loader and it has a setting that tells you if your clothes are still soapy after washing. I got an idea on the last box of detergent I bought at Sam's to write the date on the front. It has the date of Dec 15,2008. I still have about 1/8 of the box left but it will still get me through a few more months! I love that the box has lasted me this long and I agree, my clothes do look better!

 

[pampam]

I was having a problem with my dishes not getting clean, until I tried putting the large items on top and plates and all small items on the bottom. It works fine now. It seems the large items on the bottom were stopping the water from reaching the top rack.

 

[ohlas]

dishwasher i have one of the new preload whole giant bottle of soap in to the reserve and then it sends out a preset amount according to water hardness..

In the laundry deptment i always pretreat first as so i notice a stain, but i use the less amount of soap, cannt use most fabric softners because of skin issues with one kid...
uless the stain is really bad I use a commerial stain spray that i got from work lol dont know what it is but it works like magic

 

[ohlas]

I was having a problem with my dishes not getting clean, until I tried putting the large items on top and plates and all small items on the bottom. It works fine now. It seems the large items on the bottom were stopping the water from reaching the top rack.

it maybe the pipes or hose or low water pressure, do you have hard water

 

[Figment's Girl]

In regards to the part where the writer talks about using the brush to clean out the lint, also take the lent trap out and clean it. It might look clean but there is a film that you can't see that can block it. To test it, run hot water through it. If it's clean, it will run through, if it doesn't it will puddle.

 

[pampam]

it maybe the pipes or hose or low water pressure, do you have hard water

I think it was just the design of the dishwasher, because loading it differently seems to have fixed the problem.