Washing machine tips: Cleaning expert reveals why you don’t want to see detergent bubbles in your washing machine

When using detergent to clean anything it seems like the more soap suds there are the more something will get clean.

It turns out that’s not actually the case, especially when it comes to items in the washing machine.

Cleaning expert Ann Russell explained this phenomenon in a TikTok video responding to a comparison of two washing machines operating side by side in another TikTok from @itsginatok.

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Gina’s clip shows a shared laundry with a washing machine door covered in foam sitting next to the appliance washing her garments in water containing hardly any bubbles.

“I feel like I add so much detergent to my clothes and it’s never enough. How much soap do I need to add to have it look like the left? Mine is on the right and it looks like it’s just being washed in dirty water,” the text on Gina’s TikTok read.

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Reacting to the TikTok Russell reassured Gina that more foam in the washing machine isn’t “a good sign… it’s not the way you want your washing to look”.

“Detergents that are made to work in automatic machines, be they front loaders or top loaders, are designed to be low foam because the foam hinders the cleaning, it doesn’t help get the dirt out, it tends to hold it there and you want the dirt to come out and fall away,” she said.

“Now either they’ve used so much soap it’s ridiculous or they’ve used the wrong sort of detergent… [Gina’s] looks correct, that’s the way it should look.”

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Russell went on to say that the amount of detergent needed in a washing machine is actually very small because it is the agitation of the clothes in the water “that does most of the cleaning” while the detergent helps for stains.

She added that the rinsing cycle is what removes dirt from clothes after they’ve been through the washing cycle.

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“Yeah, sure your clothes are slopping around in dirty water because the dirt has come from your clothes into the water, but once that’s done the rinse you spin it out and the dirty water leaves your clothes and then clean water comes in and you repeat and you rinse out the last of the soap,” she said.

That means if there is too much detergent foam in the machine and therefore the clothes then the rinse cycle isn’t able to fully get rid of the dirt in your clothes let alone the excessive detergent.

Russell explained that this is bad news for your skin and clothes because it can cause irritation and damage.

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Excessive detergent use can also impact your washing machine by leaving a residue on the drum that results in little brown flakes on your clothes and linens.

Called soap scrud these little brown spots are annoying to get rid of and usually need to be rinsed off individually and can result in your clothes and machine smelling awful.

Another problem with excessive detergent use is that it can result in a longer washing cycle because your machine will add more rinses to remove all the detergent. This is one of the reasons people have found the final minute on their washing machine has lasted longer than 60 seconds when they’ve timed it.

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