1/2 cap of laundry detergent instead of full cap?

[jnw]

We've been using a full cap of laundry detergent for each full load.  Purex free and clear.  It's gone up in price over the past few years as well.

Do you think 1/2 cap would do just as good of a job and perhaps 1 full cap per full load is wasteful?  Would like to cut this expense in half.

[jnw]

Our washes don't start extremely dirty.. no automobile grease etc.

[NotJen]

I've always used half the recommended amount of liquid laundry detergent for the size of the load of laundry, and everything seems clean to me.

I also use half a dryer sheet, if I'm using one.

[Frankies Girl]

I use half or sometimes even less than that and my laundry is clean. I also throw in something like a half cup of white vinegar sometimes for softener, or ammonia if something is greasy.

I always thought agitation is the main thing to get clothing clean.

Why not try it a while and see how it works for you?

[Omy]

I just bought wool dryer balls, so no more dryer sheets for me...and laundry is dry in half the time so we're using less electricity!

[chemistk]

Dishwasher and laundry detergent is almost always formulated for the "worst case" use scenario (namely - hard, untreated, tap cold water + moderately soiled clothes). The ingredients in modern detergents are designed to adjust the pH and hardness of the incoming water as best as possible to enable the enzymes and surfactants to do what they need to do.

Assuming you're not overloading your washer, that you're not fiddling with the cycle (don't use custom settings), and your clothes aren't stupidly dirty, then you should be using the minimum amount of detergent possible per load. Typically this is the first line on the cup. Any more is either a waste or a nuisance (detergent residue in clothes).

I don't wish to dreg up the other clothes washing thread, but you should also be fine to wash your clothes on tap cold water and if they're not coming out as clean as with warm water, you should be soaking them/running a soak cycle instead of adding more detergent. In fact, for really soiled clothes you're better off pretreating them with something else rather than wasting more detergent.

Also, detergent brands and sub-brands (i.e. Era vs. Tide vs. Tide Sport+) do matter. Different enzymes, surfactants, and pH buffers (don't ask me which, I don't know that off the top of my head) are used for different stains. Enzymes that are great at grass stains, skin secretions, and food residue might not be good for blood and latex paint. That's an example I just made up so don't cite me on that, but virtually no detergents contain "all" the enzymes and chemicals to tackle "all" stains - mostly because the conditions for some components to function properly would significantly diminish or neutralize the efficacy of others. 

Finally, powdered detergents are usually better than liquid. Powdered detergents' components can't really cross-react like they can in liquid suspension, so powdered detergent usually has more cleaning components available per formulation than liquid.

Bottom line, fill the washer correctly, use the minimum detergent line on the cap or scoop (ideally use powdered), use your washer's most efficient setting, with tap cold water. Pretreat tough stains (oil, blood, mustard, etc.). Line dry everything if you can. If none of that works, adjust water temperature, check your water supply, try out other brands, and then after all that - fiddle with the amount you're adding to the washer.

 

[SweatingInAR]

..............

Bottom line, fill the washer correctly, use the minimum detergent line on the cap or scoop (ideally use powdered), use your washer's most efficient setting, with tap cold water. Pretreat tough stains (oil, blood, mustard, etc.). Line dry everything if you can. If none of that works, adjust water temperature, check your water supply, try out other brands, and then after all that - fiddle with the amount you're adding to the washer.

Thanks, chemistk!

When my current jug runs out in 6+ months, I'll switch to powder.

I always thought that the dryer was the highest component of laundry cost. Especially if you use an electric clothes dryer. Nearly $0.50 per load, and even more if you are exhausting conditioned air to the outside. Is your detergent that significant?

My gut feeling about ways to save money doing laundry:

• Do less laundry. Let the towels and sheets go an extra week. Wear pants an extra few days.
• Hang up laundry to dry instead of a clothes dryer. Especially jeans, towels, and bedding
• Minimize detergent usage

[GuitarStv]

You know what will be even more environmentally friendly?

Use the full amount of detergent, but stop washing clothing that doesn't smell!  Just because you wore it doesn't mean that it's dirty.  :P

[herbgeek]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

[Glenstache]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

This. With high efficiency detergents, the amount is often about a cm or less in the bottom of the cap. I use the Tide scentless (or All, or whatever else that's similar and on sale). I put maybe 15 to 20% of the volume into the cap and have had no issue and I am often washing gross clothing from workouts, etc. Start with a close reading of the cap (which I'm convinced is intentionally hard to read), and mark the side at the recommended load size with a permanent marker and reduce from there. It is almost certainly less than half a cap full.

[SunnyDays]

I have always used powder detergent, because why pay for water when you’re putting it on more water?  I use very little per load and clothes seem clean to me, and I wear things as long as possible.  If there are stains, I spray some Shout on it first.

I also use powder in the dishwasher, maybe a tablespoon full on the econo cycle and the dishes come out clean too.

I agree that the companies want you to use as much as possible.  Have you noticed that shampoo bottles say to repeat the wash?  Same reason.

[BlueMR2]

This. With high efficiency detergents, the amount is often about a cm or less in the bottom of the cap. I use the Tide scentless (or All, or whatever else that's similar and on sale). I put maybe 15 to 20% of the volume into the cap and have had no issue and I am often washing gross clothing from workouts, etc. Start with a close reading of the cap (which I'm convinced is intentionally hard to read), and mark the side at the recommended load size with a permanent marker and reduce from there. It is almost certainly less than half a cap full.

Same here, I use just a cm or so at the bottom of even full loads and it's sufficient.  I might add another cm if it's really dirty, but I haven't ever even got to 1/4 cap being necessary of Purex...

[K_in_the_kitchen]

You know what will be even more environmentally friendly?

Use the full amount of detergent, but stop washing clothing that doesn't smell!  Just because you wore it doesn't mean that it's dirty.  :P

Yep.

For years I used alternatives like homemade laundry soap powder, soap nuts, or something like Nelllies.  Over time our laundry started to stink -- in some cases it was so bad stripping methods failed to remove the rancid oil smells.  I switched back to All Free and Clear detergent, using at most half as much as recommended for my front loading HE machine, but I have hard water and I didn't see much improvement.  I decided to switch to hot water for towels and bedding, and warm water for regular clothing, and things got somewhat better.  Then I started adding more detergent, and our laundry improved incredibly.  I had yellow cotton dish cloths that had turned grey actually become yellow again.

The choice to use more detergent and warm or hot water has been offset by washing clothing less often.  I wear a dress for 2-3 days and then hang it back up and wear it again the next week -- I wash the dresses about once a month.  The dresses are protected by aprons and this time of year I wear an undershirt and leggings (warmer than tights) under the dresses, so they really don't get dirty.  But even in summer I don't wash my lighter weight dresses all that often.  T-shirts, leggings, and undershirts are worn at least twice.  Jeans get worn quite a few times before washing, same with nicer blouses.  Antiperspirant and underwear make washing often unnecessary.  I wash one load of regular clothing per week between the two of us, and I could push it to two weeks if DH had more clothing.

[Sibley]

OP, in addition to using less detergent, you really should consider cleaning your washing machine. You could easily have built up gunk from too much detergent.

[Frizzle42]

I use "store brand" Free and Clear, and usually use 1/3 a capfull of detergent, depending on the load. A little more for socks/underwear, anything with a lot of mud, less for something like a load of sweaters or anything not too dirty. It comes out clean.

I would say the best way for you to know if it works with your machine/laundry is try it - if you like the way your laundry cones out, great.

[LightStache]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

I watched in horror when my ex just poured copious amounts of detergent directly from the bottle into the wash w/o measuring, so yes laziness is a thing.

I measure and use the recommended amount of Tide plus Nathan's Power Wash to get the smell out of my quick-dry workout clothes.

As someone who has a sensitive nose (it's THE WORST superpower) and routinely smells BO on other people's clothes, using less than the recommended amount of laundry detergent passes over the line of frugal to being cheap.

If you're washing the clothes of dainty vegans who don't stress, sweat, or workout, you might be able to get away with skimping. OTOH you might be noseblind to the fact that your clothes reek and people are too polite to tell you.

[WSUCoug1994]

Consumer Reports does a pretty great job of testing most cleaning products - for those of you with access.  We use 1/4 of the "spoon" that comes with our laundry detergent - seems to work great and I am a smelly person lol.

[yachi]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

This is why I'm confused about OP's question.  Depending on the load size, a literal full cap is 2-4x what the manufacturer recommends.  I've thought about (but not yet implemented) a sharpie in the laundry area to darken the line for a full load.

[jnw]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

This is why I'm confused about OP's question.  Depending on the load size, a literal full cap is 2-4x what the manufacturer recommends.  I've thought about (but not yet implemented) a sharpie in the laundry area to darken the line for a full load.

Actually the line in the cap is about middle and the instructions say it's for medium loads and to add more for larger loads, but they don't say how much.  I am confused what instructions you read?  I am using Purex Free and Clear.

[yachi]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

This is why I'm confused about OP's question.  Depending on the load size, a literal full cap is 2-4x what the manufacturer recommends.  I've thought about (but not yet implemented) a sharpie in the laundry area to darken the line for a full load.

Actually the line in the cap is about middle and the instructions say it's for medium loads and to add more for larger loads, but they don't say how much.  I am confused what instructions you read?  I am using Purex Free and Clear.

Right now it's Arm & Hammer free & Clear, but we also have an old bottle of ALL free & Clear with similar directions.  See attached.

I'd interpret the Purex instructions to fill the cap 3/4 full for a large load.  My thinking is: 1/4 for small load, 1/2 for medium load, 3/4 for large load. 

[HipGnosis]

I noticed that with my brand name detergent, if I actually look inside the cap, the marking for a full load is maybe 1/3 of the cap.  I'm guessing the marketing department figures folks are lazy/don't look closely and  use the whole cap,   More detergent than necessary = more profit for the company, but if they were ever called out they could say "hey we didn't tell you to use that much, we even marked the cap for you".

This is why I'm confused about OP's question.  Depending on the load size, a literal full cap is 2-4x what the manufacturer recommends.  I've thought about (but not yet implemented) a sharpie in the laundry area to darken the line for a full load.

I calculated out how many oz. is 'right' for a mid-size load (I live alone) in an apt. size washing machine.   I put some tape on a tall shot class and put two lines on it with a sharpie - one for med loads and one for small loads.

[Sibley]

I use less than half of the "recommended" amount. My clothes are clean.

[Imma]

Dishwasher and laundry detergent is almost always formulated for the "worst case" use scenario (namely - hard, untreated, tap cold water + moderately soiled clothes). The ingredients in modern detergents are designed to adjust the pH and hardness of the incoming water as best as possible to enable the enzymes and surfactants to do what they need to do.

Assuming you're not overloading your washer, that you're not fiddling with the cycle (don't use custom settings), and your clothes aren't stupidly dirty, then you should be using the minimum amount of detergent possible per load. Typically this is the first line on the cup. Any more is either a waste or a nuisance (detergent residue in clothes).

I don't wish to dreg up the other clothes washing thread, but you should also be fine to wash your clothes on tap cold water and if they're not coming out as clean as with warm water, you should be soaking them/running a soak cycle instead of adding more detergent. In fact, for really soiled clothes you're better off pretreating them with something else rather than wasting more detergent.

Also, detergent brands and sub-brands (i.e. Era vs. Tide vs. Tide Sport+) do matter. Different enzymes, surfactants, and pH buffers (don't ask me which, I don't know that off the top of my head) are used for different stains. Enzymes that are great at grass stains, skin secretions, and food residue might not be good for blood and latex paint. That's an example I just made up so don't cite me on that, but virtually no detergents contain "all" the enzymes and chemicals to tackle "all" stains - mostly because the conditions for some components to function properly would significantly diminish or neutralize the efficacy of others. 

Finally, powdered detergents are usually better than liquid. Powdered detergents' components can't really cross-react like they can in liquid suspension, so powdered detergent usually has more cleaning components available per formulation than liquid.

Bottom line, fill the washer correctly, use the minimum detergent line on the cap or scoop (ideally use powdered), use your washer's most efficient setting, with tap cold water. Pretreat tough stains (oil, blood, mustard, etc.). Line dry everything if you can. If none of that works, adjust water temperature, check your water supply, try out other brands, and then after all that - fiddle with the amount you're adding to the washer.

Your username starts with chemist, so maybe you know more about this than I do. But washing with cold water has never worked with me. I've tried several types/brands of detergent but if I wash with cold water, the clothes still smell like sweat. I have to say Mr Imma has a physical job and is a sweaty guy, so even though he showers frequently and uses deodorant his t-shirts still smell when he takes them off at night. I can't remember having this problem when I lived alone (a woman with an office job) and washed my clothes at 30C. But if the temperature in the machine is lower than 40C the sweaty smell just doesn't get out of his clothes. 

We always line dry, we wear clothing until it's stained or smelly, I use a moderate amount of powder. I make sure I keep the machine clean by running a load at boiling temperature once a month (filled with our cleaning rags) we don't use fabric softener as I've never figured out the point of that (my laundry is already soft when it comes out). The one thing I just can't seem to save money on is water temperature.

[Cranky]

We are clearly laundry weirdos.

It’s cold here. Most of the year, sweating is not a problem. LOL

But I rarely get through a day without slopping something or other on my clothes, and I do wear an apron.

I recommend a bar of Zout laundry soap for stains.

[BikeFanatic]

I too am a smelly person and all my shirts stink when I take them off at night so they get washed every day, my pants however can last a week.
I use free and clear detergent otherwise I break out in rashes, so no perfume at all, no antiperspirant either due to same eczema issues. I use a Tablespoon of liquid detergent. I do mainly use the soak cycle for very dirty clothing, cold water mostly, and a little vinegar for my smelly socks. I know the vinegar works wonders. I get the giant bottle at the grocery store. I buy liquid detergent maybe only 2-3 times a year.
Someone who owns a hot tub tud me the detergent residuals are so heavy in clothing that he will not allow visitors in his hot tub anymore because of excess laundry detergent causes him all sorts of issues with the hot tub. SO it is naked or no go.

[chemistk]

Dishwasher and laundry detergent is almost always formulated for the "worst case" use scenario (namely - hard, untreated, tap cold water + moderately soiled clothes). The ingredients in modern detergents are designed to adjust the pH and hardness of the incoming water as best as possible to enable the enzymes and surfactants to do what they need to do.

Assuming you're not overloading your washer, that you're not fiddling with the cycle (don't use custom settings), and your clothes aren't stupidly dirty, then you should be using the minimum amount of detergent possible per load. Typically this is the first line on the cup. Any more is either a waste or a nuisance (detergent residue in clothes).

I don't wish to dreg up the other clothes washing thread, but you should also be fine to wash your clothes on tap cold water and if they're not coming out as clean as with warm water, you should be soaking them/running a soak cycle instead of adding more detergent. In fact, for really soiled clothes you're better off pretreating them with something else rather than wasting more detergent.

Also, detergent brands and sub-brands (i.e. Era vs. Tide vs. Tide Sport+) do matter. Different enzymes, surfactants, and pH buffers (don't ask me which, I don't know that off the top of my head) are used for different stains. Enzymes that are great at grass stains, skin secretions, and food residue might not be good for blood and latex paint. That's an example I just made up so don't cite me on that, but virtually no detergents contain "all" the enzymes and chemicals to tackle "all" stains - mostly because the conditions for some components to function properly would significantly diminish or neutralize the efficacy of others. 

Finally, powdered detergents are usually better than liquid. Powdered detergents' components can't really cross-react like they can in liquid suspension, so powdered detergent usually has more cleaning components available per formulation than liquid.

Bottom line, fill the washer correctly, use the minimum detergent line on the cap or scoop (ideally use powdered), use your washer's most efficient setting, with tap cold water. Pretreat tough stains (oil, blood, mustard, etc.). Line dry everything if you can. If none of that works, adjust water temperature, check your water supply, try out other brands, and then after all that - fiddle with the amount you're adding to the washer.

Your username starts with chemist, so maybe you know more about this than I do. But washing with cold water has never worked with me. I've tried several types/brands of detergent but if I wash with cold water, the clothes still smell like sweat. I have to say Mr Imma has a physical job and is a sweaty guy, so even though he showers frequently and uses deodorant his t-shirts still smell when he takes them off at night. I can't remember having this problem when I lived alone (a woman with an office job) and washed my clothes at 30C. But if the temperature in the machine is lower than 40C the sweaty smell just doesn't get out of his clothes. 

We always line dry, we wear clothing until it's stained or smelly, I use a moderate amount of powder. I make sure I keep the machine clean by running a load at boiling temperature once a month (filled with our cleaning rags) we don't use fabric softener as I've never figured out the point of that (my laundry is already soft when it comes out). The one thing I just can't seem to save money on is water temperature.

I'm definitely not an expert on consumer cleaning products, but if I had to guess I'd say your current detergent might not be optimized for sweaty smell/stain under cold water conditions.

You could try a few things - changing detergent, soaking his clothes prior to washing, or pretreating the problem areas.

But ultimately modern washers use such little water that the net savings from using cold are minimal at best for your situation, especially if it's working for you otherwise.

[jnw]

I doubt washing in cold water versus warm water amounts to that much of a savings.. especially if you have a good natural gas water heater.  We'll just continue using warm water.

[Imma]

I doubt washing in cold water versus warm water amounts to that much of a savings.. especially if you have a good natural gas water heater.  We'll just continue using warm water.

We have a highly efficient water heater, but I've never seen a washing machine that takes hot water? Ours is only connected to the cold water tap. The washing mashine heats the water. Is attaching your machine to the cold tap a Europe thing? Or just something we do in my country only? The washing machine is pretty energy efficient too. When we got this one it was a noticeable difference on our energy bills (every new appliance is, since our general energy consumption is so low that even minor things make a difference).

[mistymoney]

I've always used half the recommended amount of liquid laundry detergent for the size of the load of laundry, and everything seems clean to me.

I also use half a dryer sheet, if I'm using one.

I also always use about half, (for dishwasher too), unless clothes are super yukky.

put white vinegar in the rinse for fabric softening, but not always. when clothes are yukky, I also add the vinegar to the bleach repository for the load.

[Cranky]

I doubt washing in cold water versus warm water amounts to that much of a savings.. especially if you have a good natural gas water heater.  We'll just continue using warm water.

We have a highly efficient water heater, but I've never seen a washing machine that takes hot water? Ours is only connected to the cold water tap. The washing mashine heats the water. Is attaching your machine to the cold tap a Europe thing? Or just something we do in my country only? The washing machine is pretty energy efficient too. When we got this one it was a noticeable difference on our energy bills (every new appliance is, since our general energy consumption is so low that even minor things make a difference).

It’s standard in the US for the washer to attach to both hot and cold water inlets. Mine offers a choice of cold, warm, and hot water washes and cold water only for rinsing.

I have only used hot water for cloth diapers.

[LightStache]

I doubt washing in cold water versus warm water amounts to that much of a savings.. especially if you have a good natural gas water heater.  We'll just continue using warm water.

We have a highly efficient water heater, but I've never seen a washing machine that takes hot water? Ours is only connected to the cold water tap. The washing mashine heats the water. Is attaching your machine to the cold tap a Europe thing? Or just something we do in my country only? The washing machine is pretty energy efficient too. When we got this one it was a noticeable difference on our energy bills (every new appliance is, since our general energy consumption is so low that even minor things make a difference).

Hot water connections on washing machines are an American thing. Other countries I've lived the machine heats the water.

Wish I had internal heating now as my apartment boiler is six stories away. If I actually wanted to run a hot cycle I'd have to fill it from another source.

[Poundwise]

For decades, I have been using 1/3-1/2 of the detergent required.  My clothes are clean. I line dry whenever possible because the clothes don't wear so fast. 

[ohsnap]

...
For years I used alternatives like homemade laundry soap powder, soap nuts, or something like Nelllies.  Over time our laundry started to stink -- in some cases it was so bad stripping methods failed to remove the rancid oil smells...

Ugh you just brought back the awful memories of when I tried to save $ by using homemade laundry soap.  By the time I'd used up the first (and only) batch, our clothes were all noticeably dingier. It was terrible. That's when I realized that laundry detergent is a really small amount in our budget so why am I ruining our clothes over this? BTW I do use less than the recommended amount and it's fine. Clean, fresh, clothes!