When I moved into my own apartment years ago, my nightmare was not that I wouldn’t even be able to cook. Most of my friends’ biggest fear was that their parents would no longer prepare a hot meal for them every day, but I was more worried about my own washing machine. But fear is sometimes the best teacher, and I got everything perfect because of it. Well, the same can’t be said for my friends. Their battles with the washing machine are sometimes comical and most of them don’t know where to pour the fabric softener during the wash.

Learning how to sort the laundry properly and choose the ideal programme for each load is not that difficult. Still, many of my friends don’t know how to do it, and I’m something of a laundry magician to them. But when I recently promised to help a friend with her laundry, I discovered that sorting clothes isn’t the only problem. In fact, he tried to pour the fabric softener directly into the drum and didn’t understand what the problem was when I nearly ripped his arms off for doing so.

Why doesn’t fabric softener belong in the drum?

There are many mistakes you can make when doing laundry. But pouring fabric softener directly into the drum is one of the worst ones. A detergent that’s supposed to make your laundry soft and fragrant won ‘t work, plus it will also thwart the effects of the washing powder. In fact, it will build up on your clothes in the washing machine and the detergent won’t be able to penetrate the fabric and remove the dirt.

This will leave the fabric full of dust, dirt and viruses, and it will also be soapy when you take it out of the machine. The fabric softener will not get the chance to dissolve as it should. This means it won’t release its fragrance and your clothes will be neither fresh nor soft.

The washing machine has a compartment for fabric softener. But is this really the best way to add it when washing? ━━ The washing machine has a compartment for fabric softener. But is this really the best way to add it when washing? ( Source: RDNE Stock project /  Unsplash+ )

Always put it in the special compartment

When I explained to my friend that you definitely don’t pour fabric softener into the drum, I was horrified again. On his second attempt, he tried to pour it into the compartment marked number one. When I explained to him that this is where you put the detergent intended for prewashing, he had no idea that such a word existed.

In the washing machine, fabric softener always needs to be poured into the compartment marked either with the number three or, in most washing machines nowadays , with the flower symbol. This means that the detergent gets to the laundry after the washing powder, when the clothes are already clean. Then the fabric softener has a chance to properly dissolve, fragrance and soften the clothes.

My friend will probably remember how to do laundry for the rest of his life. However, the review for others probably won’t give me a very good one. After all, I was quite stern with him, and I’ve treated him to a few unkind words, and I doubt anyone else would want to go through this process with me. After all, I probably wouldn’t have the nerve to go through such an experience a second time either.