HE-491
IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH
Cooperative Extension Service, PURDUE UNIVERSITY, Lafayette, Indiana

August 1967

Elkin M. Minter, Home Management Specialist
THE RIGHT DETERGENT FOR YOU
All the detergents for washing machines are good when used properly. Soap, too, gives good results when used in soft water.

Selecting the wash product depends on the type washing machine you will use.
With machines that open from the top you are free to use any one of the dozens avail-t able. Soap, too, can be used successfully in this type of machine. If the water is not soft and you prefer soap, see "Soft Water from the Grocery Store, " HE-489, from this series for directions for using packaged softeners.

Suds or No Suds?
Floods of suds may show that you used high sudsing detergents, but you may not have clean clothes. Again, you can have no suds, but clean duds.
You will get best results from the low or controlled suds detergents in machines that open from the front. In these machines the fall from the top of the machine to the bottom serves as the dirt-loosening action.
If the clothes fall into a soft bed of high suds, the dirt is not jolted out.
Even in top loading machines too many suds sometimes slow the spin cycle so much that rinsing is inadequate.
The amount of suds doesn’t guarantee clean clothes. Cleaning power is determined by the proportion of detergent to water.
Types of Detergents
All major wash product manufacturers make a low or controlled suds detergent. These clean effectively with little or no suds. Some examples: Ajax, All, Dash, Ad and Spin.
A number of detergents come in pre-measured form -- usually little tablets.
These are of great assistance to the homemaker who doesn't like to measure her detergent with a cup.
Most liquid detergents are for dishwashing or light laundry or extra heavy duty cleaning; however, a few liquids are made for the washing machine. These offer some advantage in pre-treating stained or extra dirty clothing. Examples are Whisk, a high sudser, and All, a low suds type.
Both liquids and tablets cost slightly more than powder per wash load.
Cold water detergents for washing machines are a new development. Examples of these are: Cold Water All, Cold Power, and Cold Water Surf. The claims that they
Trade and brand names are given with the understanding that no discrimination is intend-ed and no indorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied.