Laundry tips for experts

Products

On the battlefield of stain removal, it’s important to know the weapons at your disposal. Here you can familiarise yourself with the Ariel products you can use in your quest for cleaner clothes!

• Detergents

• Fabric softeners

Detergents

Not all detergents are the same! Detergents are made up of many specialist ingredients - some, like Ariel have more of the best ingredients.

Identifying the right detergent You need only look at the line-up of your washing to pick the right one for the job:

• White Loads: For white loads (e.g.: sheets and towels) use a bleach-containing detergent such as Ariel Original Washing Powder.

• Coloured Loads: For colours use a detergent without bleach and with colour protection such as Ariel All-in-1 PODS Colour & Style, Ariel Gel Colour & Style, Ariel Colour & Style Washing Liquid or Ariel Colour & Style Washing Powder

• Mixed Loads: Should you have a load with different fabrics or colours, use a solution for all washes such as Ariel All-in-1 PODS Original, Ariel Original Washing Liquid and Ariel Gel Original.

Which form of detergent should I use?

• All-in-1 PODS: Easy and convenient to use, PODS dissolve even in cold cycles, leaving your clothes cleaner, brighter and looking fabulous. They don’t contain oxygen bleach and are great for washing coloured loads. Also great for greasy stains - for example, oils, makeup etc. PODS should be placed on the bottom of the drum towards the back with the wash load on top. This is important because when you add the POD on top of your load, then there’s a risk that the POD could fall into the rubber door seal after the first tumble and get trapped. Having the POD underneath the load reduces that risk.

• Gel: Ariel Gel provides you brilliant cleaning even in a cold wash. It activates in cold water and dissolves rapidly even in a quick wash. It’s easy and convenient to use, and its unique bottle allows you to dose with high precision with just a squeeze.

• Liquid: Liquids dissolve particularly quickly. They are great for pre-treating directly onto stains, especially useful for those most difficult to remove. Great for greasy stains - for example, oils, makeup etc. To get the best results with liquids use a dosing device. Putting it on top of the load helps the ingredients get to work right from the start. In case you don’t have a dosing device, liquids should be dosed into the proper compartment of the dispenser drawer.

• Powders: Can be dosed flexibly. Ariel Original Washing Powder should be dosed directly into the washing machine dispenser drawer.

Fabric softeners

Most people think Fabric Conditioners are just there to make clothes feel soft and smell nice... but they do far more than that!

Fabric Softeners can offer many other benefits...

• Decrease static cling (especially helpful with permanent-press and synthetic fibers).

• Reduce wrinkling.

• Protect colours from fading in the next wash.

• Reduce drying time.

• Make ironing easier.

How fabric conditioner works...

Fabrics in a wash solution have a negative charge on the surface. Fabric Conditioners such as Lenor contain positively charged Surfactants (called cationic surfactants). During the final rinse stage, the fabric conditioner bonds to the fabric surface to provide a lubricating layer that feels soft to touch.

How the fabric conditioner dispenser works...

1. Add fabric softener at the start of the washing process. Softener cannot escape from the compartment.

2. During the final rinse fill, water flushed into the compartment triggers the siphon and softener is drawn through the siphon. Some water also overflows from the back of the compartment.

3. The siphon continues until the compartment is dry at the end of the wash cycle and ready for the next wash.

Tips&tricks:

• Never fill beyond the maximum level – it will only cause problems! Filling beyond the Maximum level indicator in the dispenser compartment triggers immediate release of the fabric conditioner, which means that it will interfere with how well the detergent works and you won’t get any of the conditioner benefits listed above!

• Regularly clean/flush the dispenser compartment with warm water to avoid the siphon blocking! Sometimes your washing machine does not dispense the fabric conditioner simply because the siphon may be blocked. Check the siphon for any signs of build up.

• Clearing a blocked syphon in a typical dispenser: There is usually a removable cover to help prevent the siphon becoming blocked. Open the compartment by lifting out the cover to expose the syphon. Clean residues by running the compartment under the hot tap. Scrubbing with an old tooth brush may help.

Loading the machine

To prevent this from happening, leave a gap between the top of the drum and the laundry. For cotton cycles, leave a gap about the width of your hand, for other cycles fill the drum even less full.

A washing machine works by immersing the laundry in a solution of water and washing detergent and tumbling it. Modern, low water fill washing machines are designed to use less water, so owners of these should be particularly careful not to over fill. For the best possible results, there has to be enough water for the detergent to dissolve and enough space for your clothes to move around. If the gap between the top of the drum and the laundry is less than a hand’s width, your machine is probably too full. If this is the case, the laundry may soak up so much water that there isn’t enough left to dissolve the detergent!

You should be aware that more delicate fibres and faster wash cycles require a smaller load to give the garments more space to move around.

How much should I use?

When it comes to how to dose detergent, the key facts to consider are...

• How dirty the clothes are

• Size of the load

• Water hardness

It is important to dose correctly as underdosing can result in poor cleaning and stain removal.

Dirt levels: The more heavily soiled your clothes are, the more detergent you will need to use in a load. This helps to remove dirt and stop it returning to your clothes.

Drum size: Detergent dosage is based on the drum size of a conventional washing machine. Most washing machines now sold have larger drums (6-8kgs). Larger wash loads bring in more dirt, so to get great results on every wash you need more detergent.

Water hardness: Water hardness varies throughout the UK. To get the best results people in hard water areas need to use more detergent.