Washing without powder in a washing machine

Surely everyone has wondered at least once whether it's possible to wash clothes in a washing machine without detergent? A major experiment was even conducted on this topic. We'll tell you how the testing of washing machines from various brands turned out, and what conclusions the experts reached.

Experimental conditions

Recently, Roskontrol specialists decided to conduct an unusual test. The idea was to check whether washing machines could wash without detergent. They prepared identical-sized pieces of cotton fabric with identical stains. The white fabrics contained grass stains, coffee stains, wine stains, cherry stains, tea stains, and stubborn grease stains. The following models of automatic washing machines were used in the experiment:

• LG F1296TD3;
• Electrolux EWS1064SDU;
• Samsung WF60F4EBW2W;
• Candy GC4 1061 D;
• Bosch WLK 20160 OE;
• Hotpoint Ariston WMUF 5050 B.

The washing machines were operated on the standard "Cotton 60" cycle. This meant that the wash duration and water temperature were approximately the same. No detergents were used during the experiment.

Tempting savings

Washing clothes without powder would allow owners of automatic machines to save a lot of money. If we calculate, on average, starting one cycle costs users $0.15 per 1 kg of items. This conclusion can be reached by studying the equipment's instructions and looking at the consumption rates for water, electricity, and detergents.

Of the $0.15 spent on washing one kilogram of laundry, about $0.12 is spent on powder.

Moreover, these figures apply only to regular laundry detergent. Housewives who use gels, capsules, or special tablets pay even more per cycle. So, if you ditch the detergent, you can wash your clothes practically for free.

The idea of ​​washing without detergent is tempting. It can significantly reduce costs and save the family budget. But how practical is this savings? Will the washing machine be able to freshen laundry if the detergent dispenser remains empty? Or will the household be left with dirty clothes? Let's see what the experiment revealed.

What are the results?

After the washing machines completed their cycle, Roskontrol specialists immediately removed the pieces of fabric from the drums. The first conclusion was disappointing: none of the machines participating in the experiment were able to completely wash a cotton piece without powder. Wine, coffee, tea, meat, grass, and berry stains all showed up on the material to varying degrees. The cotton samples were then inspected on a light table. Here, the experts were able to provide a more comprehensive assessment of each washing machine model.

1. Samsung. Compared to washing machines from other brands, the Samsung performed poorly. The machine failed to completely remove a single stain. Cherry, green, wine, and other stains remained on the cotton. Experts concluded that the drum rotation algorithms were insufficiently calibrated and optimized.
2. Bosch. The German brand's washing machine managed to take the lead. Even without detergent, it removed greasy stains, red wine, and coffee. However, to the experts' surprise, Bosch failed to remove berry stains. Why this was impossible for the machine remains unclear.
3. Electrolux. The washing machine also failed to cope with the task, just like cheaper models. Without cleaning agents, the machine completely removed only the wine stain from the fabric. All other stains were partially removed.
4. Hotpoint-Ariston. The washing machine showed average results. Without detergent, it almost completely removed only the red wine stain. The other stains were unsuccessful.
5. Candy. This budget-friendly automatic washing machine demonstrated excellent cleaning results without the use of detergents. It was in no way inferior to more expensive models such as Electrolux or Hotpoint-Ariston. It handled the wine stain perfectly and partially removed other stains.
6. LG. The Korean machine outperformed most competitors, successfully removing wine and black tea stains. But, of course, it didn't work wonders. The remaining stains couldn't be removed without cleaning products.

No washing machine has been able to completely remove difficult, ingrained stains without adding washing powder.

Therefore, no matter how state-of-the-art your washing machine, you can't do without detergent. In principle, machines can handle light, fresh stains without detergent. However, removing berry and grass stains, as well as coffee or tea stains, will require more powerful tools than just warm water. If the washing machine's drawer is empty, it will simply rinse the items first in warm water, then in cold. Clearly, you shouldn't expect excellent results from this type of washing. Therefore, completely eliminating the use of detergent is not an option.

   

Readers' comments