Can you wash clothes with dishwasher tablets?

Many people have experienced the situation of having dishwasher tablets lying around the house, unattended. Perhaps the appliance has broken down, so the detergent is temporarily unneeded, or perhaps your husband simply bought the wrong size capsules. Of course, throwing away expensive household chemicals is undesirable, but what to do with them can be completely unclear. In such circumstances, some housewives resort to washing clothes with dishwasher tablets. We'll explain whether this is safe or better to play it safe.

Are tablets suitable for white items?

Dishwasher owners believe there's no harm in using dishwasher tablets to wash whites. They claim the tablets' ingredients are very similar to those of laundry detergent, making them completely harmless to laundry. What do tablets contain?

• Enzymes that dissolve molecules of proteins, fats, starches, and other substances, thereby removing stains and other dirt from clothing.
• Oxygen bleach, which makes up to 15% of the tablet's total mass, helps break down dirt.
• Polycarboxylate, which is a detergent.
• Non-ionic surfactants are 100% biodegradable and are used to create foam.
• Aromatic fragrances.
• Finally, phosphonates, which help neutralize harmful impurities contained in water.

If you look closely at this list, it becomes clear that it does not contain aggressive elements such as chlorine, which could damage clothing. Therefore, dishwasher tablets can indeed be used for washing white cotton items, especially when you need to effectively remove dirt or ingrained grease from clothing.

If you're still hesitant about dishwasher tablets, run a test wash cycle with some old kitchen towels that you don't mind ruining.

Once you're confident that using dishwasher tablets instead of laundry detergent is safe, you can begin washing your everyday whites. The key is to avoid overdosing on detergent, so never use more than two tablets per load. If you're hand-washing just a few items in a basin, a single tablet may be too much. In this case, cut one tablet in half for more economical use.

What fabric can a pill damage?

To answer this question, it's worth revisiting the ingredients of dishwasher detergents. They contain a powerful bleaching agent, meaning they should never be used on colored clothing, as they could damage it. The same applies to delicate fabrics like silk, viscose, and microfiber, which are simply not designed to withstand such harsh chemicals.

It's worth keeping in mind that dishwasher tablets only dissolve well in warm or hot water, so if you're running a wash cycle with this detergent, choose long cycles of at least 1 hour at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius or higher.

If you've already washed colored and white items in the same wash cycle, leaving stains and streaks on your clothes, don't give up. There's another way to use dishwasher tablets. In this unfortunate situation, housewives recommend thoroughly crushing a dishwasher tablet, adding six tablespoons of warm water, stirring, and applying the mixture to the stained area. Wait a few hours. Afterward, wash the clothes with regular laundry detergent to remove all the stains.

The tablet cleans the washing machine

There is another undeniable advantage of using dishwasher tablets in a washing machine. It's no secret that the washing machine drum often suffers from scale, mold, and other unpleasant contaminants, so it needs to be cleaned after each wash. But even a thorough cleaning doesn't guarantee that various deposits won't build up in the drum, which will then need to be removed using various solutions, such as baking soda and citric acid. The downside of this method is that such mixtures can damage your dishwasher if you add too much. This is where dishwasher tablets can come to the rescue again, as they contain a high concentration of active detergents that effectively dissolve limescale and other stains.

For all of the above, dishwasher and washing machine owners recommend using tablet detergents monthly at 90 degrees Celsius or higher. Using a tablet in this manner, instead of adding detergent to the detergent dispenser, will remove limescale, dirt, mold, and odors from your appliance, prolonging its life.

Therefore, you should never throw away dishwasher tablets, even if you think they're no longer needed or unsuitable. They can remove stains from clothing, disinfect your washing machine, and pose no harm at all, as long as you don't wash colored or delicate items with them.

   

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