DO you open your washing machine drawer and pour your detergent into a random compartment and just hope for the best?

A laundry expert has revealed exactly why you should not do this, and what steps to take instead.

Author and home expert Laura de Barra shared the correct way to do your laundry.

The expert took to Twitter to share her knowledge after users agreed that they did not understand the differences in the compartments in the detergent tray.

"There are usually three compartments: prewash, detergent, softener," Laura explained.

She continued: "Not knowing what is what can make clothes smellier, scratchier, and actually not last as long or do what they should."

Read More Lifestyle

Yes, you can wash ‘dry clean only’ items at home – how to decode the label

"Pre wash will have more surfactants to help remove heavy soiling, so will need a lot of rinsing to remove, she needs to enter early doors," Laura told her followers.

She added: "Softener is designed to linger, so needs only a rinse stage. Detergent would never come off and clog fibers if it wasn’t followed by rinses."

While some manufacturers order the compartments from left to right, Laura explained what to do when this isn't the case.

"I (sometimes 1) is prewash. II (2) is detergent and the flower (3) is softener," she revealed.

Most read in Fabulous

Laura also explained how your machine knows when to add each product.

"Above the compartments are spray holes. When the machine is at different stages, it calls water in from the inlet hose and it runs over the ceiling and through the spray holes," she said.

You might often find residual product in the compartments after a cycle.

Laura showed her followers how to deal with this in a TikTok video.

Finally, the laundry pro advised her followers to leave both the door and drawer open after a wash to dry the machine out and prevent mold growing.

Source: Read Full Article