Exactly How Much Laundry Detergent to Use for Every Type of Washload

Like weighing the flour, sugar, and butter for your favorite cake or spacing your hydrangea bushes at the perfect distance, measuring laundry detergent requires care and precision. Using too little can prevent you from fully cleaning your clothes, while using too much can leave your fabrics—and your washer—coated in residue.

Learn how much detergent to use, when to use more (or less), and how to rescue clothes from unwelcome detergent buildup with our expert tips to better care for your clothes.

How Much Laundry Detergent to Use

The general rule of laundry care is to use two tablespoons of detergent, says laundry expert Patric Richardson of The Laundry Evangelist. This amount is consistent for both liquid and powder detergent, and Richardson recommends measuring out this exact amount and marking it on your cap or scoop to ensure you get it right. While two tablespoons will work for just about any load in any machine, there are key elements of your laundry-day routine that could mean using a little less.

Laundry Soap vs. Laundry Detergent

The terms soap and detergent aren't interchangeable when you're buying a laundry care product; these are two different cleaners manufactured in two different ways. "If you're someone who uses laundry soap—which is my favorite—it's actually one tablespoon," says Richardson. (Products are clearly labeled as soap or detergent, so you will be able to easily tell from the name of your cleanser and adjust your measurement accordingly.)

Load Size

Two tablespoons is the recommended amount of detergent for a full load of laundry, says Richardson. If you're washing a week's worth of undershirts or a just a few items of workout gear, scaling back the amount in relation to how full your washing machine is. "If it's only a half load, cut the amount of detergent in half," says Richardson.

Fabric Type

While different types of fabric don't require different amounts of detergent, they will create a smaller or larger load—and you should adjust the detergent quantity accordingly. So whether you are washing thin cotton t-shirts or thick beach towels, the detergent amount is based on how full the machine is.

Hard or Soft Water

Traditionally, homeowners with soft water needed a little less detergent, and those with hard water needed a little more, says Richardson. But the technology of today's machines (and detergents) means your adjustments would be so small—likely only one-quarter tablespoon—that changing the quantity is no longer truly necessary. However, Richardson says, if you have hard water or an incredibly dirty load of clothes, you might want to consider adding a booster, like Borax or washing soda, that softens the water even more to help the cleaner work more effectively.

Signs You're Using Too Little Detergent

The sign that you aren't using enough laundry detergent is easy to notice, says Richardson: Your clothes won't be clean. Laundry detergent typically includes a cleanser that does the actual work of cleaning alongside a water-softening agent which allows the cleaner to do its job most effectively. "If you don't have enough, you run into the issue of the clothes not coming clean," he says. And while you might not catch this on your work-at-home dress shirts or your post-shower lounge pants, you will definitely be able to tell when washing your daughter's sports jerseys or the shorts your toddler wore to eat an ice cream cone. "That will be the thing you notice if you don't use enough—you won't get the stain-removing properties," says Richardson.

Signs You're Using Too Much Detergent

Modern washing machines are more energy- and water-efficient than they were when your mother and grandmother learned to do laundry. But while this is a win for sustainability, it means that using too much detergent will have a negative impact on the cleanliness of both your clothes and your washing machine, as the lower water levels can't remove all the residue.

"One of the biggest mistakes we make is using too much detergent," says Richardson. "If you use too much detergent, your machine just can't wash it out—there's not enough water in the rinse cycle." The dried detergent coats the fibers, leaving your clothes feeling stiff and waxy, he says, and undoing the fabric's most comfortable qualities. (If you use laundry detergent pods, you're especially at risk of overusing detergent, since you can't adjust the quantity for smaller loads.) "Your towels won't be as absorbent, your workout clothes won't breathe," he says. "You lose the characteristic that you desire in anything—your lofty flannel shirt isn't as cuddly and warm, a sweater is not going to feel soft."

At the same time, the interior of your washing machine might show a haze of detergent residue or develop a mildewy odor. "That odor is from a buildup of excess detergent," says Richardson.

How to Remove Detergent Build-Up From Clothes

Richardson offers two methods for removing detergent build-up from clothes: The labor-intensive process of stripping your laundry and a simpler, hands-off approach with your washing machine.

Stripping your laundry requires soaking clothes with Borax and detergent in the tub, stirring it repeatedly, and then transferring it to the washing machine to launder, says Richardson. While you might find it grossly satisfying to see the water in the tub change color as dirt and soap release from the fibers, the process of moving your soaking wet (and very heavy) washload from the bathtub to the laundry room—which Richardson cautions is a "nightmare"—is enough to make him offer a low-effort alternative.

"A much easier thing to do is to just start using the correct amount of detergent," he says. As you launder your clothes, towels, and linens, the buildup will remove itself. "Just let it wash out over the next four to five washes," he says.