You're using too much laundry detergent. Too much laundry detergent. You only need two tablespoons. Two tablespoons. My name is Renae, I'm an appliance repair tech, and I'm here to tell you the truth. If your washing machine is high efficiency, or HE, you should only be using HE detergent. HE detergent is extremely concentrated and HE machines use less water, which means you don't need to use very much detergent. If you're a visual learner, a standard one-and-a-half-pound shot glass holds about three tablespoons of liquid.

But using more detergent means my clothes will get cleaner. Oh honey, no. If you use too much detergent, your machine doesn't know you use too much detergent, which means it's going to use the same amount of water to rinse as though you use the correct amount of detergent. So if you use too much, your clothes will never actually rinse out all the way. Ew.

Additionally, if you use too much detergent regularly, it will eventually create a buildup on the inside of your machine and can cause parts to break. And if you've tried using two tablespoons and it doesn't seem to get your clothes clean, either you already have a detergent buildup, your machine is broken or you're overloading it. So stop using so much detergent, save yourself some money and get your clothes cleaner.