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We develop all sorts of habits that may affect our well-being as well as our household. Roommates often take shortcuts and use unconventional cleaning practices because they’re lazy, cheap, or simply don’t know any better. One of the most common is to use dish soap instead of laundry detergent. Then, there’s only the need to buy one product instead of two, right?
Is it okay to use dish soap in place of laundry detergent? Well, there are contrasting opinions. They have different formulas, so you probably don’t want to use dish soap for your clothes.
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Let’s understand a few of the differences:
- Laundry detergent is formulated to remove dirt, odors, and stains. Dish soap is formulated to break down food and grease.
- Dish soap will produce more foam, which can wreak havoc inside of a washing machine.
- Laundry detergent is made to rinse out completely, while dish soap may leave residue on clothes. This residue can also lead to skin irritations and cause clothes to feel greasy or stiff.
Image by Antonio Cansino from Pixabay
Once you take these differences into consideration, you run into quite a few problems with subbing dish soap for laundry detergent. You could damage your washing machine, destroy the integrity of the fabrics you wash with dish soap, and end up with skin allergies or even dermatitis.
There’s a reason why both laundry detergent and dish soap exist. They are each specifically designed for specific things. While it may be easier to use one product for both, you won’t get desirable results. You certainly won’t save money if you end up using dish soap in your washing machine if you have to replace the machine or buy new clothes.