Part of the typical laundry process involves measuring out the detergent you need before running the cycle. Whether you add liquid detergent to a receptacle or drop a few laundry pods into the drum, this ensures your clothes get properly cleaned. If you have difficulty remembering to add the detergent beforehand, or aren’t sure how much detergent a particular load needs, there are washing machines out there that are built to automatically dispense detergent at the start of a wash cycle instead.
Washing machine models from several major brands like Samsung, Whirlpool, and Maytag use automatic-dispensing systems to simplify the loading process. Instead of measuring detergent with each load, owners of these automatic washing machines simply have to refill a large reservoir every few loads. As for how an automatic washing machine determines how much detergent it needs, that depends on the size and weight of the load you’re running. Much in the same way that modern washing machines weigh and measure laundry loads to determine cycle length, so too can those equipped with automatic detergent dispensing make a ballpark estimate of how much detergent is actually necessary.
Detergent dose is determined by load size and weight
Assuming you’ve remembered to fill up the reservoir with compatible liquid detergent, these automated washing machines take a moment to gauge the weight of everything currently in the drum when you start a wash cycle. Based on that weight, a certain amount of detergent is automatically dispensed based on the machine’s estimate of the load’s size. If you’ve ever noticed your washing machine’s drum spinning in small, short bursts before the cycle begins in earnest, that’s the machine running its sensing procedure.
Alternatively, depending on the precise type of washing machine you’re using, your model may instead dispense a pre-set amount of detergent based on the particular wash cycle setting that you’ve selected. This can save some time, as it eliminates the pre-cycle sensing procedure, though it is on you to select the correct cycle that you need in order to get the right amount of detergent.
Incidentally, automatic detergent dispenser systems only work with liquid detergent, with brands recommending high-efficiency (HE) detergents in particular for optimal cleaning time and coverage. Automatic-dispensing systems won’t work with laundry pods, as laundry pods are meant to be added directly to the drum. Even if you put them in the detergent receptacle, the machine wouldn’t be able to actually draw the detergent out.