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Hi having had my bosh w/m for about 3 yrs over the last 18 months all items washed are rough . Towels feel like sandpaper . Have tried various powders , gels etc ,conditioners items still the same. This is my second bosh I was pleased with the last one so brought another not so happy with the present one . Has anyone else had this problem if so how did you resolve it pleaz Kate

Hello all, Firstly, Andy, this is really a great site with some fantastic information - bravo! . Now, the great debate between powders and liquids - a personal annoyance of mine, so please excuse the rant ahead. I thought I'd provide as much info as I can. This is a question that I find comes up again and again. Everyone has a preference, but here are some of the facts. There are 4 main types of laundry detergent available - powder, tablets, liquitabs, liquid. I'm goig to focus mostly on powder vs. liquid as tablets are just ready-dosed powder and liquitabs are ready-dosed liquid. Laundry detergent also comes in 3 different formulars - biological, colour and non-biological. ALL detergents contain anionic surfactants. The term "surfactants" is actually quite a broad term, but when used in context of laundry detergent, this is essentially the soap part of the detergent - the bit that foams up and performs the main cleaning act. Non-Biological powder detergent contains oxygen based bleaching agents. This aids with stain removal and keeps white items looking white. These also aid with hygiene. Biological powder detergent contains less oxygen based bleaching agents, but adds in stain removing enzymes to help break down stains on clothes (in the same way that enzymes work in our saliva to break down food). Again, the oxygen based bleaching agents are present to aid stain removal, keep clothes bright and keep everything hygienic. Colour powder detergent is the same as Biological detergent, only this does not contain any oxygen based bleaching agents. In theory, this is to keep colours from fading (I say "in theory" because dye particals are ALWAYS going to run in water, regardless of the detergent used - it's impossible to stop coloured clothes fading completely). Oxygen based bleaching agents are NOT included in liquid detergent as these are unstable in liquid form, therefore opitical brighteners are included instead. These are designed to keep things looking bright, but they don't actually help with any cleaning. Non-bio liquid is, in my honest opinion, completely pointless as it's essentially just liquid soap. In my opinion, biological powders are the best all round detergent. They contain enzymes for stain removal as well as bleaching agents for brightness and hygiene. Not only that, but the bleaching agents also help keep your washing machine clean and mould free (though if you wash at low temperatures which one should never do on whites, towels or bedding, run a maintenance wash monthly to keep the machine really clean) which liquid detergents don't. You could get away with using any detergent on your day to day clothes, such as jeans and jumpers. But when it comes to heavy washing where items are particularly dirty or where hygiene is a factor such as bedding, towels or kitchen cloths, bio powder is the way to go. Further to that, I've found that not only do powders wash well, but they rinse out much easier than liquid when dosed correctly due to the wash water being considerably more dense than laundry liquid, which is very gloopy and often leaves unpleasent residue in cloths and around the door and seal of the washing machine. In a recent study by the British Institute of Dermatology, it was found that biological detergent did not cause any more skin irritation that non-biological (see link) and that skin irritations caused by laundry detergent were largely a result of poor rinsing. Poor rinsing is often caused by over-dosing by the user or a poorly designed machine. Do yourself a favour - go out and by a large 50+ wash box of Persil or Ariel bio, following the dosing instructions on the box (I used about 80ml in medium-soft water, more will be needed in hard water areas) and enjoy the results. You'll also save on the pennies as the bigger boxes tend to be much better value. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1020902/Biological-washing-powders-NOT-cause-skin-allergies-says-expert.html

When you half or quarter load a washing machine drum and it starts washing and 'violently' sloshes the washing around (ie lifter/paddles lifts washing to top of drum and then the washing slams to bottom of drum) could this not damage (this sloshing/slamming action) the garments over time and indeed the paddles of the machine , (or both) - I relise that the proper way to load the drum is not fill it right to the brim of the top of the drum, you have to leave a vertical hand width height of free space dont you? - but if you do that the clothes will slosh and rub against each other (friction - simulation of rubbing the clothes together) to get them clean , but when you half fill or quarter fill a drum they can slosh with quite a thud, especially in a 9kg size drum. ?