We all love our clothes feeling soft with a good fragrance. Who wouldn’t want to wear something that feels smooth on the body while smelling fresh? To achieve this, you will use a fabric softener. Now, some washers have a fabric softener dispenser, while others don’t. If yours does not have a fabric softener dispenser, what do you do?

Can you use the bleach dispenser for the fabric softener? The answer is no. do not put your fabric softener in the bleach compartment because some chemicals in the softener when combined with bleach, they react and produce chlorine gas. You do not want to pass out in the laundry room, do you?

This article discusses into detail how the bleach dispenser works, why you shouldn’t pour fabric softener into the bleach dispenser, how to use fabric softener when your machine does not have its compartment and other related questions. Keep reading.

How Does the Bleach Dispenser Operate?

When wondering whether you can use the fabric softener in the bleach dispenser, no may not be a good enough answer. You need to know how the bleach dispenser works so that you will understand why you cannot pour the fabric softener in it.

Once you pour bleach in the bleach dispenser, it does not go directly to the clothes. It will run straight into a tub, which is separate from the basket containing the clothes. The bleach will be diluted as the washer fills in readiness for the wash cycle.

So, Why Can’t You Use the Bleach Dispenser For The Fabric Softener?

We already know that we should not put fabric softener in the bleach dispenser.

As already mentioned, some chemicals in the fabric softener might react with the bleach, producing chlorine gas, which if produced in plenty might cause suffocation in the laundry room. Thus, you may want to avoid doing this.

Having said this, you may want to say that then you will reserve the bleach dispenser and use it for fabric softener only. This is also not recommended because if you are always putting fabric softer in the bleach dispenser, eventually it will pile up. As a result, when you shall put bleach there, it will not follow the right path into water fill-stream. Instead, it will enter directly into the laundry drum, causing unforeseen damage.

Given the above-mentioned blunders, at all cost always avoid putting your fabric softener in the bleach dispenser.

Where Do You Find The Fabric Softener Compartment On Your Washer?

If you are planning to use a fabric softener so that your clothes can smell nice, this is a good question to ask. The fabric softener dispenser is located at the top load washer. You will a small dispenser cup in the middle of the agitator. The compartment usually has the label of a star or flower, and it makes up the smallest compartment of a washing machine.

Once you locate this dispenser, pour in the required amount of softener. Be sure to read the labels properly so that you do not confuse it with the laundry detergent dispenser.

How Does the Fabric Softener Dispenser Work?

First, the tub basket must spin to dispense the fabric softener. This spinning action actually releases the fabric softener.

Most models have the fabric softener rinse option, also known as the power rinse or the deep rinse option. This means that once the washer completes the wash cycle, it drains the water and then spins to release the fabric softener.

Once the fabric softener has been released, the washer will fill again, diluting the fabric softener, and distributing it through the clothes. It then drains the water and then spins again at the end of the rinse cycle.

If the washer does not have the fabric softener option/dispenser, it will drain, spray-rinse, drain, and then do a final spin. It will not spin at the beginning of the rinse cycle because there is no fabric softener to be dispensed. Similarly, it will only do spray rinses as opposed to a fill rinse because there is no softener to be distributed.

How Will You Use the Fabric Softener without a Dispenser?

Just because your washer does not have a fabric dispenser does not mean you cannot use a fabric softener on your laundry. You can still use your fabric softener as seen below.

Some models come without a fabric softener dispenser, but they have fabric soften controls. Here, you will manually dilute your fabric softener and add it at the beginning of the rinse cycle. This way, the fragrance will be on the clothes after washing. However, you have to be careful to ensure that you are adding the diluted softener into the rinsing water and not directly on the clothes. Otherwise, your clothes will come out with spots/stains.

Another option is using the softener ball. You can get one at your local store in the laundry products section. All you have to do is fill one with desired amount of fabric softener and put it in the washer at the beginning the washing cycle.

The ball is designed in such a way that it will open up, releasing the softener at the right time, which is at the beginning of the rinse cycle. If you tend to toss your load into the washer and forget until it is past the rinse cycle, then, this is the ideal method to use, as you won’t have to monitor your washer for the right time to add your softener.

The other method is pouring some softener on a rag and putting it on the dryer. This method is not only effective, but it also uses less softener.

Common Detergent Mishaps

Accidentally, you might put your laundry detergent in the fabric softener dispenser. What will happen? There is no need for alarm. These compartments are actually present because each item should be released at a specific time when it will be needed.

The fabric softener compartment releases its contents in the final rinse cycle. This means if you put your detergent here, it will be released when it’s too late to serve its intended purpose. Thus, the clothes won’t be cleaned properly.

To remedy this, you will have to begin the wash cycle again, this time with the detergent in its rightful place.

What happens if you put the fabric softener in the detergent dispenser? Again if you do this, the softener will be released during the wash cycle, and it will be rinsed away during the rinse cycle. It will not have served its purpose.

Additionally, this means that you actually used a softener to wash your clothes instead of a detergent. Again, your clothes will not come out clean, and you will have to run the cycle again.

Related Questions

Is there a difference between fabric conditioner and softener?

There is no difference between these two. The fabric conditioner/softener acts as treatment for fabrics such as wool extending their longevity. It also protects sensitive skin, keeps the fiber soft and smooth as well as adding fresh fragrance to the garments.

How many compartments does a washing machine have?

A washing machine has three major compartments. There is the prewash compartment that holds the detergent to prewash or remove starch. The other one is the softener compartment, which holds and releases the fabric softener. Then we have the main wash compartment. Here we have the detergent, water softener, stain remover and bleach.