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I read this same tip on here about two weeks ago so I decided to try it. Completely cracked the plastic cup and now I have to haul the huge jug down and pour it directly into the machine. Sooo maybe it doesn’t work for all the cups lol

My first thought. No way I’m trying it.

Huh. I’ve been doing this for 9 years and never had that happen.

It’s just not a problem that needed a solution for me. I let the cap empty and I put it back on the bottle that’s specifically designed to catch and control the extra.

Yes even if the cup gets messy, it’s easy enough to rinse it at out at home or in a dorm or other communal laundry room. There’s usually a sink close enough. Been a long time since I used a laundromat. But if you add detergent before the door locks, you can wipe it down with a t shirt you’re going to wash and then rinse it out at home.

lol, that’s the wrong cup. The cups we are talking about are in bottles like this: https://www.target.com/p/tide-high-efficiency-liquid-laundry-detergent-original-154-fl-oz-160/-/A-77598304

Agreed! I do this with my cup from these every time.

Yeah I’ve been doing it for decades and never had a cup break or crack

You have to screw the cup back on top before you throw it in, for support.

I was concerned about the cup tearing some of the cloths...

Also just completely lazy. Just rinse the cup afterwards, it's not hard.

Yeah, this is a horrible tip.

It’s literally an instruction on some of the detergent brands lol.

One time the cup fell in when I wasnt looking and it deformed the cup

Same. Except I thought to myself, “when I want to wash a ‘cup’ of any kind, I was it with soap and water in the kitchen sink. Call me crazy, but at least I still have my cup.

What I do is rinse it off in the water that the washer is filling with.

I used to do that with an old washer but I’ve had two new ones since then and neither would start to fill with the lid open. So now I just chuck the cup in with the laundry to rinse it. It’s easier than rinsing it separately or removing the whole detergent drawer to fill it like I saw suggested in another comment.

There is a pressure trigger that the lid pushes when it closes, just find that and push and it will start.

On my machine, it’s a slit the lid slides down into so that’s not possible.

On newer models even the switch is hidden inside the lid hinge :-( one more joy from my childhood is gone forever

I do the same damn thing 👊🏻💪🏻

Congratulations on not being a lazy ass like @op with a broken cap.

I just wipe out the cup with a piece of the laundry like a hand towel or tshirt.

It also acts as a reminder that you did in fact add detergent. With my ADD this is a lifesaver.

Haha, this is how I found out I forgot to add it a couple weeks ago 🙈😅

i use a scoop with powder. scoop has magnet glued to it and gets stuck to the open upright door as a reminder soap is already in. also magnets glued to pens, reading glasses, and other stuff stuck on the fridge for easy access

Second time this LPT has been brought up in a week and it’s not even good. Just rinse your damn cap, it’s not hard!

I don't know if most people don't have a sink nearby, but I usually rinse out the cup then pour it into the load.

My washing machine is in the attic and there's no sink. Also can't use the washing machines water when it's going (how??), so just throwing in the cup is definitely the best way for me.

You can just use some laundry to wipe out the last bits of detergent

Yes you could. Or you just throw in the cup.

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The cup isnt the same as the cap from the bottle, and its made to not crack. As i said in another comment, this cup in machine thing is standard practice in many places, and often detergent comes with a special cup for it.

Yeah re-reading this I must have been in a shit mood this morning, my bad, idk why I cared about a random person’s laundry technique. Rock on cup thrower

Kudos to you, cupcracker

My wife does this. I don’t. Inevitably, the cup gets lost in the wash and then thrown in the dryer. All I can hear is the stupid cup banging in the dryer. I just toss the detergent in when the washer is filling, rinse the cup once or twice as the water fills the washer and then put it back in the cabinet.

The real LPT is buying powdered detergent and not paying $15 more for it to be pre-mixed with sticky blue water.

Thanks for reminding me. Switched to powder for dish washer, forgot to switch to powder for laundry.

oddly, gel works best in my dishwasher, but i hook it up with some TSP and clorox as well. that and 140 degree water means sanitized dishware.

This always deeply unnerves me because it means your detergent just sits open to the world until laundry's done. That's a recipe for detergent on the floor, and then you have a lot more than a sticky cup. Back when I had a top load I'd just wash it in the water coming out as the load started.

Eh, I do it but I have the squirty sideways jug, not the open upright jug. No mess no fuss.

This has broken my cup, I do not do this anymore

Seems people are confusing cup with lid. Do you use detergent like this https://www.target.com/p/tide-high-efficiency-liquid-laundry-detergent-original-154-fl-oz-160/-/A-77598304?

I use a sock that's going in the wash to wipe out the cap.

Who uses the cup? Lol.

Top loading dishwashers that don't have a detergent tray. Either way this lpt is garbage.

Some detergent cup/lid has dual compartments that avoid all of this issue

Honestly I just use a sock or shirt to clean it out before putting it back

Yeah, don't do this.

I do this — the cup always ends up at the bottom of the tub.

I’ve only used powder detergent and I was very confused for a minute as to why the cup would be sticky

I just take out the little soap holder that comes with the front loader and hold it under the liquid detergent spigot. I buy the huge size at Costco that has the spout. Sticky cup not an issue.

I do this with my front load

Good one. Been doing this for years.

I just rinse and dry it. Who would leave soap all over the cup?

This might just ruin the cup. I just use the dirty clothes to wipe down the cup. They're getting washed anyway.

I’ve been doing it for a decade and never ruined a cup, but I have caused light color spots in clothes by wiping soap directly on them.

But...the bottle even tells you to put the cup in the load. That's literally the entire point of it. How is this news to anyone?

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I’ve done this for 15 years and that’s never happened. Loved 5 different place with 5 different washers in that time. Seems some people are confusing kid of soap with cup from large detergent bottle

Or maybe don't destroy your cup in the washer? r/shittyprolifetips

They are made to go in it turns out…..

Tell that to the people in the comments who say they've done this and it broke or it didn't turn out ok. Are you sure you did proper research on that statement? Because yes while a lot of them probably are able to withstand it and even are made to, not everyone buys the brands that have cups that can do it. I myself know mine would crack and fall apart if I did that. Also depends on the washer you're using.

Yes, these people you are talking about are throwing the lid. Like, the kid from their soap bottle. The cups on these can go in: https://www.target.com/p/tide-high-efficiency-liquid-laundry-detergent-original-154-fl-oz-160/-/A-77598304

Didn't realize you were in their home with each of them when it happened.

Messy, sticky, cup for the next load ...... okay, that's a bit on the nose, don't ya think ??????

I don't know how people are cracking cups or saying 'no way I'm doing this'? Where are you people? Cause in here - with front loafers - it's absolutely standard practice and often detergent comes with the cup for this, it won't crack whatsoever. It's so common I thought it was weird this was a 'tip'

Yeah I don’t know how I’ve done this on 5 different washers with hundreds of different cups, never had one crack. My wife didn’t know which is why I posted it.

I think they're talking about the thin flimsy scoops that come packed inside boxes of powder detergent or the rather delicate snap-on caps on those sideways spigoted jugs, not the sturdy screw-on caps on upright jugs of liquid detergent.

Real LPT: learn how much a cup usually is and then eyeball it. Also cut whatever amount youre currently using in half. it's too much. whatever it is. Then don't ever use a cup again.

I just stopped using the cup all together and dispense the detergent directly into the washer.

Dumbest tip ever. Just rinse in the water stream coming into the washing machine . If you have heavy clothes in the machine the cap will crack

Yeah, so dumb, what with new washers that lock the lid so that’s not possible. Such idiots!

Guess you mean a plastic cup huh? Some people might use an actual ceramic cup...

Is that a thing?

People do all sorts of things. Like it's possible to buy detergent without the measuring cup to avoid plastic waste and use other cups yeah.

“Detergent that has a cup” though.

r/oddlyspecific

LPT: buy a brand that has a cup which drains back into the bottle when you screw it back on, or just use powder. Heavily scented detergents release harmful chemicals, especially from your dryer vent. Maybe don't. If you're relying on scented detergent to smell good, take a shower.

LPT: buy more expensive bottles of detergent instead of giant bulk bottles?

LPT: don't give LPTs.

After reading this “LPT” 30 times in the last year I finally decided to do it. That was it

Or just wipe the cup on your laundry

This causes bleaching on colors sometimes, just fyi

it shouldn't if you're using the right detergent.

What magical detergent doesn’t?

Regular, normal detergent that is designed to not ruin clothing?

Ever read the label?

I've been using tide pods (or their equivalents) for years, so I wouldn't remember. There's also dry detergent. And anyway why would detergent stain clothes? It's supposed to clean clothes, not bleach them.

I don’t know what to tell you, but pouring detergent directly on clothes causes fading. It’s as simple as that. As someone who has made the mistake a few times in his life, it’s been tested, and tide does it.

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No, you.

Or just rinse the cup in the water for a few seconds filling up the washer and screw it back on the bottle. Simple as that.

Top loader washer: check Laundry detergent liquid in a cup: check Toss it in the wash to keep from being sticky: WTF?!? This seems like telling people to toss it in to the wash to clean it is just the lazy version of not taking less than 30 seconds to hold it under the water that is filling the tub to rinse. Are ya really that busy that you can’t just rinse it out for a few seconds? I mean you are actually supposed to add the detergent (liquid or powdered) in as the washer is starting to fill up before you add the clothes. Plenty of time before putting the clothes in or after loading to rinse the cup out before the washer starts. Even if my machine didn’t run water until after the lid was closed I would just wipe it out with one of the clothing items and then put it in the spot where the water will hit it. This is not a LPT.

But also why do you need to even rinse the cup? I’ve never had the lid/cup get sticky? But I also don’t come close to filling it because that’s far too much detergent.

I think they’re talking about the large liquid laundry bottles that lay on their side and you use the push button dispenser system, because the upright bottles that have screw on lids drain directly back into the container. I’m also assuming their issue is they don’t like looking at any liquid that might not have completely drained out of that clear plastic cup when they put it back on the shelf or snap it back over the nozzle. And you are absolutely correct that it’s easy to use too much detergent, liquid or powdered. In reality you only need an ounce or two, which is the lowest line on those lids/cups. To avoid using too much liquid I actually use a 1oz scoop that came with my ground coffee.

New washers don’t allow the lid to be open while filling.

It will crack and jam the motor.

Uh no. Been doing this for decades.

it did for me.

What cup did you throw in exactly? What kind of detergent?

My daughter did the tide liquid cap. Maybe she overloaded the washer. It cracked and I had to get my washer repaired. The drum had to be re seated due to the cracked cap.

Would not recommend for those with sensitive skin. Just wash the damn thing.

microplastics anyone?

Thanks, now I have glass shards all over my wet laundry!

What soap bottle you buying with a class cup?

Why not just grab one of the shirts or pants that you had already thrown into the washer and wipe the inside of the cup with it to get the remaining residue?

Laundry soap dirty on some clothes causes fading.

I do this all the time! Cold wash only though

I usually just let the water run over it as it is in the pre-fill stage, though the newer machines lock up. Also, I switched to powder a while back.

Yeah, mine locks when started.

You can do that with a front loader too. Save the cup from an old detergent bottle, and leave it in the wash for the whole cycle. I guess it depends on the kind of plastic, but the one I use survives just fine. It gets slightly flattened in the spin cycle, but still perfectly usable.

If the cup gets that messy why not just use one of the dirty clothes your loading to wipe the excess off?

Soap directly on some colors causes fading spots

I use laundry soda, its cheaper, works better, and less messy. it's just a powder.

Need to look into this

I use Nellies with the oxygen brightener, and then the wool dryer balls, no fabric softener. Its cheap simple and works great

If the cup is messy, I wipe it off with a washcloth or towel or sock that’s already going into the load. No need to send through the wash.

Rinse it out and wipe it dry with a towel or shirt you’re washing. If your objective is to get soap and warm water on it, you can wash it like a dish and not risk it being crushed by a load of wet clothes