It’s a bigger load than usual, or the gym clothes smell rougher than usual, so you tip the bottle a little longer. Their laundry testers, along with Procter & Gamble’s own product engineers, keep flagging the same pattern: the average household uses roughly twice the detergent it actually needs. Where all that extra soap actually ends upWhen there isn’t enough water to rinse the detergent out, it doesn’t just disappear. It’s dulling your clothes, feeding the smell you’re trying to wash out, and slowly killing your machine. What to do when the load actually is filthyIf clothes are truly gross (yard work, sweat-soaked gym gear, food stains), don’t add more soap.