How to Use Biological Washing Powder

Knowing how to use biological washing powder comes down to doing less, not more. Half to one scoop, a 20°C to 40°C wash, no fabric softener and a careful dry will give you a properly clean load with the fragrance still on it.

Here are eight tips we give anyone new to our luxury fragranced washing powder. They are simple, and they make a noticeable difference to how your laundry looks, feels and smells.

Key Takeaways

• Our powder is concentrated, so half a scoop is often enough for a normal main wash.

• It is built to wash well at 30°/40°C, and hotter washes are also fine for towels and bedding.

• A separate fabric softener and everyday stain remover are not needed.

• Cooking fat is the one thing to treat first, with nothing more than a little household washing-up liquid.

• Heat from a tumble dryer activates fragrance molecules, so air drying gently keeps more of it in the fabric.

How to Use Biological Washing Powder: Dose and Temperature

1. Start with half a scoop

Distinctive is a concentrated powder, so you need less than you might expect. Add half to one scoop per wash load, and remember that one scoop is 60g.

Many of our customers find half a scoop is plenty for a normal main wash. It depends on your water hardness, the size of the load and how soiled the laundry is, and if you have a large machine in a hard water area, start with a full scoop. Our washing powder dosing guide shows the amounts for lightly, medium and heavily soiled loads.

2. Add it to the drawer or the drum

Put the powder straight into the dosing drawer or the drum. It is made for both standard and high-efficiency machines, so there is nothing special to set up.

No machine to hand? Or want to wash curtains or blinds? Distinctive also works for hand washing. Add a teaspoon to a sink of warm water or a whole scoop to a bath load and leave the clothes to soak clean.

3. Wash at 30°C or 40°C

Distinctive is a biological washing powder, formulated with advanced enzymes and designed to clean well at 30°C and 40°C the enzyme content is active at 20 degrees but a little warmer makes a huge difference to the quality of the wash. You can use a higher temperature for suitable laundry such as towels and bedding, and the care label on each garment always has the final say.

Have you noticed that most modern wash programmes are long and slow? This is because they use very little water – often only filling to a couple of inches inside the drum. Fabric therefore needs plenty of time to tumble over and spend equal amounts of time sitting in the water and detergent mixture. A biological powder gets its best results from a long, slow wash and is suited perfeclty to limited water. 

What to Leave Out of the Wash

4. Skip the fabric softener

Our formulation includes built-in cationic softening, so a separate fabric softener is unnecessary. It is one less bottle to buy and one less step on laundry day.

A seperate fabric softner adds fatty lipids, preservatives and synthetic fragrance molecules at the very last stage of the rinsing so really it is just coating your fabric once youve already got it clean – who wants that? 

We also find that washing with powder alone keeps the machine drawer clean and clear. Giving you one less maintenance job.

5. Treat cooking fat splashes, not everyday stains

For everyday stains and bodily odours, a separate stain remover is unnecessary. The biological enzyme ingredients in our powder is designed to remove and lift unpleasant odours and stains at the molecular level, holding onto the dirt in the water surrounding the fabirc until the rinsing stage of the wash.

Cooking fat is the exception. Distinctive is not specifically designed for oil and fat, as we felt lipase enzyme was a little too harsh for fabricsand skin for normal use – so rub a little washing-up liquid into spills such as olive oil or butter before the wash. 

Keep the Fragrance on Your Clothes

6. Dry with a little care

Heat from a tumble dryer can release fragrance into the air. Where you can, hang your washing to dry indoors or out. For indoor drying over winter months its worth hanging garments and bedding as straight as possible, to iron less. 

If the weather is against you, our guide to drying clothes indoors and outdoors has practical ideas for airers, space and airflow. At this time of year, stale odours can develop on clothing that takes too long to dry. As a rule of thumb you want washever you have washed to be dried fully in 12-24 hours after washing. If it takes 2/3 days then understandably mould starts to replace the beautiful clean smell.

7. Match the fragrance to the load or the season

Each of our four fragrances has its own character, so it is worth choosing one to suit what you are washing.

• Opulence of Amber & Sandalwood: our original, inspired by fine men’s cologne, with bergamot and rose water over ambergris, vanilla, sandalwood and cedarwood.

• Energising Bergamot & Citrus: bright bergamot, orange and Sicilian lemon with green apple and soft musk, good for summer clothing.

• Relaxing Essential Oils: bergamot, eucalyptus, jasmine, ylang-ylang and patchouli, endorsed by the British Sleep Council and popular for bedding.

• Candlelit Cabin: our seasonal winter scent of crisp air, frozen rose and apple, clove and nutmeg, warmed by leather, amber and cedarwood.

It is worth a note here – Luxury Fragrance is meant to be noticed up close, not from across the room. Lots of pepole search for strong scents not realising that actually clean with just a touch of scent is far more luxurious. It says I am clean and I smell nice. Not there are odour issues I am trying to cover up.

If you would like help choosing, read our guide to the best fabric fragrance for laundry.

Between washes, or for boosting scent as you iron, our fabric and room fragrance sprays carry the same scents to bedding, pillows, curtains and wardrobes. Keep them away from leather, and see how they compare in our post on linen spray versus fabric spray.

8. Look after your machine

A clean machine washes better. Set a reminder every other month to clean the dosing drawer, the door seal, the drum and the filter, which only takes about ten minutes a time.

Our step-by-step guide on how to clean your washing machine shows you where to look.

Choosing Your Luxury Washing Powder

Distinctive is made in small batches in Yorkshire, and every pack is a biological powder with no Chlorine bleach and no  preservatives or optical brighteners. A 1.2kg pack is £19.50 and covers 20 to 40 washes, with FREE delivery across the UK.

If you are still deciding between powders, our guide on how to choose luxury washing powder explains what to look for. A little luxury in every wash is the idea, and the right dose is what lets it show.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much Distinctive washing powder should I use per wash?

Use half to one scoop per load. Half a scoop is often enough for a normal main wash, and a full scoop is a good place to start in a large machine in a hard water area.

Does biological washing powder work at 30°C?

Yes. Distinctive is designed for effective washing at 30°C and 40°C. Higher temperatures can be used for suitable laundry such as towels and bedding because modern wsshing machines heat from cold water so it takes a relatively long wash to get to high hot tempaeratures meaning the enzyme content can sill work effectively earlier in the wash.

Can I put your cold-pressed soaps in the washing machine?

No. Our cold-pressed soaps are for personal bathing and for enjoying our fragrances in the shower. They are not a laundry product, so please keep them out of the machine.

Can I use the fabric and room sprays on leather?

No. Our sprays are made for refreshing bedding, soft furnishings, wardrobes, clothing and rooms, but they should not be used on leather. As a tip many customers use them as a spray to wipe over dusty raidators etc leaving the whole room smelling perfect.

Do I need fabric softener or a stain remover with Distinctive?

No. A separate fabric softener is not needed because the formulation includes cationic softening. A separate everyday stain remover is generally unnecessary too, apart from cooking oil and fat, which are best pre-treated with washing-up liquid.

Ready to try it for yourself? Start with a mini 2 wash sample pack for £6.00 and see how you get on with your own laundry. We really hope you’ll love it.