Manufacturers of clothes washers and automatic dishwashers want to make sure you use enough detergent to clean clothes and dishes. They don’t know the quality of your home’s water, and water quality varies greatly, so they always recommend the maximum amount of detergent.
If your home has hard water with impurities, this recommendation is correct. But if you have higher quality water or softened / treated water, you rarely need the recommended amount of detergent. Soft water requires much less detergent for effective cleaning.
Try using a smaller amount of detergent, and you will probably find that the appliance cleans just fine. Often, half the recommended amount of detergent is enough. This saves you money and eliminates the common problem of detergent residue buildup in the appliance.
If you’re using too much detergent, it might not completely dissolve, especially if you wash clothes in cold water. The excessive detergent creates deposits on the inside of the appliance and can cause odors and poor performance.