Okay, So What Are The Drawers Of Your Washing Machine Actually Meant For?

Roman Kemp has opened up about a very real challenge facing – let’s be honest – probably tens of thousands of people in the UK. 

The Capital radio presenter (and son of actor and Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp) revealed that at the grand old age of 29, he still has no idea what you’re supposed to put in each of the compartments of a washing machine drawer. 

TBH, we can relate.

While some have scoffed at his admission, plenty of others are in agreement. Those three compartments are a complete mystery – especially in the age of washing capsules, where all you need to do is throw a jelly tablet in the drum with your clothes and ignore the rest. 

While plenty of people clearly no longer bother with the three compartments, it’s worth knowing what goes where in case you do want to be fancy and do a ‘pre-wash’ (what’s that? you ask. We’ll get to that in a second!) or you want to add fabric softener to make your clothes feel and smell like a dream. 

The three symbols on the washing machine drawer refer to three different parts of the wash cycle. 

‘I’ (which we’ll take to mean ‘Number One’) refers to the ‘pre-wash’ stage. This is where you’d put your detergent if you’d selected the pre-wash function on your washing machine – which, by the sounds of it, nobody seems to use anymore.

A pre-wash is pretty much what it says on the tin: an extra wash to do before you select the main wash function. People would typically opt for this if they had heavily stained washing that needed a little extra muscle.

The compartment with the flower symbol – which is usually a smaller, half-covered compartment in the middle or on the right hand side of the drawer – is where you put your fabric softener to make your clothes feel soft and lovely. If using this, make sure you don’t fill it above the MAX line.

The other compartment with the ‘II’ symbol (or Number Two, as we shall call it) is where you pop your detergent for the main wash (providing you don’t use the capsules that you throw into the drum) as well as a pre-soaking agent or stain remover, according to Samsung.

Roman Kemp, you are welcome.