Element Blog

Which Washing Machine Drawer Does Detergent Go In?

Liquid and powder go in compartment II. Sheets, pods and capsules go in the empty drum, never the drawer. Compartment I is prewash only.

What Is the Difference Between a Wash Cycle and a Rinse Cycle?

The wash cycle cleans with heated water and detergent. The rinse cycle removes it — two or three refills of cold water, no detergent, no heat.

Run Club Diaries: What Runners Taught Us About Staying Fresh

We spend our weekends with UK run clubs. Here's what serious runners do to keep training kit fresh — and how to borrow their routine.

How to Get the Smell Out of Clothes Without Washing Them

Airing, steam, freezing, vinegar and bicarbonate of soda — which actually work on smoke, damp and sweat smells, which are myths, and when nothing but a wash will do.

Fabric Softener or Detergent: Which Does More for How Clothes Smell?

Does fabric softener or detergent do more for how your clothes smell? How each works, which lasts longer, and how to make scent hold all day.

Bio or Non-Bio? What to Use for Bedding, Towels, Gym Kit and Wool

Bio for bedding, towels and gym kit. Non-bio for wool, silk and cashmere, because enzymes digest protein fibres. The load-by-load answer rather than the generic one.

Best Laundry Detergent Sheets UK (2026): An Honest Buyer's Guide

The four things that actually separate one laundry sheet from another, which UK brand wins on each, and one widely-recommended brand that does not make sheets at all.

Ink, Dye and Cosmetic Stains

The category where the wrong first move spreads the problem rather than solving it. Ink and cosmetics are carried in solvents and waxes, and they need dissolving before they can be washed.

Tannin Stains: Tea, Coffee, Wine and Fruit Juice

These are not dirt. They are dye, and they behave like dye — which is why the thing most people reach for first is the thing most likely to set them.

Oil and Grease Stains: Why Water Alone Never Works

The stain that looks gone until the fabric dries. Oil obeys different rules from every other mark on your clothes, and the instinct that works on wine fails here completely.