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Sunday, April 18, 2010

Modern Conveniences or Pain in the Rump?

There are certain products that have the appearance to be a convenience for the purchaser but, in reality, they're a COMPLETE pain in the butt!

What in the world am I talking about?

The one that immediately comes to mind are these oversized bottles of laundry detergent. I have a front loading washer, so I need to use liquid detergent. I think that the more you can purchase the better, right?

I mean, think about it -- a larger bottle usually means a lower price per ounce of detergent so while it's a greater expense up front, the savings are "over-all" savings based on the unit of measure. However, generally these larger bottles are meant to be stored on their side and dispensed just as you would water from a 5-gallon water jug... with a little dispenser button at the bottom.

The bottles of detergent I traditionally purchase have the lid that doubles as a measuring cup which is then stored upside down on top of the pour spout after you've used it to measure the amount of detergent you need and pour it into the washer receptacle.

However, with these new, larger bottles, there are two factors that DRIVE ME NUTS!

1) There IS no where to store the lid after you've used it to measure out your detergent and pour it into the wash. If you store it upright, there builds a goopy level of soap "scum" on the bottom that will a) throw off how much you're actually pouring into the machine and b) be impossible to clean off unless you rinse it and store it upside down to drain EVERY TIME you use it

2) Most cabinets in laundry rooms aren't deep enough TO store these bottles of detergent becuase they're typically LONG instead of wide and deep. So the cabinet doors don't shut.

I know this is just nit picky stuff but seriously, it's like so annoying now because a) I'm having to wash the stupid little cup every time I use it and it's left a snail trail of soap scum on my counter from when I didn't do it because I was trying to multi-task (make dinner AND do laundry at the same time). Sometimes, you just want to start a load and get out of the laundry room, not have to dispense, pour, rinse, wash, rinse (detergent is THICK) and then either dry or turn it upside down to drain. It's annoying!

Any of these that YOU can think of? I have several! LOL Like THAT would be a shocker to anyone that knows me! ha ha

4 comments:

Keli said...

LOL I know what you're talking about! That's one of the reasons I started making my detergent. I usually just throw the top of the detergent in the wash with the clothes (the part that you measure out the dtergent with) That way, there is no messy soap scum anywhere.
Also, Method detergent is in a smaller bottle and you pump it into the washer. there is no cap. I have a picture on my blog if you want to see what it looks like. (or I will soon haha)

Joey Lynn Resciniti said...

I don't care for those dispenser things on the detergent. Sometimes they leak a little and that stuff dries into glue.

I'm currently annoyed with my Dial foaming soap dispenser. If you're not careful you can shoot soap right in your eye. It has problems!

Alexis AKA MOM said...

LOL I was just having this conversation with Rick a few days ago. It's driving me nuts and then I got one that sprung a leak and I had soap goop everywhere!!

Frugal Vicki said...

I am with you, I, too, have been driven nuts by this!