I have to agree w/ couple posters above. 1-2 tbls of laundry detergent is not enough for larger or large loads. From what I read here, people try to use as little as possible but it does more harm than good. Specially if you have hard water. Hot water is a must and so is extra rinse or two. For example: full load of heavy towels will need more detergent and lots of extra water to rinse it too. When I do towels only load, I never use more than 1/2 size load and always add 2 extra rinses to it and water plus. Usually it is better to do mixed loads,heavy/light all together. It rinses out better. I only have white/light loads or dark. Bigger washer isn't necessary better IMO. You can stuff ton in it, it will wash it good w/ proper amount of detergent but it won't rinse out good. It will take several extra rinses to make sure there is no residue left. My tiny FL does better job than the big one. I think they build these water conserving machine on purpose. They know people will feel bad using extra water and so over time it will ruin the laundry and the machine which it leads to buying new machine and more clothes. Personally I don't care If I use lots of water. Our laundry is clean and whites are white. I have towels from 15 years ago that are still white and the edges just starting to frey. Towels for 2.50 from biglots! I don't use bleach ever. So don't be affraid to use more detergent and extra rinse.

Sodium citrate/citric acid (same thing) is in practically every liquid detergent I've researched. Yet I know that precipitates and hard water did NOT cause my towels to feel stiff and harsh. I got this stiff result after ONE wash (so, no "buildup" possible) with a liquid detergent (Kirkland Free & Clear) that by itself, or with hard water minerals, feels soft even when not rinsed out of the fabric. 1) I used exactly the same detergent and the same hard water in my TL; towels came out soft. 2) My experiments have proven that hard water alone, or hard water plus liquid detergents, even when completely left in the fabric and allowed to dry, do not leave the fabric feeling stiff Now, powder detergent (Gain, Clout) and cleaning agents (OxiClean, borax) not rinsed out DO leave fabrics feeling stiff. But this was not what caused my towels to be stiff. Fabrics with liquid detergent residue not rinsed out all feel soft. (Woolite, which contains a lot of soap, also feels slightly, well, soapy. NOT stiff or scratchy, though.) After rinsing though, SOME liquids leave fabrics feeling softer than others. The ones that leave fabrics feeling softer contain "fabric conditioners." "Fabric conditioner" is another name for "fabric softener." These work by leaving a residue behind -- a soft-feeling residue.

I've had a new SQ TL set for about 1 month and love it. I do not have soft water, but I did for many years in my previous home. Do you have a water conditioner? I ask, because when ours needed attention, it affected rinsing soap/detergent out of everything. I would suggest that you only wash with 1 HE detergent, skip all the other products, use the appropriate water temp and cycle for the sorted clothes and detergent - don't wash jeans with nice delicate items for instance - and use the correct level of water. I would do a second rinse since you have soft water. I love the small and medium levels. I only use delicate cycle for nice blouses, tanks, etc. and usually a small load. The delicate cycle is too gentle to get your everyday clothes clean. All that said, please use the dryer - no dryer sheets - and save your time and sanity, since the dryer isn't the source of the problem. I really like the nearly dry cycle choice for alot of my clothing. Using Downey and dryer sheets is adding a layer of 'stuff' on your clothes you don't need - just my personal opinion.

It will take getting used to but you can do it! Congratulations on being in your first apartment! It’s an exciting time with lots of new things to learn. Every washing machine is different- key things to know are not overloading the machines while you determine their idiosyncrasies, keeping the loads separated by color/ items. Meaning wash your clothes separately, socks & underwear separate, towels separate. Etc. laundry may take longer but you will figure out your best system. I also recommend checking out the site apartment therapy- it’s a nice community of apartment dwellers that are very supportive. If you give details of issues in your initial question or then follow up with more details the community can help to resolve. And just like in life, ignore any snippy or rude comments as they aren’t helpful. Good luck with your laundry!