If you're on Facebook, look up Charlie's Soap. You might post the question there as both the company and other users can read and comment.

Well it could be varying things causing the problem depending on water type, how long you have been using Charlie's, etc. FWIW I'll chime in since more than one person seems to have this problem. Most of them are no brainers so not trying to insult anyone, just trying to help. I know from experience that frustration with a problem can cause you to over look something. 1) Already mentioned, hard water. Depending on the hardness of your water the Charlies may not be enough to cut through it. An added water softener may be required. One real easy way to tell if you have hard water is, look in your bathroom. Do you get water spots frequently that are cloudy and they accumulate fast? Do you have whitish stuff on your faucets? If you answered yes to either of these you most likely have hard water. To what degree, you will have to check with your municipality if you are on city water. If you have well water..it is most likely hard. 2) If you haven't been using Charlie's for that long, you may be experiencing built up detergents and fabrics softeners getting loosened and ending up distributed around the machine from either your clothing or the machine itself. 3) If you have soft water and you have no build up, you may be using too much of the Charlie's. It is extremely concentrated and a little goes a long way. If none of these help, call Charlie's Soap and explain the problem. They may know some technical answer that isn't common. Once again, this is not meant to insult anyones intelligence. Just trying to help, so please no one take any offense.

I also have hard water and use Charlie's Soap, but the truth is, many detergents/soaps don't work well in hard water now that phosphates have been removed from them. Most detergents recommend using MORE than the normal amount if you have hard water and don't use softeners in the wash and the rinse. Another problem is from using COLD water, along with having hard water. Unless specifically designed to be used in cold water, most detergents don't dissolve properly in cold water. Water Temperature Recommendations: HOT (120-140°F) - white and heavily soiled colorfast items WARM (85-105°F) - most loads COLD (65-75°F) - only for bright colors with light soil Cold water below 65°F is not recommended for washing Note: Detergent manufacturers and care labels define cold water as 80-85°F. I doubt if most of us know what the water temperature is - especially in the winter. If the temperature of water in the tub is too cold for your hands, the detergent will not activate and clean effectively. I often think we get caught up in the cold water/save the planet issue, when water temperature is a BIG factor in detergent performance and cleaning ability, not just the detergent. -Grainlady

The following text is copied from a PDF I received from the Charlie's Soap people (topic = hard water) ***excerpt*** Water Quality and Laundry Problems Ann Vanderpoorten Beard Extension clothing and textiles specialist, The Texas A&M University System This paper has been altered (....) by me, Charlie Sutherland, only to clarify some terms and show how our Charlie's Soap relates to the report. Research on laundering has shown that many factors affect the cleanliness of the wash. One often ignored factor is the quality of the water used. Several laundry problems are directly related to minerals, organic matter, and other impurities in the water supply. Some laundry problems may have similar symptoms but more than one possible cause. To determine if a combination of factors or water quality alone is responsible for your laundry problem, consider your equipment, water, products and procedures. Problem: Hard Water Laundry Symptoms: Dinginess or graying, yellowing ÂGeneral soil build-up ÂStiff, harsh feel to fabrics ÂWhite or gray streaks on colored fabrics Calcium and magnesium are usually the minerals that make water hard. The greater the concentration of these minerals, the harder the water. Hard water doesn't clean as effectively as soft water. In hard water much of the detergent added to the washer goes to soften the water instead of to clean the clothes. This means that more detergent must be used than in soft water. Softening water by using more detergent has two drawbacks; it is expensive and if the detergent contains phosphate it can add to water pollution. Heavy duty liquid detergents will remove soil in hard water almost as effectively as powdered phosphate-built detergents and they do not contribute to water pollution. Normally, non-phosphate powdered detergents and soap do not perform satisfactorily in hard water. (Charlie's Soap is generally quite good, but very hard water needs some extra attention.) Solution: To prevent the problems caused by hard water, First, use water as hot as recommended for the fabric since all detergents perform better at higher temperatures in any quality water. Second, soften the water. Water may be softened in the washer with nonprecipitating ion-exchange water conditioners* (these are the phosphates you were just warned about), commonly sold in grocery stores simply as water conditioners. Water softener systems which exchange sodium for calcium and magnesium may also be connected to the water supply lines for the washer, the kitchen, or for the entire house. However, persons on sodium-restricted diets should consult their physicians before adding a water softener system to lines that supply water for drinking and cooking because the sodium content of the water will increase. To remedy problems that have already occurred, fill the washer with the hottest water appropriate for the fabric. Add (a double scoop of Charlie's Soap Powder) and one cup on nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner. Agitate just long enough to wet the clothes. Soak overnight or for about twelve hours. Drain and spin without agitating. Launder, using regular cycle, no detergent, and one cup of nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner. If needed, repeat the launderings using one cup of nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner and no detergent until no suds appear during the rinses. In order to remove all dinginess it may be necessary to launder with one cup nonprecipitating *(phosphate) water conditioner and chlorine bleach if safe for the fabric, following package instructions for the amount of bleach to use. ***end of excerpt*** I, too, live in the midwest and have hard water. I've had good results with Roma and Foca--both are made in Mexico and have non-precipitating phosphates added. Foca and Roma have too much added scent and optical brighteners, etc. for my taste, I generally prefer to use Charlie's and Bi-O-Kleen. I recently ordered a small bucket of STPP from the "Chemistry Store," and am having really good results with adding 1 TBSP STPP along with my detergent to each regular-sized load. Hot water helps a lot, too.