If you have no idea what goes in each section of the washing machine drawers, you're not alone - around two thirds of adults in the UK don't either.
It's been a popular topic of discussion on social media recently after radio DJ Roman Kemp admitted that the purpose of each compartment was a mystery to him.
New data shows that just under a quarter of young people actually know what laundry liquids go in each part of the drawer. Thankfully, one laundry expert has shared exactly what the three compartments are for, writes Wales Online.
Harriette Jarman, AEG’s laundry product manager, said: "This is one of the fundamental parts of a washing machine, yet clearly most Brits aren’t sure what actually goes in each drawer.
"Each compartment does slightly different things and so it’s important that the correct products are placed in the correct compartment- otherwise your wash could be affected."
Although washing machines differ from one model to another, the drawer's compartments are normally labelled with a 1, 2 and 3. A small star symbol might be in place of the number 3 in some cases.
Here's what you should be putting in each section.
Compartment 1
This section is for pre-wash detergent and should be saved for when clothes are particularly dirty.
Doing this makes sure that the clothes are cleaned thoroughly, by utilising the pre-wash cycle for an extra deep clean.
Compartment 2
This is the main wash compartment and should be filled with laundry detergent or powder.
No matter what cycle the wash is on, or the setting on the machine, this is the compartment that will get used.
Compartment 3
This is usually the smallest section, and might sometimes be marked with a star instead. It's for fabric softener and should never be overfilled, so remember to read the guidance on the bottle carefully.
Similarly, many people in the UK are also clueless about the laundry symbols on clothing labels. The data comes as part of a recent survey from AEG of 2,000 UK respondents, to establish just how much the UK knows about laundry, from washing labels to machine settings.
The normal wash cycle symbol stumped the most people, with only 21% of people able to correctly identify it. This is then followed by the tumble dry icon with 38% of correct answers, and the ironing symbol with 63%.
It's important to know what these symbols mean, because it helps people to take care of their clothes and avoid damage when cleaning them. Young people aged 16-24 were the least knowledgeable about the symbols, with only 32% guessing them correctly.
Across all age groups, women's knowledge of the laundry symbols was better than men's.
On average across all three symbols, an extra 8% of women correctly identified the washing symbols than men. The biggest disparity was with the iron icon where 42% of men failed to correctly identify this compared to just 31% of women.
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