Congratulations! You’ve got an apartment and you have a washing machine. But where’s the dryer? Oh, there is none, but we will get to that soon enough. Where’s the soap? You’ll have to buy that yourself. You’re in luck because today I’ll pass on what I’ve learned about buying Japanese laundry soap, fabric softener, and other laundry sundries. So here’s the quick’n’dirty version to help you get clean — and without hardly knowing any Japanese.

Laundry Detergent – 洗たく用洗剤

Laundry detergent is common and is sold in grocery stores and “konbini” marts, you might find the same brand for cheaper at bigger drug stores and even more so at discount stores like Don Quixote. If you want deeper discounts, shop online at Amazon.co.jp by keeping an eye out for as much as 20% off under “Today’s Deals” or on Amazon Pantry.

I suggest buying the liquid laundry detergent as opposed to the powder kind. The powder detergent will sometimes leave a soapy residue on clothing, especially when you pour it into the wrong soap receptacle in the washing machine. But if cash is tight then go for the low-cost powdered detergent. Like in the US, liquid detergent comes in bottles. What’s unique with Japan is that soap detergent refills come in bags with pour spouts. Powder detergent, of course, is found in cardboard boxes.

Some Japanese brands of laundry detergent come with additives, usually fragrance but also color-safe bleach and fabric softener. Usually you’ll be able to tell that there are additives by the diagrams on the package, but also because they are more expensive.

Look for the following kanji in the table below. They will be printed on the front of the product usually at the bottom. The same or similar kanji will be printed on the back near the bottom in a product description table next to 品名 or “product name”:

Fighting the Funk

The most interesting detergent additive I’ve discovered is an anti-mold and anti-bacterial agent. This makes sense in Japan because many people do not have drying machines and must hang-dry clothing. During the rainy season, it is very common to dry clothes indoors. While some folk use laundry dehumidifiers to cut down on mold growth on clothing, but that might not be an option for you since they can cost around ¥15,000 ($148 USD) for a good one. If you notice a funky gym-sock smell on your clothing even after washing and drying look for the following kanji on detergent packaging:

Fabric Softener – 柔軟剤

Line drying clothing is the norm in Japan and you may notice the stiff feeling in your clothes afterward. Using fabric softeners removes solves the crunchy clothing problem and makes ironing a tad bit easier. If you find your clothing is super crispy after drying *and * after using fabric softener, try using less laundry detergent. I guess this is why there seems to be an endless selection of fabric softeners available on the Japanese laundry isle.

Most fabric softeners are fragranced; they usually have flowers or bright colors on the bottle. They do make unscented softeners and usually come in an all-white packaging, but they are hard to differentiate from laundry detergent of the same fragrance-free kind.

Nearly all fabric softener comes as a liquid in a bottle, with refills in bags.

Here is some kanji to help you in your search:

Bleach – 漂白剤

Most bleach in Japan is the color-safe kind, using hydrogen peroxide or oxygen bleach. Its kind of rare to find chlorine bleach outside of kitchen cleaning products. Some laundry detergent already comes with the whitening agent, so it’s not necessary to buy extra bleach unless you’re trying to get rid of stubborn stains.

Most hydrogen peroxide or oxygen bleach will come either powdered or liquid; the powder kind is cheaper. Look for the following kanji on the front of the product near the bottom.

Starch Sprays & Wrinkle Removers

If you have an office job that requires a dress shirt, jacket, and slacks, chances are you’ll be ironing your clothing. There is no escaping the fact that line drying will cause wrinkles, but there are solutions to help you iron them out. Starch sprays help to smooth cloth and keep wrinkles away throughout the day. While wrinkle removers do just that: they help remove wrinkles making ironing easier. This is especially handy for fabrics made of cotton, cotton blends, rayon, and linen.

Here is what to look for when searching for ironing aids:

Cheat Sheet of Japanese Laundry Products

All this can be hard to remember so I’ve created a PDF cheat sheet of laundry products that you can download for printing or save to your mobile device or smartphone. So good luck and happy laundering!

Now you’ve got your laundry detergent, fabric softener, and some oxygen bleach. Perhaps you’ve even double-checked the tags on your shirts and pretreated stains. Laundry is now in the washer and it is time to get cleaning.

Where to Put the Detergent?

The size of your laundry load will determine how much detergent you will use. Usually, the laundry load size is measured in liters or L, and the detergent will have measurement lines on the cap or cup to gauge how much to use in relation to that.

If you have liquid detergent, there should be a small well with a hole located on the side just above the laundry drum.

If you have powdered detergent, it should either go directly into the drum or into a pull-out tray specifically meant for powders.

Where to Put the Fabric Softer

One of the most unusual things about Japanese washing machines is all the different receptacles to put all the laundry products. In my American washing machine, all of it went into a single tray — which was subdivided into sections, one for each product type. Though I think some of the newer front-loading machines do follow this logic and I haven’ had the opportunity to use one.

For the fabric softener, there is a small receptacle on the washing drum itself. The most common place to put your fabric softener. You might have to dilute the softener with water if it’s too thick, otherwise, you might find a white residue on your dark clothes.

Where to Put the Bleach

If you have a liquid bleach, it most likely needs to be poured into the same well as the detergent. For powdered bleach, it should go into the same tray as the powdered detergent tray. I’m guessing this is why most Japanese don’t use chlorine bleach, the way the washing machine puts the product directly on to the clothing would easily stain the clothing — It isn’t diluted before being released into the washing cycle as in American machines.

Basic Washing

Just for the sake of simplicity, we’ll assume that you’ll only need the basic or automatic wash setting cycle.

1. Push the power button – Look for “電源” and “切/入” sometimes its also marked by  (power symbol). This button toggles the washing machine on and off. The machine should beep and the status/time display should turn on.
2. Close the lid and press the “スタート” button – The default cycle or “コース” should already be set to “機準” or “Standard Wash”

After the cycle has started, it should be fully automatic. The drum should turn the clothing a few times before letting the water in. It’s all a part of a feature that weighs the clothing and determines how much water to use.

What! Only Cold Water?!

So you’ve noticed that the washer only has cold water and there is no option to have warm or hot washing water.

If you were born before a certain year, you might be wondering why the water is cold and there is no hot water for washing. I know that old laundry habits are hard to kick. Washers have changed and so have laundry detergents. You no longer have to use hot water to get clothes clean.

Modern detergents – in Japan, America, and the rest of the world – are much better at putting enzymes to work in removing dirt and stains at lower water temperatures. In fact, they are less effective at higher temperatures.

So, unless you are using a washing machine that’s older than a decade and you’re using detergent from 1995, I’d say that there is no need to use hot or even warm water washing. Not only will you save money in the form of cheaper energy bills but also save your clothing. It’s common knowledge that cold water is gentler on your clothes, and can protect them from fading, shrinking, or bleeding.

If you are concerned about disinfecting, there are plenty of safe (human and environmental) laundry products such as oxygen bleach to help with bacterial and mold.

If you are concerned about stains, it’s always best to pretreat strains according to the type of fabric *before* putting into the washing machine. It’s a subject well discussed over the internet, and a simple Google search will come up with some kind of solution.

If you don’t believe me, check out Consumer Reports’ article on “Don’t Bother Using Hot Water to Wash Your Laundry.” Even Smithsonian Magazine makes a fine argument for washing clothes in cold water. For extra reading visit ColdWaterSaves.org.

Cheat Sheet for using Japanese Washing Machines

Keep in mind washing machine controls differs by manufacturer and model, but I’ve created a simple cheat sheet of the most basic and most common controls. Feel free to print out or download it to your smartphone.

If there are extra features on your washing machine, then I suggest downloading a translation app on to your smartphone for real-time translation. I highly recommend Google’s Translate App (Apple App Store or Google Play Store) for on-the-fly translating with your smartphone’s camera.

Try to find your washing machine’s make and model number, and searching for the PDF manual online at the manufacturer’s website. Google’s Chrome web browser comes with automatic translations via Google Translate which you can install as an extension will greatly aid your search.

Good luck and happy washing!