Washing machine: where to put laundry detergent?
Putting the detergent into the dispenser drawer allows the washing machine to make sure that the detergent is mixed with water before starting the cycle.

If you just throw the detergent into the drum it can get caught up in the clothing and some of it can end up never getting fully distributed throughout the wash water.

This is more of a problem with dry powdered detergent but can also be an issue using the concentrated HE type liquid detergent with the newest washers that purport to be high efficiency through the use of minimal water.



In the olden days I can remember my mother mixing the powered detergent in water before introducing it into the old style wringer washing machine she used in our basement. She did that for the same reasons as the washers at the time only had agitate on/off and no automatically controlled water fill and spin cycles.