For most clothes and household textiles, BIOLOGICAL or NON-BIOLOGICAL DETERGENTS will give excellent washing results, and are both particularly suitable for whites and colour-fast colours.

• Biological detergents provide improved stain removal, especially at lower temperatures, because they contain enzymes, often of different types which assist with the removal of, for example, protein, starch and fat-based stains, such as blood, egg, chocolate and gravy.

• Non-Biological detergents are designed with skin-care especially in mind, and do not contain enzymes which some people prefer not to use.

For coloured clothes and household textiles, COLOUR DETERGENTS will best help you to maintain their original colours, whilst still giving you a very high standard of cleaning. These are all biological detergents. They are particularly suitable for matching and coordinated sets of lingerie, bedding or towels, and are essential when items are non-colourfast.

For washing wool and silk MOST DETERGENTS, INCLUDING COLOUR DETERGENTS, ARE NOT SUITABLE. For these fabrics, you should use a GENTLE/FINE WASH DETERGENT specifically designed for this purpose.

To maintain the appearance of your clothes and house-hold textiles and to make them last longer, you should use different types of detergent for different washes, whether for whites, colours or delicates. Although this may require buying two or three different products, you do not need to use any more than if you were buying just the one.

Almost all washing machines these days are of the front-loading, horizontal drum type, and these require a low-suds washing product. Consequently almost all detergents for sale, of all the types mentioned above, are low suds. If you have a twin tub or other vertical drum machine you can use any of these low-suds products, or you might prefer high suds products, which deliver a richer lather. You might also prefer these for hand-washing.