Pour in detergent. This is important, if you do this step wrong, you could ruin your clothes. You need to know if your washing machine uses high efficiency detergent, which is liquid, or normal detergent, which is a powder. Use the right kind of detergent and pour it into the right spot. This is usually either right on top of the clothes, or in a small hole on the top of your washing machines. The amount of detergent needed varies by brand of detergent and type of washer, so check the back of the detergent box and also look for any labels on your washing machine