# What is that little "pour" channel on top of a washer machine for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699 "2008-06-29T22:01:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scrambledeggs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@scrambledeggs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scrambledeggs)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/1 "2008-06-29T22:01:47Z")
Ok, when you open the top of an electric washer machine, there is this ‘drain’ on the corner of it where I think you are supposed to pour down bleach? Umm But the Chlorox instructions just say to put the bleach in the water once the washer fills up. If so, why is there that little port? And what is it for? WHere does it go – does it moderate how the liquid bleach is distributed? ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/2 "2008-06-29T22:18:35Z")
Don’t you have the instructions for the washer? If not, you can probably find them on the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/3 "2008-06-29T22:29:34Z")
I don’t wait for the washer to fill with water, so I use the pour thingie for bleach. Then I can just walk away. I haven’t looked at the manual, but I assume the bleach dispenses when the washer starts to agitate. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/4 "2008-06-29T22:31:26Z")
Yes, it’s for bleach. It supposedly helps reduce the chance of “burning” by letting the bleach dilute in the water before it mixes with the clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/5 "2008-06-29T22:33:00Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I haven’t looked at the manual, but I assume the bleach dispenses when the washer starts to agitate. [/QUOTE] Nope, on any machine I’ve had the chance to disassemble, that dispenser just dumps the bleach into the space between the outer and inner tubs. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/6 "2008-06-29T23:00:47Z")
So it dispenses as soon as I pour it in? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/7 "2008-06-29T23:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] So it dispenses as soon as I pour it in? [/QUOTE] Not exactly. Straight chlorine bleach will burn holes in your clothes. So you don’t want to add it directly to where the clothes are for fear that some concentrated bleach might get on the clothes. Buy using the little cup, the bleach drains between the inner tub (where the clothes are) and the outer tub (which holds the water in) By the time enough water is added to the machine for the mixture of water and bleach to reach the clothes, the mixture is dilute enough that burning is not a problem. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-that-little-pour-channel-on-top-of-a-washer-machine-for/454699/8 "2008-06-30T01:10:08Z")
Aah. I get it now. (And I used to work in a factory that made washing machines.)