dirty + washing = clean?

I do stuff like … laundry (klesvask). Except its not the kind of laundry you would think of at home. Usually when someone does laundry the equation is pretty simple… put in dirty clothes… add soap… and get clean clothes. However over here I can never seem to get the final sum correct. Of course there are variables that affect my results, for instance the ridiculously small washer, the cost of washing and drying (10 nok for wash and 10 for dry) ergo I don’t use the dryer I just hang everything around my room. I have to remind myself not to get excited about what should be the accurate outcome because I now realize that when I put in dirty clothing the result is equivalent, only now the clothes are not only dirty but also wet.