It really isn't that much of an issue. If you use the small bottles of detergent it's perfectly easy to fill with the bottle. If you use the larger bottles like most people just use the cap. The active wash basin needs to be flipped out and clipped into the lid of the washer of course but I've never had an issue with this. I just fill the cap, flip it over into the detergent compartment and let all the liquid detergent drain out into the compartment while I load. By the time I've separated my delicates and special needs items into lingerie bags and loaded the washer nearly every drop is out of the cap. Another option is just to refill the smaller bottles if you buy bulk and pour directly; it IS easier but I wouldn't consider this a design flaw. I only use the active wash sink for pre-treating a stain so it always just goes into my current load anyway and there wouldn't be a need to keep the sink down before adding the detergent.