We Tried Earth Breeze Laundry Sheets & Our Clothes Loved It (But Not Our Washer)
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According to a poll conducted by Consumer Reports, about 88% of people prefer to use a liquid laundry detergent to wash their clothes over a powder type. However, the problem with standard liquid laundry detergents is that they contain mostly water, requiring consumers to use more to get a thorough clean. Not to mention, the jug itself occupies a lot of surface space in your laundry room. Even when you've emptied the jug, if you throw it away, it will continue to occupy space on the planet for hundreds of years in a landfill (though some can be recycled). One ingenious product proposes a solution to all of these issues: Earth Breeze laundry sheets. These slim-packed sheets take up very little storage space in your laundry room — you can even pop the sheets into a suitcase or backpack to take with you on the go. Plus, when you're all done, the thin cardboard packaging is recyclable and biodegrades much faster than a traditional plastic detergent jug.
Earth Breeze sheets have recently gained a lot of attention from eco-conscious consumers and people looking to embrace a more low-waste lifestyle. Influencers on TikTok and other social media sites have touted the praises of these smart little laundry detergent sheets, but do they really live up to the hype? We decided to test the Earth Breeze laundry detergent sheets and compare them with our go-to liquid detergent to weigh the pros and cons of switching to this planet-friendly product.
Comparing Earth Breeze to liquid detergent
Before we could test out the Earth Breeze sheets, we needed to gather the right supplies for our experiment. We purchased a 30-pack of "Fresh Scent" Earth Breeze sheets from Amazon for under $15, but the product is also available at Walmart or through the Earth Breeze website. Next, we gathered up some laundry to test the products with and divided it into two piles, each pile containing a good mix of casual clothes, loungewear, gym clothes, dirty socks, and more.
To compare products, we also used a 1.43 gallon jug of Gain, available at Target for under $20. This jug of Gain can wash approximately 128 loads of laundry, bringing the cost to about $0.15 per load. The pack of 30 Earth Breeze sheets claims to wash up to 60 half-loads or 30 full loads of laundry, bringing the cost to between $0.25 and $0.50 per load. In terms of pricing, the Gain liquid detergent is already coming out ahead of the Earth Breeze sheets. However, while price may be a concern for you, there's still the question of how well these products work. For some, the slightly-higher cost may be worth it to save the planet and still get clean clothes.
Using the sheets is a breeze
We decided to test our first load of clothing with the Earth Breeze sheets. Immediately after opening the package, we noticed the lovely and light fresh scent coming from the sheets. From the start, we were impressed by Earth Breeze's compact packaging and simple directions. For a half-load of clothes, they recommend using only half of a sheet, and for a full load, use ¾ to one full sheet. There are slightly different instructions depending on the type of washing machine you have. Following the directions on the packaging, we added a whole detergent sheet directly into the washer drum, right on top of the clothing. For a front-loading washer, you'll need to add the sheet to the detergent compartment. We then started the washing machine on a lukewarm, color-safe cycle and waited until the cycle was complete to examine the clothes before drying.
To create a load of laundry to compare our Earth Breeze results with, we washed another full drum of laundry with about ½ cup of Gain liquid laundry detergent. To ensure our process was fair, we used the same color-safe cool cycle and followed the same steps, checking the wet clothes for cleanliness and scent before drying. Finally, both loads were dried separately on low heat with one dryer sheet and then examined again for scent, softness, and overall cleanliness.
Clean clothes, not-so-clean machine
After letting the wash cycle finish, the wet clothes washed with Earth Breeze had a very light scent, while the clothes washed with Gain were much more perfumed. After drying, the Gain scent was still detectable, but the Earth Breeze clothes hardly smelled like anything at all, just a neutral, natural clean smell. This could be a positive for anyone who dislikes strong fragrances but a potential drawback for those who want their clothes to smell extra clean.
However, for a product that claims to easily dissolve and leave no mess, those statements weren't entirely true for us. We discovered a thick, soap-scum-like residue plastered to the inside of the washer drum, so it seems that the sheets didn't dissolve completely after all. Luckily, there wasn't any residue or stains on the clothes themselves. In fact, they seemed very clean, but it's hard to overlook what was left behind in our appliance. Because of this, if you clean your clothes with cold or lukewarm water, we'd recommend using another product instead — maybe another brand of detergent sheets or even powdered detergents could still be a smart switch from liquid jugs. It's also possible that a hotter cycle would be better for fully-dissolving these sheets (though the Earth Breeze website does claim that the product works in cold water). If you're determined to use Earth Breeze laundry sheets, you should know how to clean the inside of your washing machine to avoid too much soap buildup.