There's Simply No Need For Liquid Detergent — Amazon Has A Lighter Alternative
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Liquid laundry detergent is a popular way to wash your clothes, as it's easy to use and thanks to automatic detergent dispensers, you can just pour once and go several washes without having to worry about it again. Additionally, it's great at fighting stains and works with most water systems and washer settings. However, despite all its perks, it may not be the best solution if you're looking for something light and convenient. The lighter alternative is a product known as laundry detergent sheets. These are solid strips of concentrated detergent that react with water to clean your laundry.
Molly's Suds Laundry Detergent Sheets on Amazon is one of those lighter alternatives. This one comes in several scents, including ocean mist, lavender, citrus grove, peppermint, and unscented. It is plant-based and free from harsh chemicals like synthetic dyes and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), which makes it great for people with sensitive skin.
However, across different brands, Consumer Reports mentioned detergent sheets rarely scored halfway decent when it came to removing stains. "In fact, they had lower performance as a group than our lowest-performing liquid or pod/packs detergents," said Rich Handel, Consumer Reports' laundry expert. If you're a family constantly dealing with stains and soiled materials, these might not be for you. However, if most of your loads are only lightly dirty, then laundry detergent sheets may be better to use than liquid detergents.
When laundry sheets can be an alternative to liquid options
While they aren't the best for everyone, if you have a good stain remover or don't deal with a lot of stains, there are benefits to using laundry detergent sheets like Molly's Suds. The biggest benefit — and why you may no longer need liquid laundry detergent — is its compact size and portability. With other options, you may deal with liquid spilling or pods exploding. Plus, if you travel to do laundry, in order to bring enough for several loads, jugs of detergent take up quite a bit of your limited space.
However, with sheets, all of those problems are gone. They take up next to no space. Even if you have to do several loads of laundry, you just need a small bundle of sheets. For those who have in-unit and at-home washers, this benefit may not be a big deal. However, if you transport your laundry to a laundromat or need to wash clothes while traveling, sheets are perfect because they are lightweight, small, and simple to transfer. Additionally, since they don't contain any liquid, you can take them on planes as well.
The sheets are premeasured, too, so you don't have to try to guess how much you need to bring with you for your laundry. You can just grab the exact number of sheets and go. They are made to be low-sudsing, so they work for all kinds of washers.
What to be aware of before switching to laundry sheets
Though these laundry sheets are convenient, they aren't for everyone. Many brands, including Molly's Suds, contain a type of plastic known as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) to bind everything together. It's supposed to dissolve in water, but doesn't always, especially if the water is not at the correct temperature. So if you use these, avoid cold water to make sure your detergent works as intended. The warm setting can be a bit better, as it usually needs to be above 60 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum effectiveness, but hot is what tends to dissolve them the best. Overloading your washer may also make it difficult for these sheets to dissolve.
Additionally, while these don't suds much, and do work with high-efficiency (HE) washers, the low amount of water HE machines use can be an issue with laundry sheets. If you find they aren't dissolving fully or are leaving residue on your clothes, then it may be worth changing your settings to add a little more water per load or doing an extra rinse cycle.
Also, you want to ensure you don't make a mistake when using laundry detergent sheets — like presoaking them – in order to get maximum effectiveness out of them. You also need to choose a reliable brand, such as the popular laundry sheets based on reviews or Molly's Suds. Take the time to check ratings and see if they work properly before investing.