If you’re concerned about the environment, laundry sheets make a big promise: Clean clothes without harming the planet.
But do these sheets really work?
For those who aren’t aware, laundry sheets are made up of concentrated detergent held in place by a type of paper that dissolves in the wax. They have been touted as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional methods of washing clothes, which use detergents housed in plastic that contain chemicals that can pollute streams and landfills.
Unfortunately, this new, greener method of washing clothes leaves a little to be desired, according to Consumer Reports.
CR’s team of experts recently tested six brands of detergent sheets:
- Earth breeze
- ECHOS
- Ecowise
- Type
- Sheets Laundry Club
- True Earth
After putting the detergents through their paces, the CR team concluded that the sheets were underperforming, with scores ranging from “fair” to “poor.”
Earth Breeze Liquidless Eco Sheets received a “good” rating for dirt removal, but that was the only mark above “fair” earned by either sheet.
In a summary of CR’s laundry sheet rankings, Rich Handel, CR laundry expert, says:
“In fact, they had lower performance as a group than our lowest performing liquid or pod/packet detergents.”
Still, it may make sense to use washcloths in some situations. CR notes that their environmental footprint is smaller than that of liquid detergents – which come in plastic jugs – and pods and packets, which come in plastic containers.
CR says the products should work well for clothes that are only lightly soiled. Still, the publication’s overall verdict on washcloths is negative:
“Until laundry cleans up its game, eco-conscious consumers will have to continue to push the laundry industry to address environmental concerns with better packaging and more effective eco-friendly detergent formulas. Until then, it will take patience and ingenuity, because for now washcloths are a bit of a wash.”
You can use your washer for more than just cleaning clothes, as we in “15 Surprising Things You Can Clean in a Washing Machine.”
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