Washing pods

I am surprised that people have not heard of washing sheets - have been using these for some considerable time. Eco friendly and extremely small to store. There are several companies, now that do them. Main ones, been around a long time are Tru Earth and Earth Breeze.

Most companies will do a trial pack and the cheapest way of purchasing these is to put in for a 'repeat' order for one/two or three months. This can easily be amended.

If you live in a hard water area you may need to use more than one per wash - trial and error. No 'gunk' in washing machine with these. No large boxes of powder to store anywhere, just a very small container with enough for up to three months at the time, and totally eco-friendly.

Eco eggs are pretty good also. Very few of us make our clothes very dirty these days, so there is really no need of the harsh detergents that were used in the past

I use an Eco Egg and my DS and his partner use laundry sheets. All equally effective and do no harm to the environment.

Powder every time . I have used pods in the past and I too have found they do not always dissolve!

I once ruined a fairly new washing machine with colour run sheets. They clogged up the pipes and damaged the motor. So very reluctant to try laundry sheets,

Poppyred

I once ruined a fairly new washing machine with colour run sheets. They clogged up the pipes and damaged the motor. So very reluctant to try laundry sheets,

As far as I know these actually dissolve away soon risk of clogged pipes

I have just started going back to using powder and soda crystals for the reasons already mentioned. In addition each time I attempted to open the plastic container I almost ended up in A&E. Impossible to open.

Oh yes, Gwyneth, opening the plastic pod boxes was a major PITA!
Another excellent reason for ditching the pods.

I use powder and soda crystals to wash as well. Vinegar to rinse.

I'm not sure that would have been enough back in the day when I used to run a lot and Mr A played tennis three times a week, so lots of sweaty and sometimes muddy exercise kit. Or when children were young and always muddy.

I use liquid as I hated the mess these pods made. I was convinced they did not dissolve properly.

Please just buy cardboard boxes of powder. No plastic, easily recyclable packaging what's not to like.

I find they don’t always dissolve on lower temperatures so I use liquid as well.

Washing machine engineer told me to use only powder. Liquid can cause gunk problems over time. Pods don't give you any control over the amount of detergent for each wash. He also said to halve the recommended dosage and put one less item in the machine. Clothes don't wash properly if the machine is too full. 90 degree wash the machine once a month with washing soda crystals to keep the machine fresh, especially if you mostly wash at 30 degrees

Washing pods have a fixed ‘dose’ which is suitable for all hardnesses of water. If you live in an area that doesn’t have very hard water you would probably need less liquid. The pods don’t allow you to use less, so are not economical and not eco friendly.

I've gone back to powder and I am sure I get more washes out of it than I ever did out of the concentrated liquid. I have long since given up using pods as they always deteriorate if not used quickly.

Only ever used liquid. Never heard of laundry sheets. Do use whitening sheets and colour run sheets without problem though.

I'd rather avoid plastic and chemicals wherever possible, so I use Laundry Nuts. They're lovely.

I am using powder at the moment, but when it runs out I plan to use an ‘eco egg’ which I learnt about on a TV programme.

Thanks Ladies, you have convinced me to change back to powder. I have had a few problems with the pods not dissolving , I have had to re-wash the whole lot to dissolve the sticky pod stuff to my washing. I only use 30 degrees and its obvious these pods need hotter water. I have bought a giant box of washing powder and this is more economical long term. My washing machine is only a year old and I agree all that gel dissolving into the machine will eventually clog it up. This is such a useful topic.

Eco-egg with a vinegar rinse works well for me (and it's cheap) so I just pre-soak anything really dirty in some soda.

After once forgetting to put in the detergent and the washing coming out clean I now use very little powder and soda crystals. The manufacturers recommend far too much. I have never used pods for that reasons.

Oh wow. I've learned so much today. Will stop using the pods and look into these other alternatives. Thanks.

MerylStreep

Sorry, can’t help as I’m totally against washing pods. I use washing sheets

Are there biological washing sheets?

We use Smol dissolvable eco pods for the washing machine and they are excellent, as us their fabric conditioner. Google Smol. Delivered to your door.

Poppyred

I once ruined a fairly new washing machine with colour run sheets. They clogged up the pipes and damaged the motor. So very reluctant to try laundry sheets,

I put a colour run sheet in a net bag, to avoid that happening.
Laundry sheets dissolve completely, which pods don't always do, but if you are worried you could put it in a net bag.

As ex-Hotpoint would advise: use bio powder from time to time on hottest wash to get rid of gunk in machine. Powder not so good at lower temperatures as it does build up. Liquid “colour” best for dark colours as no white streaks like powder although don’t like the plastic containers. So you do need a variety of products.