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Andrea Barnes is a writer covering large cleaning appliances. Each year for testing, she runs over 120 dish cycles and washes 120 loads of laundry. liquid detergent filling machine
When it comes to making more-sustainable choices in the laundry room, Wirecutter readers frequently ask, “What about laundry detergent sheets?”
Like shampoo bars or toothpaste tabs, laundry detergent sheets claim to offer a more-sustainable alternative to a frequently used household product, by cutting down on excess packaging and weight. Laundry sheets are often marketed as being free from certain ingredients—like plastic and allergens—that some people want to avoid, as well as generally using manufacturing processes that are more environmentally friendly. And laundry detergent sheets are convenient to use and travel with: Rather than pouring out a drippy liquid or messy powder, you simply toss a postcard-sized sheet in with your load.
But after researching and testing laundry detergent sheets from five different companies, we found they were uniformly poor cleaners, especially compared with the liquid, powder, and pod detergents we recommend. Also, the ingredients and manufacturing processes used to make laundry sheets may not be as sustainable as the companies claim. Here’s what to know if you’re considering switching to laundry detergent sheets.
The number one reason we don’t currently recommend any laundry detergent sheets is because they are, well, terrible at cleaning laundry.
We evaluated laundry sheets from five companies (Earth Breeze, Clean People, Tru Earth, Spot, and Ecos), following the testing protocol we use for all detergents.
There was some variation in performance (Ecos sheets, which contain enzymes, cleaned a bit better than the rest), but laundry sheets were significantly worse at removing stains and odors than most traditional detergents. Even when compared with detergents that were developed specifically for environmentally conscious consumers, the laundry sheets did noticeably worse.
The laundry sheets performed especially poorly in cold water. Cold-water performance is a key test when we evaluate laundry detergents. Cold-water washing can save energy and is easier on fabrics. And some preliminary research suggests that it might reduce the amount of microplastic and microfiber waste from your clothing. Washing in warm water slightly improved the stain-removal power of the sheets, but the difference wasn’t particularly notable.
Even if you don’t frequently deal with stains, there’s another issue to consider: odor. In our odor-removal tests, T-shirts stained with bacon grease and button-down shirts reeking of pepperoni pizza still distinctly smelled after being washed with detergent sheets.
Simply put: If you use laundry sheets, you’re more likely to have to wash stained or smelly laundry multiple times and/or with hot water to get it even tolerably clean. That makes using laundry sheets inconvenient, and it likely negates any positive environmental impact.
Laundry detergent sheets are sometimes offered as an alternative for people looking to avoid detergent pods, which are wrapped in a polymer called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH). While PVA/PVOH is considered a safer choice by the Environmental Protection Agency, some people are concerned that PVA/PVOH doesn’t biodegrade as quickly as claimed, and some would prefer not to use petroleum-derived products.
But if you want to avoid PVA/PVOH, detergent sheets aren’t the way to do it: To achieve their tearable texture, detergent sheets include PVA/PVOH in their formulas.
Many detergent sheets also contain potential irritants, like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and fragrances.
An argument in favor of laundry strips is that they are lighter and use less packaging than bottles of liquid detergent or boxes of detergent pods or powder. Laundry sheets do weigh less than other types of detergent, which theoretically means transporting them requires less fuel and other resources. But comparing emissions and environmental impact across products is complex. Many laundry sheets on the market, including several we tested, are produced in China, which means they have to travel a long distance to reach the US market.
Some laundry strip manufacturers tout that sheets contain less water than traditional liquid detergent. Laundry detergent sheets may contain less water in their final form, but they don’t necessarily use less water than liquid laundry detergents. Despite being a solid product, laundry sheets use a fair amount of water in their basic formula (PDF).
We recommend several detergents that can help you do your laundry more sustainably without compromising cleaning or convenience.
Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Laundry Detergent Free & Clear is a plastic- and PVA/PVOH-free choice that comes in a recyclable aluminum bottle. The Dirty Labs detergent is very concentrated, so you need to use less per load. And it’s manufactured in the USA, which may reduce the environmental impact of shipping long distances.
This detergent was highly effective at removing stains and odors in our tests (especially in cold water, potentially saving energy). The Dirty Labs detergent also has a Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association, is on PETA’s cruelty-free products list, and is verified by the Environmental Working Group. (We recommend the fragrance-free version, but it also comes in two scents.)
Although Dirty Labs’ liquid formulation is not as convenient to dose as sheets or pods, our testers found it much easier to use than most liquid detergents. We hosted a group of paid testers (with wide-ranging backgrounds, builds, and mobility levels) in our Long Island City, New York, office. These paid testers found the bottle to be lightweight, and they thought the detergent was easy to dispense into its reusable silicone measuring beaker.
In our testing, Tide Ultra Oxi Powder Detergent stood out for busting through nearly every stain and odor it encountered. This detergent comes in a recyclable cardboard box (though it does include a plastic measuring cup). Its powder formulation works exceptionally well in cold water. Unlike the Dirty Labs liquid detergent, this powder detergent has not been evaluated by the Environmental Working Group, and it contains fragrance, which many people may want to avoid. Tide is manufactured in the USA.
This hyper-concentrated liquid detergent is an effective stain remover, with cleaning power rivaling that of our top picks. It’s free from many potential irritants and comes in a recyclable aluminum bottle, but it’s expensive.
This powerful powder dissolves swiftly and completely, eliminates many tough stains, and leaves a light scent. But it’s less effective on greasy stains than our liquid picks.
Meanwhile, we’re sure to see more laundry detergent sheets (and variations) arriving on the scene. (Tide recently announced the upcoming release of Evo, a tile-shaped detergent.) We’ll continue to test these and share our findings.
There are a few concrete steps you can take to reduce the water and energy consumption of your laundry habits.
This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.
Andrea Barnes is a staff writer reporting on large cleaning appliances for Wirecutter. Previously she was content director at FXcompared, a financial-product review site, and more recently she worked as a research analyst. Her grandfather owned a TV and appliance repair store in Arlington, Virginia, and she still fixes her own appliances when she can.
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