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Laundry detergents make a lot of claims: They whiten, brighten, soften, eliminate odors, remove tough stains or sanitize. There are so many choices that shopping your store’s household cleaning aisle can be overwhelming.
Is one good for everybody? “No,” says Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab. “With all the detergents we test, everything gets out something, but nothing gets out everything,” she says. Here’s advice from cleaning pros on how to find a detergent that will work for you.
Determine your laundry needs
Active families washing multiple loads of laundry every day won’t need the same product as someone who runs their machine twice a week. People with allergies or skin sensitivities may want a “free and clear” product without dyes or fragrance. Others may prefer eco-friendly, plant-based ingredients. There may also be different laundry needs within the same household. Athletic types who regularly work up a sweat may need a heavy-duty detergent specifically formulated to remove body soils and odors, while a basic bargain brand is just fine for cleaning towels used to dry the dog after outdoor play, says Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communication at the American Cleaning Institute, a trade association for the cleaning product industry.
Liquid, pod, powder or sheet?
Sansoni says liquid detergent still represents 72 percent of sales, followed by pods at 22 percent, and powder at 6 percent.
No-mess, no-spill single-dose laundry pods/packets have become a convenient alternative to liquid detergent but, with the price per load often being double that of liquid, you pay for that convenience. Pods also may be wasteful if you are only doing a small load, and so-called “power” pods are simply larger with extra detergent, giving you even less bang for the buck. Forté points out pods also represent a safety danger to children and pets who might ingest the colorful packets. Users must keep them stored out of reach in their child-resistant packaging.
Detergent sheets are relatively new to the laundry aisle. While the jury’s still out on their efficacy, many people see them as an eco-friendlier alternative to traditional products. Liquid detergent bottles contribute to plastic waste and debate continues over how biodegradable pods wrapped in plastic film and sheets woven with plastic may be.
How detergent works
The water in your machine is what cleans your clothes; detergent adds surfactants to that water. As clothes are washing, dirt is pulled out and trapped in the surfactant, then it goes out the drain with the water.
Detergents should also have enzymes to fight stains. Different enzymes target specific stains. Anything in the list of ingredients that ends in “-ase,” such as protease (targets protein-based stains including grass and blood) and lipase (targets fat-based stains such as butter and oil), indicates that the detergent breaks down stains, says Forté. For a deeper dive into how detergents work, read the American Cleaning Institute’s “Chemistry of Cleaning.”
Understand the extras
Additional ingredients work with surfactants and enzymes to tackle specific issues. Anti-redeposition agents help keep soils from re-sticking onto clothing after they are removed. Oxygen bleach is a non-chlorine, color-safe additive that helps remove stains and brightens laundry. You’ll also find detergents with built-in fabric softener and fragrance enhancers. If you want to know the specific ingredients in a detergent, check that company’s brand website or the product itself for a SmartLabel QR or digital code to find detailed information.
Tweak the cleaning recipe
Though some households stock a variety of detergents for different cleaning scenarios, Patric Richardson, author of “Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore,” says you don’t need six different options. Instead, think of your favorite as a base recipe. Then add different ingredients for specific results. For example, if you use a free and clear detergent, but your clothes are grimy, add washing soda to boost the cleaning power. You’ll find it in the detergent aisle for about $4 a box. Have a stinky T-shirt or nightgown? Add a scoop of powdered oxygen bleach (such as OxiClean or Borax) for odor removal.
Private labels may help you save
If you don’t mind a bit of trial and error, you may be able to save money and achieve the same results by using private label brands such as Costco’s Kirkland Signature or Target’s Up & Up. “And if you use a private label brand and don’t like it, some stores will refund your money or give you a top name brand for free,” Richardson says. But, he adds, if you love the scent of Tide, you need to buy Tide. “Scents are proprietary and even if the detergent ingredients are similar, you’re not going to get that exact same scent with a private label.”
Dosage can be tricky
Many manufacturers make dosage difficult, with faint measurement lines and hard-to-read caps. While detergent packaging may claim it cleans 50 loads, that number is based on medium (about half-full) loads, says Forte. Larger or heavily soiled loads require more detergent; smaller loads need less. Pods remove all dosage control.
Richardson says that whatever amount of detergent you’re using, it’s probably too much. It sounds counterintuitive, but if you use too much detergent, the dirt comes out of your clothes, but the excess suds can overwhelm your rinse cycle so the dirt doesn’t wash away, he says. And extra suds can clog your washing machine’s hoses and valves.
Your instinct might be to carefully follow the manufacturer’s dosing instructions, but Richardson advocates for using even less. He says two tablespoons of liquid detergent per full load will do the job. One measuring hack: use a standard coffee scoop which is exactly two tablespoons.
Test to find the best match
If you’re in the market for a new detergent, consider trying a few. Match the product’s advertised strengths with your family’s needs, as well as personal preference for type (liquid, pod or powder), scent and price. Then, find the smallest bottle or package to test. “If you hate it, there are 100 more to try,” says Richardson. “If you love it, then buy the biggest size you can afford because the larger the size the more economical.”