Last month, I blogged about some issues I was having with the new laundry detergent packs not dissolving during each wash. Some of my blog readers were experiencing non-dissolving issues with them too.
Cleveland’s ABC News 5 recently did a consuemer-advocate story about laundry pods and packs. They asked me to share my experience with the All Mighty Pacs after reading my post about it, as well as some of your posts about issues with the pods too. Here’s the video!
One thing that I thought was interesting is that they spoke to manufacturers about the non-dissolving problem, and they recommend putting the pack in, letting it dissolve, and then putting the laundry in. This is fine for a top-loading machine, but most HE machines lock the door a few minutes into the wash cycle — my machine will drain itself if you press the button to open the door once it’s filled with water and begun its cycle.
I’m not sure how any of that would save me time, if that is really the primary goal of the pods. Even standing in front of a top-loader and waiting for the machine to agitate the pack before putting clothes in is going to take more time than simply pouring in detergent. That really leaves portability as the only big draw — good for people headed to the laundromat or taking them on vacation.
Ukcouponer says
We’ve had similar products in the UK for many years, where we have mainly front loading machines which I have been led to believe use even less water than US HE machines. I did hear a few tales of them not dissolving when they first came out, but nothing since perhaps they have fixed this problem over here through ongoing product development? I have never used the gel/liquid tabs as we call them, because they cost 4x as much per wash as powders and bottle liquids, and they are far more bulky to store. Another issue is consumer magazines and sites over here say these have the worst wash performance.
grandmahaha says
Fox News reported yesterday that 189 children have been hospitalized due to ingesting the colorful red, white, and blue laundry pods, distributed in a candy jar-like container. P & G is working now on making the containers child-proof, but it’ll be a few months away.