Is Powder Or Liquid Laundry Detergent Better?

There are so many brands and varieties of powder or liquid laundry detergent that it’s tricky to know which to choose.

Is Powder Or Liquid Laundry Detergent Better?

When buying laundry detergent, you want to get the best value for your money and your clothes. There are so many brands and varieties that it’s tricky to know which will leave your clothes smelling the freshest. And, you definitely want to avoid any damage to your clothes.

When narrowing down this decision, we’ll start with the differences between powder or liquid laundry detergent. Knowing which works best will help your clothes last longer make sure you’re not wasting money on laundry detergent.

Liquid Laundry Detergents We Recommend

Choosing the right detergent is a simple way to make sure your laundry is properly cleaned.

Dropps Laundry Pods

Liquid Laundry Detergent

Made for sensitive skin. Comes in recyclable and compostable cardboard packaging helps reduce single-use plastic.

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The Laundress – Le Labo

Liquid Laundry Detergent

The Laundress laundry detergent blends the finest modern perfume into the brand’s best-performing detergent formula.

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Charlie’s Laundry Liquid

Liquid Laundry Detergent

Each bottle contains just four ingredients. No suds, just a deep clean that leaves your laundry fresh and soft.

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Powder Laundry Detergents We Recommend

Most people use liquid laundry detergent. While powder is less common, there are great powder laundry detergent options.

Biokleen Powder

Powder Laundry Detergent

Mineral-based cleaning agents and chlorine-free oxygen bleach remove the toughest stains and odors.

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Charlie’s Laundry Powder

Powder Laundry Detergent

Each bag contains just four ingredients. No suds, just a deep clean that leaves fabric fresh and soft.

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Nellie’s All Natural

Powder Laundry Detergent

Use one tablespoon of Nellies Laundry Soda for each regular-sized load. All-natural, non-toxic, and vegan.

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Things to Consider When Choosing a Powder or Liquid Laundry Detergent

How gentle is the laundry detergent? You wash your laundry frequently. With that in mind, you don’t necessarily need a high-powered detergent. In fact, a gentler detergent would help maintain the newness and prevent your laundry from taking on any damage or uncomfortable textures. Trust us––a gentle detergent is the number one thing you should look for.

Is it hypoallergenic or specifically for sensitive skin? You never know when you could have a reaction to a new type of detergent. The easiest ones usually contain natural ingredients. Allergic reactions to laundry detergents are becoming more and more common. According to Healthline, it’s not uncommon for people to experience adverse skin reactions to the ingredients in standard detergents. Fragrances, preservatives, dyes, and other chemicals in laundry detergent can cause rashes in both children and adults. Most people can prevent laundry detergent rashes by using fragrance- and dye-free detergents.

What does it smell like? Fragrance can have a huge impact on your laundry so it’s important to choose a detergent that has no scent, a very light scent, or a fragrance that aids in relaxation, like lavender.

Does it have any toxic side effects? When you’re laundering things every day or every few days, the chemical build up from products can have an effect on the environment. In this day and age, it’s more important than ever to be aware of your products’ environmental impact. It’s best to select a natural detergent with biodegradable ingredients.

Eco-friendly laundry products can be just as effective as traditional laundry detergents—and as an added benefit, they’re often better for your budget. At The Folde, we use eco-friendly options with options for scented or unscented. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s an eco-friendly laundry detergent revolution happening. While the mere concept of environmentally friendly laundry detergent isn’t new, the diversity, effectiveness, and affordability of greener cleaning options has improved in recent years.

Does it thoroughly clean your laundry? At the end of the day, you still need your laundry to be clean. Balancing the above elements of gentle and environmentally friendly cleaners can be tough–but a detergent needs to be reliable enough to clean.

Powder Pros:

Paper packaging is easier to recycle
Best for mud or grass stains
Slightly cheaper to buy

Powder Cons:

Doesn’t fully dissolve in cold water
You need more detergent for hard water
Can create a mess

Liquid Pros:

Better for greasy and oily stains
Helps the environment as works well in cold water washes
Works well in hard water
Contains no bleach

Liquid Cons:

Not as easy to measure
Plastic packaging

Best Laundry Detergent for Stains

Clothes inevitably get stained from time to time. Kids, food, doggy paw prints, and work can all leave clothes looking a little worse for wear. You can learn more about stain removal in our Laundry Stain Removal Guide.

For stain removal, liquid detergent gets first prize for greasy and oily stains. It’s easy to pour a little detergent onto the stain to dab out the worst of it before placing it in the wash.

Although for heavier staining from mud or grass, powder detergent most often contains more powerful cleaning agents. Be sure to apply this powder detergent once the laundry is already wet. Some powder detergents can stain clothing if applied directly to the garment.

Best Laundry Detergent for Easy Measurement

Put too much detergent in your machine, and it’ll leave a filmy residue on your clothes. But put too little in, and your clothes will come out grubby. And an overload of detergent can also leave your machine with smelly odors.

Both liquid and powder detergent comes with measuring cups or caps. But powder is slightly easier to measure. The smaller cap of liquid detergent makes it trickier to see how much you’re using and it can create quite a mess in your laundry room.

Best Laundry Detergent for the Environment

Liquid detergent wins the environmental battle when it comes to cleaning power. Because it’s already a liquid, it dissolves regardless of the temperature of the water.

Washing clothes at a lower temperature saves energy, making it one of the greenest ways to do your laundry. And even better, the liquid detergent doesn’t leave any undissolved powder residue in your washing machine.

However, when it comes to packaging, powder detergents are generally packaged in a paper-based box rather than the plastic of liquid detergent bottles.

Whatever you choose, be sure to recycle the packaging that the detergent comes in to minimize the environmental impact.

Best Laundry Detergent for Hard or Soft Water

For hard water, liquid detergent is the best option. It doesn’t react as much with the minerals in the water. Use powder detergent in a hard water area, and you’ll need to up the dosage.

Best Laundry Detergent for Your Clothes

Some powder detergents contain a small amount of bleach. The bleach is there to help keep the whites brighter for longer. But this also comes with a downside.

Colored clothes start to fade when they come into contact with bleach. And that’s what happens when you wash your clothes with powdered detergent too often. Meanwhile, the liquid detergent doesn’t contain bleach. So your clothes stay like new for longer.

Pros and Cons of Powder or Liquid Laundry Detergent

Whether powder or liquid laundry detergent, whatever detergent you choose, always use the correct dosage and clean your machine regularly and you’ll enjoy fresh-smelling clothes with every wash.

Our recommendations for the best powder or liquid laundry detergent

Here is our top 5 list of best powder or liquid laundry detergent:

The Folde | Laundromat and Laundry Service | Powder or Liquid Laundry Detergent

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