You have probably seen lots of ads for laundry strips in your social media feed lately. It’s definitely not because you love daily laundry (who does anyway?), but because you may have been looking for ways to use less plastic when doing laundry.
Note that laundry detergent strips often come in small cardboard packages (recyclable packing) rather than big plastic bags. Fortunately, switching to laundry detergent strips is a great way of avoiding unnecessary plastic packaging. Here’s everything you should know about laundry detergent strips and whether they’re the correct choice for your laundry room and the environment.
What are laundry strips?
Laundry strips are highly concentrated liquidless laundry detergent sheets that are soluble in water. Each of these strips is pre-portioned to provide the exact amount of detergent required for a specific laundry load. That means no spills, no pouring.
Given that laundry detergent strips are lightweight, they’re convenient even for travel and often take up less space than pods or powdered detergents packed in big plastic jars. Most importantly, laundry detergent strips are plastic-free.
Laundry strips use natural ingredients.
Whenever detergents go down your laundry room’s drain, they often find their way into waterways and, probably, drinking water. Most detergents are non-biodegradable, which means they linger and accumulate in the ecosystem. Remember, many laundry detergents are considered toxic to the aquatic environment.
If you prefer cleaning your clothes using environmentally-friendly and natural ingredients, laundry detergent strips are a great choice. They’re made using plant-based biodegradable ingredients considered gentle on sensitive skin. These ingredients are also safe to use with septic systems.
Plastic-free ingredients
As mentioned earlier, laundry detergent strips are liquidless detergents. They’re packaged in paper or cardboard, which can be recycled more easily than plastic. Besides, the packaging is often made using post-consumer recycled content.
Most laundry experts believe that a packet of laundry detergent strips replaces an entire plastic jug of liquid detergent. In fact, a 32-strip packet of Nature Clean laundry detergent strips can replace about 1.8 liters of Nature Clean liquid laundry detergent – which does about 30 standard loads.
Generally, cutting out plastics points toward cutting down on carbon emissions. Laundry detergent strips are lighter and more compact compared to liquid laundry detergent. Thus, they’re easier to ship, cutting fuel consumption and related emissions during transportation. That means shifting to laundry strips could help you leave a minimal carbon footprint when doing your laundry.
How to use laundry strips
All laundry detergent strips dissolve in either cold water or hot water. Whether you use a front-loading washer or a top-loading washer, toss a strip into the drum at the start of a laundry cycle. Remember, these detergent strips work in all washing machine types, including high-efficiency machines. If you prefer handwashing, simply tear a detergent strip in half, put it in water, and add your laundry.
These strips are carefully designed to wash lightly-soiled loads. In case you a doing a smaller load, use half a strip. Use two strips for a heavily-soiled, large laundry load – they will get the job done.
Do laundry detergent strips work?
Unlike some powder detergents and pods, laundry detergent strips dissolve completely in water without clumping or even leaving residues. Also, they don’t create suds like most traditional detergents. Before you buy laundry strips, you may want to check what other consumers are saying about them. For instance, you can find countless Tru Earth eco-strips reviews online.
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