We know putting Drano and products like Domestos in the washing machine can be damaging in both the context of washer and fabric.
It can cause drain pipe and other delicate parts to get damaged, and when used on clothes as disinfectant (Domestos), can ruin their colors and integrity.
But how about laundry pods, which are the latest innovation to the washing world?
They’re laundry detergent after all, but do they have elements or ingredients in them that can cause damage to the washing machine? In the short or even long run?
Laundry pods aren’t bad for your washer. The fact that they can be used to wash clothes which are more delicate in comparison to the sturdy parts of your washer is more than enough proof for that.
Laundry pods do not contain elements that cause the plastics or pipes in a washer to break down. So relax and be assured that they’re just as safe as using liquid or powder detergent.
Pods are actually versatile, and they can be used in every kind of washer to clean clothes — including high efficiency models.
How about the environment?
In all honesty, almost every kind of detergent nowadays has one or two components in them that are not exactly friendly to the environment.
That’s because it’s difficult to find detergents that offer the big claims and promises they do and still deliver on these promises without having aggressive chemicals that aid with that.
Take for instance phosphate which is a highly beneficial ingredient in detergents because it helps to improve the efficiency of washing through the removal of heavy metal ions.
Phosphate always remains in wash water and eventually make its way into water bodies where it causes a huge problem known as eutrophication — the jargon coined to describe the decay process of an ecosystem due to oxygen depletion.
Phosphorus results in oxygen depletion through the support of algae growth. These in turn compete with organisms in an ecosystem for oxygen, which leads to a gradual decay of the ecosystem in question.
Another example of negative ingredients in detergents are surfactants. These are essentials in every commercially manufactured detergent because of the role they play in cleaning: improving efficiency of washing through breaking of the surface tension of water to allow other ingredients to showcase their powers, as well banish stains and soiling from clothes. But these ingredients are very toxic to aquatic organisims when they get to them.
They can break down the protective layer that covers these fishes which helps protect them against bacteria and parasites — infecting them and thus endangering our lives too.
The capacity to break down the surface tension of water is also detrimental for water bodies. This is because they now give free passage to pollutants and harmful chemicals like phenols and pesticides into the water, thereby posing risks to fishes and other aquatic organisms.
In the end, these will accumulate in them and serve as a threat to our health!
Another thing is the packaging that laundry pods come inside. It isn’t exactly biodegradable (as it’s made up of plastic) and therefore would end up in landfills which contributes to the pollution of the environment.
So really, in the end, it’s very hard to find a detergent that dosen’t, in one way or the other, affect the environment negetively.
It can do so either through the packaging, or through the ingredients it contains. The best we can do for the environment is to try as much as possible to select products that have the greatest positive impact to the health of our environment—until we get the alternatives that are able to give better cleaning performance while protecting the environment at the same time.
Are laundry pods bad for us
In some ways yes. If you look at all we’ve been saying in a broader perspective, everything eventually ends up on our heads.
Take for example surfactants that find their way into water bodies and break down the protective surface tension. The water bodies now accommodate harmful chemicals easily into them due to the absense of the protective layer, and this means that fishes and other lifeforms are exposed to them consistently.
When they accumulate into the organisms and they end up on our plates, we’ll also be at the receiving end!
Then there’s the problem of packaging and landfills which ultimately result in climate change that affects us in the many ways that it does!
Are laundry pods even better than liquid or powdered detergents?
When it comes to which is better between pods and liquid detergents, the answer is that both of them are equally good.
They each have areas where they are substantially superior over the other: like pre-measurement and ease of use for laundry pods and ability to minimize detergent wastage for lighter loads for liquid detergents.
We have written an extensive guide on this specific topic. You can check it out to find out more.
What are the best brands of laundry pods?
Ask anybody you find on the streets about brands of laundry pods and the first brand they’ll call for you is Tide.
Tide has earned its reputation as one of the best brands that produce laundry pods. Tide pods come in different varieties and cleaning power. You have the 3 in 1 product which delivers three laundry actions in one pack, and also the 4 in 1 which delivers one more extra!
Another popular brand that offers high-quality laundry pods is Persil. Feel free to check their website to find out more about the products.
Final Thoughts
Laundry pods are not bad for washers. They’re just as safe as liquid and powdered detergent. They can be used in almost any kind of washing machine from the front loader to the top loader without any problems, so long as you’re heeding to the manufacturer’s instructions on how to properly use them in the washer.
