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I have an old school washer (top load) - not even really large. It is a combo with a front load dryer on top. I told my partner to buy some laundry pods when he went to Sam’s and he did. They are the liquid pods. So…it can’t be just as easy as tossing one in right??
Yes, I can read through tons of sites for the next few hours but if any laundry experts want to share their expertise please do so. I have guests now so not sure if there is a space to insert the pod. I imagine not. There might be a place to insert bleach but I have never used that. I just swish my liquid detergent with bleach before I load the clothes.
I was wondering if I should put instructions on how to use them…considering I don’t know if I should be watching out for something, or use more than 1 depending on the load.
Another thing is…can I just make some generic instructions or is it going to vary depending on the brand?
Also, regarding leaving instructions…I am referring to American guests.
Consumer Reports hates the pods. Dangerous for children, don’t clean as well as traditional, and cost a fortune. That being said, this source looks pretty good for determining how many pods to use per load:
Sorry that I can’t answer the question but I’m hoping that laundry experts can solve a conundrum for me. Today I washed six items - four pillowcases, one bathrobe and one shower curtain liner. All are white and all have been laundered many times before.
Shower curtain liner - fine. Bathrobe - fine. Two pillowcases - fine. But two pillowcases were light green! It’s a lovely colour - a sort of eau-de-nile - but they should be white! Any ideas?
I use pods because they came with the property and it seems easier to control quantity etc.
Same set up as you top load washer with front load dryer on top.
It would never have dawned on me that a guest would have no clue what to do with a pod until I ran out of pods and hand delivered them to the guest. I handed her the baggie full and she had no idea what to do with them. Apparently, they don’t have pods in Australia? According to her.
So now I leave instructions.
I have found that if the washer is too full the pod does not dissolve properly and can leave a dye mark on white sheets etc.
Just toss the pods at the bottom of the drum and you’re done. I have not found them to be less efficient than other detergents, but here we only have what you call HE washers, so maybe they are different.
I love pods because they are so easy to use but indeed it’s best not to leave them in a home where there might be children. I would never leave them in my rental, I have read they are a major cause of domestic accidents for young children who believe the pods are candies.
That’s all very true, but the worst part is the cost. They’re hideously expensive. Just compare and you’ll see. Why not just get the hugest, cheapest jug of liquid detergent? Most have a squirter thing for those who might enjoy that, Then get a giant jug of cheap bleach if you use it. So simple and way cheaper.
Where are you guys shopping for the pods? These are .15 cents a piece. Sam’s Club has 120 pods for $17.98 before tax. I think it would be much more expensive to leave guests full access to liquid detergent where they will use to their heart’s content. We know guests are not going to measure it to be economical.
Anyway, the intention is to leave a limited amount so guests don’t have to buy an entire bottle if they just spill something on their clothes or have little kids and need to wash a few loads. But I don’t want provide enough detergent that a family staying a week is doing laundry every day, and then all of their clothes on the last day (just because detergent is there). I mean…of course they can do all their laundry on the last day but they can go to the store and buy the detergent then.
The pods will also help me to monitor how often guests use the washer/dryer. Of course some may bring their own detergent and I wouldn’t know the difference. But right now I have zero idea how often it gets used.
Pods make sense in a rental as an easy way to ration supply and reduce mess. Another way would be to buy a small container of liquid for the rental and refill it.
Pods are at least twice as expensive per ounce of detergent. Talking about 5-8 cents a load doesn’t seem like much. Saying you paid twice as much seems more expensive.
Yeah…saying I left .60 cents (4 pods) worth of detergent doesn’t sound bad at all, even if they are double the cost. But in the end they really aren’t double the cost because guests will over portion the liquid detergent, and it seems there is a lot of waste with liquid spillig over and dripping down the sides, etc. Or even washing out the little plastic cup in between guests.
To be honest, I am sure I over use detergent when turning over the rental. I use liquid myself, but it sure doesn’t seem like I get 90 loads out or whatever amount it states on the bottle. I have never kept track though.
I’ve read before that the amounts you should use are much less than recommended on the package. I have a shelf above my washer. I pull the jug out over the washer about 3 inches and push the button dispensing an amount into the washer. Wipe the dispenser edge with a piece of laundry and push it back onto the shelf. Clean, easy, cheap.
But for your rental, pods make sense. It doesn’t change the cost of the detergent though. We all pay for convenience one way or another. Now that I have my guest room separated I put bottled water in their. I hate to use those individual bottles but it’s worth it for my rental. I use the pods for my dishwasher now because the old powder would clump up in the box and the box didn’t fit well under my sink. The pod container fit’s under the drain pipe very nicely. We are all guilty of wasting money somewhere. Hopefully you are picking and choosing so you aren’t wasting money everywhere. I’d guess I’d be concerned if there were small children in the rental.
I still don’t view it as being more expensive to provide the pods than giving guests access to liquid detergent. Transferring liquid back and forth from a large bottle to a small bottle will cause waste spilling down the sides.
Plus, there is no way for me to accurately measure how to transfer exactly 4 loads worth of detergent. So in all likelihood I would be providing more detergent than I anticipated just to compensate. In the end it’s a wash.
That’s what I would do as well. But it’s not simple or elegant like pods. Actually, what I would do is take away the detergent as an amenity and make guests provide their own.
In my description I say “Please use Guest soap or purchase your own.”
The Guest soap is some awful leftover Dollar Store stuff that I add to. Since I only take in one guest at a time the soap lasts a long time. There have been guests who bring their own, like this girl who’s coming this weekend. She notified me that she wanted to do laundry but she’d be bringing her own soap. I thought that was a nice touch
Another laundry question… do any of you have the gawdful pond scum that seems to proliferate inside the gaskets of the front loaders? It almost knocks me over when I open the door, and has to be wiped out before each use. If you don’t it will get on the laundry and make it stink!!! I have heard this big design flaw is the subject of a class action suit by consumers. How on earth can someone charge a bloody fortune for a washer and allow large amounts of pond scum to accumulate inside the gasket of the machine?
I had heard about that which is one reason I got an HE top loader. The other is I don’t want to bend over to look into a dark washer drum in my tiny laundry room. Search the internet for homemade suggestions for cleaning the scum out periodically. I think it’s something like baking soda vinegar and a hot wash cycle.
