How Do You Use Laundry Strips?

How laundry strips work: Five steps to cleaner laundry

There is a learning curve for laundry strips that may not happen when you try a new standard detergent. It’s important to read and follow the instructions but also adjust your process to get the best wash for your machine.
Here are the five steps I’ve found to get the best wash for my house:

1. Choose the size of laundry strip that fits the load. Smaller loads can usually be cleaned with just half a sheet, with larger loads needing a full one or two depending on how dirty they are. Some brands, like Tru Earth, are perforated for easy tearing. Other brands, like Earth Breeze, aren’t.
2. Select your washer setting. Laundry strips dissolve in hot and cold water so you can choose whichever temperature setting usually works best for your load. Many strips can be used in high-efficiency machines.
3. Add the laundry strip. Load the laundry into your machine, and either lay the laundry strip on top of the load or place the laundry strip in the detergent dispenser tray. You may need to try each way once or twice to figure out which works best for you and your clothes.
4. Wash and dry! If you’re drying the laundry, try wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets. Don’t forget to sprinkle your favorite essential oil on the balls for fresh-out-of-the-dryer scents.
5. Adjust your process. Like with most things, you’ll probably have to try your new laundry routine a few different ways to figure out what works best with your machine and clothes. I learned that adding the strips to the detergent tray worked better with my HE washer, and some loads need the water plus setting to fully rinse the detergent. You might want to start with a half load, then scale up to a full load when you find the results you want.

I'm confident that once you start using detergent strips, you will never want to back to liquid laundry detergent!