Laundry detergents come in various forms (pods, liquid and powder), but all work similarly. When combined with water in your washing machine, they penetrate deep into the fabric of your clothes, lifting stubborn stains, dirt, bacteria and allergens before the rinse and spin cycle washes them away. Good quality laundry detergents are effective even at low temperatures, brightening whites and refreshing clothes whilst protecting fabrics and colours. How can I save money on laundry detergent? These pods are great at removing stains from clothing as well as keeping whites bright, and I use two of them in my wash because I live in a hard water area.

On the other hand, powder detergents can struggle to dissolve in cold water washes, which ends up leaving behind a nasty residue on laundry. Ease of Storage - How will you store your laundry detergent? Being able to buy in bulk will make laundry detergent much cheaper, but if you don’t have somewhere to keep it, this can become a huge pain. You could try one of the letterbox subscription services, such as Smol; however, if you are out all day, this can be a nuisance, too. I also loved trying out liquid detergents and I don’t think I have a pod or liquid preference because they were both so easy to use. I think with the liquid you can control how much you put into the wash, meaning the bottle could last longer or shorter, depending on how much you put into the machine. The Fairy pods will fully dissolve at any temperature and so will be equally effective when run through a cold wash cycle as they would in a warm one. This is a great option as putting your clothes in a cold wash cycle can make a big difference in your carbon footprint.Type of detergent - You’ll need to choose between liquid and powder detergents, which both have pros and cons. Liquid detergents (particularly liquid capsules) are thought to be bad for the long-term health of your washing machine. Still, powders don’t dissolve so well and occasionally leave streaks on clothing. On the other hand, liquids are better for coloured and dark washes and powders for a brighter white. Hard or soft water - It's helpful to look into the kind of water you have in your area, as those in particularly hard water areas (hello, Milton Keynes and Bath) may need to choose their detergent more carefully. You can find more information on this here.

Single dose laundry pods are the ultimate in convenience. These are a relatively modern invention that were designed specifically to be easy to use and easy to dose when compared to the more traditional liquid and powder detergents.

It can be tempting to throw all your washing into one load, especially when you have a million other jobs to do. Online panel of 7,413 adults among which Fairy Non Bio laundry products were voted most often as the #1 laundry brand for sensitive skin. Your baby might be tiny, but they have a surprising amount of clothes. And to keep them happy and content, you want everything they wear to be as huggably soft against their skin as possible. Clothes were clean, though didn't have any really dirty clothes to test eg mud, paint, blood so can't tell how well they would do on that kind of thing. I wouldn’t buy the softener. To be honest, I didn’t really see the point of it. It was quite watery, didn’t seem to have an effect on “softness” and didn’t leave a pleasant smell either.

Most modern pods are even now designed to dissolve fully even in a cold wash, so you don’t need to worry about a build-up of plastic on the inside of the machine. If you are fed up with laundry products that smell great in the bottle but find that same fresh fragrance doesn’t transfer to your washing, then Wilton London Cedarwood Laundry Liquid is the product for you. If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of getting home from a particularly muddy walk with your family only to discover you’ve run out of laundry detergent, then Smol’s subscription service could be your new best friend. Highly recommended by Mumsnet users and incredibly popular online, Smol has revolutionised household cleaning products and earned its place in our top three best laundry detergents.

Bio or non-bio - You’ll also need to decide between bio and non-bio products (more of that below) and natural detergents, which will all depend on your laundry needs. In the same way, it can be difficult to pre-treat, spot clean or hand wash with powder detergent as dissolving it in water is much more difficult than using liquid detergents. To keep your babygrows bright, you’ll also need to separate your lights and darks before popping in the washing machine. Is it better to tumble dry or air dry your baby's clothes? On our list, the best option for you to try out is the Fairy Non-Bio Pods, which provide both a gentler option for your skin and a pleasant scent that will not cause itching or irritation.