Has anyone tried the clothes detergent "pods" that are out now?

I have, and I don’t recommend them. You can’t adjust for very large or small loads of laundry. Also, you have to be careful they don’t get warm or damp. They did wash just fine, but I personally don’t think I’d buy them again. The one exception might be if I was traveling and wanted to bring one along; I’d still prefer a single pack powder though.

I’ve tried both the Tide ‘boost’ pods and regular detergent in pods.
I spent more money for (as @JLeslie says), less flexibility.

As far as stains, I have the best luck with the gel kind that have the little built-in applicator brush at the end, like Shout.

I refuse. I just know that in a year or so they’ll find out there was some toxic crap in them that either kills your skiincells or jakks up the sewer lines. Something. Naga. Just naga do it.

We use them, they’re very convenient but they don’t do anything magical in terms of cleaning clothes better.

The two brands of laundry detergent I use most often are Arm & Hammer with Oxiclean, and Clorox Green Works. I don’t have as much of a comparison with heavy dirt, but through dance and long runs my clothes get plenty sweaty, and these do a nice job of making them fresh (and me presentable) again? Not sure that that’s more or less than any other brand does, though… So in that, I’m not sure.

Stains—I either put a little laundry detergent on the spot and brush the area in/under cold water—brush “up and out” don’t scrub the stain into the fibers—or else I leave the detergent to soak (usually submerged in cold water, or else I use Oxiclean spot-spray and cold water—I’ve had good luck with the spray with all sorts of fabrics, though I’ve seen others’ clothes get an unpleasant yellow discoloration from the product, so if you do try it, try with caution.

The pods—I’ve never used them—but I have a shared laundry room in my apartment and I know many of the other residents do use them, and use them incorrectly—they pop them into the liquid-detergent section of the detergent drawer instead of popping them in with the clothes like they’re are supposed to do… which means the plastic which encapsulates the pod soaps only partially dissolves, remaining as a weird translucent jelly-like gunk clogging the liquid-detergent well. Since this is my only first-hand experience with them, scooping out that leftover jelly, I am not a fan!

I don’t use them regularly, only when I’m traveling. They’re convenient for that because you can take a few in a little box or baggie, instead of having to take a whole heavy bottle of detergent. As others have said, they can’t be adjusted for a small load. They’re also more expensive. For a trip, though, they do the trick.

I’ve never used them. I buy Mrs. Meyers natural laundry soap from Amazon using their subscribe and save scheme. My daughter who goes to school in NYC uses the same stuff, but she has many friends who use the pods. Those friends have no idea how to measure out detergent.

I use them since I have to walk about 50 meters to get to the laundry in my apartment complex.

If I pour a cup in the basket it tends to get all over the place by the time I get to the washing machine. And I am not carrying around a five pound jug. So I use pods and just toss one in the basket before I head to the machines and no problems.

There’s nothing special about those pods. They’re simply a convenience item for people who don’t grasp the concept of measuring liquid with a cup.

@Darth_Algar: You forgot the people above that talked about not wanting to carry a large bottle for whatever reason, like traveling.

If there is a miracle product for removing clothes stains, I haven’t discovered it. Success rate seems more based upon cleaning the spot as quickly as possible using tried and true methods. For example, blood stains come out in cold water. Club soda is a spot remover commonly referenced. The Internet has lists of recommendations.

As for clothes detergents, I’ve used powder, liquid and pods without noticing a difference in the quality of cleaning. Nor is there a difference in the amount spent on a product, thus I now opt for the cheaper ones.

What can make a difference is spot-treating before the wash, the bulk of clothing in a load, and using the appropriate amount of detergent.

Ounce per ounce, they’re more expensive than powder. As @JLeslie said, you have less flexibility. And they don’t clean any better. Why use them?
The only reason I can think of might be for travel, where carrying white powder might get you in trouble with airport security.

@jca

I did not. That a few folks might use them for such reasons doesn’t negate the fact that they’re designed and market for people who can’t be bothered with the difficult and oh so time-consuming task of using a cup.

@MooCows when you ask about “pods”, are you actually asking about products such as Tide Stain Release In-Wash Booster, Ultra Concentrated 10 ea?

I tried to address that in my first post.
My clothes are admittedly not filthy dirty and I bought those pods thinking they were detergent, not simply ‘booster’.
I did not see any improvement in my laundry, and they’re fairly expensive.

It cost me 3.25 to do a load of laundry in my apartment building so the extra 3 cents for a pod isn’t a big deal and it is a hell of a lot more convenient.

“They’re simply a convenience item for people who don’t grasp the concept of measuring liquid with a cup.”

That is pretty condescending. But I feel, the same way about people that pay to have their oil changed. It is a bucket and a wrench and you pour some stuff in.

@johnpowell “That is pretty condescending.”

Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

Not hurt… I generally use the the metric system so I think I am a bit better at measuring stuff than you are. :-)

Oh shit. That stung.

If we’re kibitzing:
“They’re simply a convenience item for people who don’t grasp the concept of measuring liquid with a cup.”

I thought liquid detergents were simply a convenience for people that didn’t like the mess of the powdered detergent even though the powder laundry soap has shown to work better and faster on most clothes than your standard liquid laundry soap.

In that the strictly detergent pods I’ve seen encapsulated powder detergent, they should actually wash your clothes better than a liquid detergent, provided they are used appropriately for your load size, @MooCows.