When it comes to doing laundry, one of the most important factors is using the right products for the job. While most people have a go-to laundry detergent that’s a staple in their household, new formulas emerge all the time — and some of them are good enough to knock your old standards out of the rotation.
Detergent sheets emerged as a new format a few years ago. Billed as a more sustainable and user-friendly form of detergent, the early iterations of laundry sheets were plagued by negative reviews; people liked the concept but found that in practice, they simply didn’t clean clothes very well. But now Arm & Hammer, a premium detergent and household cleaner brand, introduced a version of laundry sheets, signaling that their time may have finally arrived.
To find out for sure, I tested Arm & Hammer Power Sheets Laundry Detergent over the course of several months to see how they compared to my usual liquid laundry detergent and laundry detergent pods.
Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are the brand’s version of the latest innovation in laundry detergent. They’re billed as a more sustainable alternative to liquid, pod and powder formulas, so I put them to the test to see how they stack up to traditional detergents.
The packaging is incredibly compact and eco-friendly
The first thing you’ll notice about Arm & Hammer Power Sheets is the packaging — the laundry detergent sheets come in a slim cardboard box that looks similar to the boxes that dryer sheets come in. The packaging contains no plastic, and unlike large bottles of liquid detergent or tubs of pods, the box of laundry detergent sheets has a very small footprint.
The compact, lightweight and eco-friendly packaging makes Arm & Hammer Power Sheets ideal for people who have limited storage space, who do laundry outside the home (either in shared laundry rooms or at a laundromat) or who are looking to cut down on their use of plastic and reduce product packaging waste.
Premeasured detergent pods (or packs) are a convenient option for doing laundry, but they do have a major drawback: The PVA outer shell of the pod doesn’t always dissolve completely during the course of the wash cycle, and the pod itself can get trapped inside clothes or bedding, adhering to the fabric. Detergent sheets, however, do not suffer from this problem. They dissolve well in water and, because of their flat format, they are not likely to become entangled in fabric.
The price is comparable to pods, and only slightly higher than liquid laundry detergent
Premium detergent pods typically cost around 25 cents per load, while premium liquid laundry detergent costs slightly less, usually about 20 cents per load. By comparison, Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are priced competitively at around 24 cents per load depending on where you shop.
Each box of Power Sheets contains 50 laundry detergent sheets that can be used for up to 100 loads of laundry. Each sheet is perforated, so you can use a half sheet for small loads of laundry; a full sheet is best for medium loads and two sheets are best for large loads or heavily soiled items.
Laundry sheets, because of their slim, lightweight packaging, are ideal for people who do laundry in shared laundry rooms or laundromats. If you’re sending a teen off to college, laundry sheets would be the perfect type of detergent to stock in a dorm room because they take up almost no storage space, and the box is easy to toss in a laundry bag or bin for transporting to the laundry room. No need to lug a heavy bottle of liquid detergent or make room for a large bin of detergent pods!
Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are scented, but very lightly so. I used them to wash clothes, sheets and towels for several months, yet none of those items retained any significant fragrance from the detergent sheets. It’s also worth noting that the Power Sheets are available in a dye- and fragrance-free formula for people who are sensitive to those additives or prefer a detergent with fewer ingredients. For people who like laundry products with stronger scents, I’d recommend using scent beads in concert with the Power Sheets to add extra fragrance to your laundry.
The only drawback I found during my extended testing time was that I noticed my dryer had taken on a slightly stale odor. After sniffing around (literally), I concluded that the problem is that the detergent may not be totally effective at removing body soils that leave behind what I think of as a “thrift store smell” (a phenomenon I wrote about for The New York Times).
While my clothes smelled fine to me, the lingering staleness in the dryer suggests that tweaks still need to be made to the formula for detergent sheets to truly compete with more traditional laundry detergents. Given that, I wouldn’t recommend using Arm & Hammer Power Sheets when washing workout clothes and other items that require serious odor remediation.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when doing laundry is using too much detergent. Adjusting to a new detergent formula can take some getting used to, so it’s easy to overdo it on the dosage. One risk that the Arm & Hammer Power Sheets pose is that, psychologically, it can feel like it’s just not enough detergent. I imagine that many people will toss in an extra sheet just to be sure things get really clean, only to end up with clothes, sheets, towels and more that aren’t clean because detergent residue is left behind after washing.
The one drawback to the cardboard packaging is that if the box gets wet, the entire batch of detergent will be unusable. Water will soak right through the cardboard and dissolve the sheets, leaving you with a soggy, useless pile of detergent sheets.
Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are a surprisingly great new entry in the laundry detergent category. The slim, lightweight and eco-friendly packaging is a major improvement over heavy, bulky bottles of liquid detergent and giant plastic tubs of detergent pods.
I think the formula could use some finessing, however, when it comes to the efficacy of detergent sheets eliminating malodor. At this time, I would not recommend them for use on sweaty workout gear or other items that are quite smelly.
But for day-to-day use, I think that Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are a great detergent option that will be especially convenient for many types of people. Arm & Hammer Power Sheets are a definite win for the brand, and it’s exciting to see this new detergent formula hitting its stride after a shaky start.
