I am always on the lookout for non-toxic laundry detergents so I was looking forward to trying Dropps when they contacted me. We decided to test the Dropps Baby because everyone in my family has pretty sensitive skin. The first thing that attracted me to Dropps was the nicely designed packaging. Doesn't it look like candy? Though we don't choose detergent based on looks, if we did, this one would be a winner!
EASE OF USE: What does 'ease of use' have to do with detergent? Well, a lot if you are referring to Dropps! They are all about being easy. If you do laundry throughout the day with small children, you understand the value of no measuring caps. You also understand that babies and toddlers often make you spill things. Dropps are conveniently packaged into biodegradable pacs, one pac is one load. No drips, no measuring, just toss it in.
PERFORMANCE: I'll have to say I was surprised. I am extremely pleased with the cleaning power of Dropps. They performed as well, if not better than, my favorite non-toxic detergent. With Dropps Baby my baby's clothes came out smelling very clean and fresh without actually having any sort of scent. I had an avocado stain on one of her shirts that I forgot to pre-treat and it came out great!
Per the recommendation of the Diaper Jungle I also tried Dropps Baby on cloth diapers. It totally killed the stink, cloth diapering mamas rejoice! Now, there are a few things to consider if you want to use it with cloth diapers. I found that 1 packet was too much detergent for my usual wash of 6-10 microfiber diapers. I only have a total of 12 diapers - so I do a load every other day. With just one detergent packet I had to do two rinses because there were a lot of suds (if you use cotton or hemp it does rinse out better). That defeats the purpose of having Eco-friendly concentrated detergent. So I recommend it for cloth diapers if you wash at least 15 at a time, but you'll still need an extra rinse (as with any other detergent on microfiber cloth diapers). You'll love the results though!
VALUE: I'll be honest, I think Dropps are a little overpriced. Considering so much is saved in shipping costs with a concentrated detergent, I would expect the savings to be at least somewhat passed on to the consumer. Yes, you are ultimately paying for convenience and a non-toxic, biodegradable formula. That's what we all want, isn't it? But at the end of the day some families will just have to go with the less expensive (per load) stuff. For others, perhaps this is perfect at about $0.30 to $0.37 per load.
ENVIRONMENT: Did you know that the huge jug of detergent standing on your laundry room shelf right now is water for the most part? How odd that companies add water to make it seem like there is more of it. Yet they are the ones paying for transportation costs anyway. How wasteful! With Dropps you can ditch the gigantic plastic containers that need to be recycled and instead use biodegradable little pacs of 6x concentrated detergent that come in a tiny little package. Looks are deceiving, because if I passed this in a store aisle I would think it's something for treating stains or perhaps a laundry booster. Now I see that all those large jugs are nothing but water diluted toxins! Thankfully some are moving toward smaller jugs and concentrated detergent. Dropps though, has got it right from the start.
One Eco-Babyz reader will win six packages of Dropps, that is 120 loads
!
HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
MANDATORY ENTRY: Tell us if you would pick Fresh Scent, Scent and Dye Free, or Baby (scent, dye, + enzyme free), for help with your decision click here.
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES (each one in separate comment, not counted unless mandatory entry is complete; each is 1 entry unless otherwise noted):