capsules or laundry liquid; which is best?

Wondering which laundry detergent works best for your clothes? 

smol’s powerfully concentrated laundry liquid and laundry capsules BOTH give tremendous results for your washing but how do we choose between them (and do we need to)? 

We’re taking a look at what works for all the liquid lovers and capsule converts amongst you but first of all… are we forgetting about laundry powder?

8 powder put-offs.

More and more of us are turning our backs on powder for several key reasons:

1. Undissolved clumps are a leading cause of machine breakdown. 
2. Clogged detergent drawers create one more cleaning job! 
3. Powders don’t dissolve well in cold washes, leaving residue on laundry. 
4. Powder must be kept dry - damp powder clumps and sticks to the drawer. 
5. Excess powder sticks to clothing, ruining its look and feel.
6. Its bleaching agents will fade colours.
7. The boxes are bulky, taking up valuable cupboard space.
8. Powder releases 3 x more microplastics* when washing synthetics than a liquid or capsule due to increased friction and the use of zeolites (which don’t dissolve). Laundry microplastic in our oceans is a huge problem. 
   

No surprise then that so many of us stick to capsules or liquid.

So which is best? smol capsules or smol liquid?

less waste, more speed.

1. Less waste, more speed.

No time to calculate doses or measure out your detergent? No problem, because capsules have your back! Simply throw one in the drum and add your clothes. It’s a fabulous time-saver with no extra thought or action required. No wonder capsules are such a favourite with busy families. 

One concentrated smol capsule contains just 14ml and that’s all you need for a standard load. If you think you’ll be tempted to use more liquid or powder than you need… stick with capsules, avoid detergent waste and take advantage of the pre-dosing! 

2. cuts microplastics.  

As mentioned earlier, powder releases more microfibres from your clothing and if your laundry contains synthetic materials… that means microplastics. Capsules have the same impact on microfibre release as washing in water alone* and in addition, our capsules are certified microplastic-free by Flustix. Which is good news for our oceans.

3. 100% plastic-free packs.

smol capsules come in FSC approved cardboard packaging, which is fully recyclable with your paper kerbside collection. No more single-use plastic bottles of liquid that don’t get recycled but get sent to the incinerator or landfill instead!

Cardboard recycling rates in the UK are far higher than for our failing plastic waste and although it’s always better from a sustainability point of view to recycle our packs, our cardboard can also be composted at home. 

liquid pros.

1. direct dose.

If you like to control what you dose, liquid could be for you. 

smol laundry liquid has all the power of our capsules in a super concentrated liquid that gives a powerful clean to match the big brands! In fact it’s so concentrated, you’ll use up to 46% less** per load than the leading liquids.

So if you regularly wash half loads or find yourself washing single items at a time - liquid gives you the flexibility to your detergent amount. Our handy pump makes it easy to use so you won’t get the spillage and waste that happens when using those heavy pourable jugs the big brands favour.

 2. hand wash hero.

Liquid lets you pre-treat extra dirty laundry and that’s a bonus if you’re battling grime! Just one pump applied directly to a stain gives an extra boost before you wash your items as normal. 

And if your clothes are hand wash only, liquid is a great choice. Just 3 or 4 pumps in a sink load of water is all you’ll need with our laundry liquid. 

3. refill revolution.

And what a relief to wave goodbye to those giant plastic detergent jugs and never have to buy another liquid laundry bottle again! Our bottle-for-life (made from 100% recycled plastic) can be refilled again and again and again via our cute cardboard cartons. After all, plastic was designed to be kept and used for a lifetime.

Each carton refill generates 43% less carbon through its production than a new recycled plastic bottle. On top of that, our formulation is super concentrated meaning we can ship more washes to you at a lower carbon footprint than the big liquid brands. In fact you’ll use up to 46% less liquid per wash than if you use Ariel liquid and 50% less liquid than if you are using Method.

Many smol customers enjoy the benefits of both. Capsules for full loads and liquid for hand washing items or for those times you just need to wash a couple of items in the machine. 

Being in control of your plans means you can have each delivered at different frequencies; so if you’re using up one type more quickly, simply adjust the delivery windows so they arrive more often. And vice versa, lengthen the delivery intervals on whichever product you use up more slowly. They’re YOUR smol plans, so make them work for YOU!

We’re here to tell you that you can absolutely have it all and enjoy the best of both worlds.

*Microfibre release from real soiled consumer laundry

**1 smol dose at 20ml per load vs 37ml of Fairy or Ariel per load