Laundry Sauce is a brand that describes itself as “the world’s best smelling laundry detergent.” The brand sells single-use pods that they suggest can help users “smell good, look good, feel good.”
But what’s actually in Laundry Sauce? Does it contain any additive ingredients that are questionable from a health perspective? How do real users rate and describe its scent? And what retailer sells Laundry Sauce for the best price?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Laundry Sauce based on medical studies to give our take on whether the brand is a healthy or unhealthy option.
We’ll compare the ingredients in Laundry Sauce to other major laundry brands, feature real customer reviews, and provide a cost comparison to document which retailer sells Laundry Sauce for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis
Some of the ingredients in Laundry Sauce are shown above (this product contains a large number of ingredients so we chose to highlight only the ones we plan to discuss).
Butylphenyl methylpropional, commonly referred to as lysmeral, is a fragrance ingredient analyzed in a 2021 medical review, and the researchers concluded the following:
“the data still calls for efforts to reduce the exposure towards lysmeral since metabolites of lysmeral were detected in nearly all samples and adverse effects cannot be excluded.”
Fragrance is an additive ingredient that’s questionable from a health perspective. A medical review published in the Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health journal concluded the following:
“Results of this study provide compelling evidence that everyday fragranced products can impose serious risks to human health, environmental quality, businesses, and society.”
This suggests that fragrance-free detergent may be a healthier option.
The active ingredients in Laundry Sauce include naturally-derived enzymes like amylase which are clinically shown to be safe, non-toxic and effective detergents, as we documented in our Blueland reviews article on another detergent brand.
Overall, we consider Laundry Sauce likely to be effective for cleaning clothing, but we don’t currently recommend the brand due to the inclusion of fragrance ingredients.
But before comparing the ingredients in Laundry Sauce to commercial detergents, we’ll feature some real user reviews that include smell tests and overall experience tests.
Real Users Review Laundry Sauce
A YouTube creator named “Libertyland” has an unsponsored review of Laundry Sauce:
A TikTok creator named “Samijo” has a Laundry Sauce review with a favorable take on the scents:
@samijo_xoxo Please take 2 minutes out of your day to watch this 😂👏🏼🎉 this laundry detergent smells so amazing! I compare it to a louis Vuitton perfume 🙌 #laundrysauce #luxury #louisvuitton #firsttimemom #laundry #sahm #momlife ♬ Aesthetic - Gaspar
Laundry Sauce vs. Commercial Detergent
Tide is arguably the most popular commercial detergent brand in the US.
The ingredients in Tide Fresh Coral Blast laundry detergent are shown below:
This detergent contains fragrance like Laundry Sauce, but it also contains ethanolamine, which is described by the New Jersey Department of Health’s Hazardous Substances Fact Sheet as “corrosive.”
There’s almost certainly a small amount of ethanolamine in Tide, but we consider Laundry Sauce to be a healthier option than commercial detergent based on its lack of questionable active ingredients.
But are detergent pods unsafe for parents with young children? We’ll discuss in the next section.
Children and Detergent Pod Risks
A medical review published in the Pediatrics journal analyzed data on children and laundry detergent pods and concluded that “Laundry detergent pods pose a serious poisoning risk to young children.”
Children under the age of three years old accounted for 73.5% of cases, and 7.5% of those exposed experienced a “moderate or major medical outcome.”
A 2021 medical review claims that most cases of accidental ingestion occur in children under 5 years old, and that ingestion “may lead to some severe consequences.”
We haven’t come across comparative studies on the child safety risks with detergent pods versus standard liquid detergent, so we’re not necessarily suggesting that detergent pods are uniquely dangerous. We’re simply highlighting research that parents of young children may wish to be aware of.
A news segment from the popular “CBS Mornings” show is only two minutes long and analyzes the risks that detergent pods pose to young children:
Pros and Cons of Laundry Sauce
Here are the pros and cons of Laundry Sauce in our opinion:
Pros:
- Most online customers have favorable reviews of scents
- Great branding
- Should be effective as a detergent
- Contains non-toxic active ingredients
Cons:
- Contains fragrance
- Contains butylphenyl methylpropional
- Detergent pods may pose safety risks to young children
- Expensive
- Single-use pods are not environmentally friendly
