We Don't Like Laundry Detergent Sheets. But These Tiles Impressed Us.
We put Evo tiles through our typical laundry detergent tests.
First, we test dissolvability in cold water. This test gives us an idea of how well a detergent will perform during cold-water washing, which is one of the most energy-efficient (and environmentally conscious) choices you can make when doing laundry. (Our top laundry detergent picks—powders, liquids, and pods—are all strong performers in cold water.)
Tide Evo tiles passed the test, dissolving fully and quickly (within seconds) in 70 °F water. Tide Evo tiles dissolve within seconds of cold water hitting the washing-machine drum. Andrea Barnes/NYT Wirecutter
To test stain removal, we use two industrial stain tests: a jersey-cotton stain monitor and a linen stain strip. These are soiled with an array of hard-to-clean substances, such as carbon black (a mixture of soot and mineral oil), wine, cocoa, pig blood, sebum (body oil), foundation, peat, grass, baby food, and turmeric.
We added both the stain monitor and the stain strip to a 10-pound load of laundry. Then we tossed in a T-shirt stained with bacon grease and pepperoni pizza to evaluate odor removal. We washed this load with one Evo tile on a cold-water cycle. After the wash cycle ended, we removed the stain tests to air-dry, and we dried the rest of the load—including the shirt stained with bacon grease and pizza—in the dryer.
After the tests dried, we compared them to the stain-test results of similar solid, single-dose detergents: Earth Breeze detergent sheets and Tide Pods Free & Gentle Laundry Detergent. We also folded the dried laundry load, paying close attention to the scent of the laundry itself and making notes of which odors lingered after laundering. Like pods or detergent tablets, Evo tiles can be thrown directly into the drum. Andrea Barnes/NYT Wirecutter
Finally, we repeated our stain and odor protocol, but we used two Evo tiles to see whether doubling up would result in more-powerful cleaning. After an extra 30 minutes, the suds finally dissipated. Andrea Barnes/NYT Wirecutter
Though stain removal was improved when we used two tiles, we don't recommend this method for very stained laundry. The suds from using two tiles filled the machine drum with a deluge of bubbles and lengthened the wash cycle. Instead, you're better off pretreating moderate to severe stains with a separate stain remover.
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