Dropps Review: Why You Should Give This Zero Waste Cleaning Brand a Go

Walk down a cleaning aisle and you’ll encounter a sea of plastic bottles with mysterious (or unlisted) ingredients. Some cleaning products even have warning labels on them. Not exactly reassuring. Quite honestly, I’m over it. I want to see more brands moving past plastic packaging and toxic “fragrances”. Most conventional cleaning brands continue to use plastic packaging and contain volatile compounds that irritate the nose and throat. Enough is enough. While I’m always down for DIYs, I need to see more cleaning brands being held accountable and getting innovative. It’s one of the reasons I was so happy to find Dropps – a zero waste cleaning brand that actually does the work.

Dropps believes in creating convenient cleaning products without the waste. Their products are always plastic-free and made from clean ingredients that get the job done. I recently was gifted some of their products to try out for myself and was not disappointed. Specifically, I received their laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dishwasher detergent. I’m excited to share more details and my findings with you. Here’s my Dropps review in full detail.

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Dropps Review: Why You Should Give This Zero Waste Cleaning Brand a Go

Table of contents:

1. First, what is Dropps?
2. What kind of products does Dropps sell?
3. What makes Dropps zero waste?
4. Why should I switch to Dropps?
5. My experience with Dropps: Products Review

First, what is Dropps?

Dropps is an ethical, zero waste cleaning brand that sells laundry and kitchen products made with safe ingredients. Their packaging is compostable, they have free carbon neutral shipping, and they offer subscription services that save you 30% off.

They’re best known for their laundry detergent pods (for good reason). The pods are made from water soluble casing called Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which dissolves upon contact with water and is consumed by microorganisms. A lot of their products, including the ones I tried, come in these pods.

Dropps is also incredibly transparent about their ingredients, and they disclose everything. I feel really safe using them because the ingredients are so clean and actually explained in full on their ingredient disclosure pages.

What kind of products does Dropps sell?

They have a good range of products to choose from. Here’s a list for you to look through.

As you can see, Dropps mostly specializes in laundry cleaning products, but I like that they offer kitchen cleaning products as well. I review their laundry detergent, fabric softener and dishwasher detergent later on in section 5.

What makes Dropps zero waste?

Unlike conventional cleaning brands, Dropps takes some serious steps to be eco conscious in all departments, especially in regard to zero waste.

Their boxes are 100% compostable and recyclable. If you’re well aware of the nation’s waste and recycling problem, this should make you pretty happy. After all, roughly 68% of plastic jugs and pod containers are not recycled. This contributes approximately 275 metric tons of plastic waste generated on land that goes into our oceans and waterways annually.

It’s refreshing to see a brand like Dropps that actually gives a crap about creating less waste. Here are a few more eco perks the company has to offer.

Dropps eco perks:

• Everything is shipped plastic-free in a compostable and recyclable cardboard box.
• The pods are also plastic-free with a water solvable membrane that doesn’t pollute waterways.
• Ingredients are clean and fully disclosed.
• Doesn’t bubble as much, which saves water: Bubbles can take up to 45 gallons of water to disappear and don’t actually clean your clothes.
• Free of dyes, parabens, enzymes, phthalates, phosphates, and optical brighteners.
• Everything is manufactured in the USA and cruelty-free.
• Dropps partners with Oceana, the world’s largest ocean conservancy organization.

Why should I switch to Dropps?

There are multiple reasons: For a better environment, for your own health and safety, and for your wallet.

Dropps checks off a ton of environmental boxes, but it also checks off two other boxes: Budget friendly and efficient.

Saves money: Case study w/ Tide vs. Dropps

In terms of being budget friendly, you’re saving money by choosing Dropps over Tide any day. Lets do a little math and comparing (please note, this is just for example purposes).

A typical container of 73-count Tide pods can cost around $24.99 depending on where you go. That’s about $0.34 per pod and $0.68 per load (it’s recommended to use two pods per load) for Tide pods.

Dropps 160-count pods cost $36.40 with a subscription, $52 if you buy it once.

That’s about $0.23 per pod/load if you have a subscription, $0.33 per pod/load if you buy it once. Either way? You’re saving and getting way more bang for your buck.

You’d save a total of $0.11 per pod if you subscribed and get 87 more pods out of the deal. That adds up to $9.57 saved for just one purchase of Dropps with a subscription.

When you subscribe to Dropps, you save 30% off compared to a one time purchase. Plus, they’re currently having a deal where you can get 25% off everything with code NEWYEAR25.

This is a company that doesn’t just give back to the planet, but to their customers. They’re always offering new deals so it’s wise to be on the lookout!

Efficient: Actually cleans

Dropps cleans just as well as the conventional brands, without all the questionable ingredients. All you need is one pod per load – it’s that efficient and strong.

It’ll clean your clothes, but it won’t waste water. We’ve been kind of brainwashed into thinking the washer machine has to fill up with bubbles for our clothes to be cleaned. That’s not true at all though: Bubbles don’t clean.

Truth is, it can take up to 45 gallons of water to wash the bubbles off your clothes. In an High Efficiency (HE) washer which only uses as little as 15 gallons, you’ll be left with a lot of sudsy residue.

That’s why it’s super important to look for the “HE” sign when buying detergent, which Dropps has. This means they’ll work in all washers, don’t waste water, and reduce unnecessary bubbles.

My experience with Dropps: Products Review

Last but not least, I’d like to share my personal, honest experience with this brand. I recently tried out their unscented laundry detergent, holiday scented fabric softener and lemon scented dishwasher detergent. Here’s my review of each product individually and what my thoughts are.

Sensitive Skin + Baby Laundry Detergent (Unscented)

Dropps Laundry Detergent is so easy to carry to a laundromat – which is what my parents and I have to do seeing as my apartment doesn’t have a washing machine. This detergent comes in a cardboard box and we don’t need to worry it’ll break if god forbid it falls on the way to the laundromat.

My mom and I went to the laundromat to test it out together and we were pleasantly surprised.

Here are the instructions for using their laundry detergent:

1 pod = 1 load

• First, toss pod into the washer drum.
• Then, add your armful of laundry
• Next, choose your wash cycle.

To be honest, the first time we tried out Dropps, we didn’t do it this way. We added it to the detergent drawer – and it still managed to work and wash our clothes.

The second time around, we added it directly to the drum BEFORE adding our clothes and it had an even more powerful clean. So please, don’t be like us and make a silly mistake like that.

Regardless, I was still very very impressed with the quality of the clean our clothes received, both times. This laundry detergent is unscented, so they didn’t come out smelling like anything specific – but they didn’t have any lingering bad odors either. And everything actually looked clean too.

This particular detergent I sampled is perfect for:

• Sensitive skin
• Babies + pets
• Natural and fine fabrics
• Delicates and intimates

That said, it still washes all fabrics just fine! We had plenty of synthetic fabrics mixed in and they were all washed and cleaned equally.

Also, I tested it out on my everyday sneakers to see how clean they’d get (they were in need of a wash honestly). I have a beloved pair AllBirds sneakers that I’m kind of obsessed with (they’re an ecofriendly shoe), so I plopped them right in with the rest of the load.

These shoes are made of merino wool, so they’re a natural fiber – something this detergent claims to work well on. And, it didn’t disappoint.

Sure enough, they were cleaned! As you can see, they look a lot better than they did before I added them to the wash. I use these sneakers practically every day, and for jogging, so they endure a lot. I was impressed by the fact Dropps worked so well on them. Also, please keep in mind these pictures were taken with my phone, which doesn’t have the best photo quality, so it doesn’t even do it much justice.

All in all, I am very pleased with this detergent and would love to keep using it. My parents like it a lot too, and that’s saying something! It’s also compatible with HE washers, which is very important.

Ingredients: Alcohols, C12-16, ethoxylated*, glycerin*, alkyl (C10-16) ether sulfate, sodium salt*, water, polyethylene glycol monododecyl ether*, polyvinyl alcohol film (PVOH) with bittering agent. *Denotes plant or mineral origin.

Fabric Softener (Home For The Holidays Scent)

The next product I tried was the fabric softener, Home For The Holidays. It’s got a lovely earthy pine, red berries, and amber scent to it that’s perfect for winter. It’s also a limited addition scent, FYI!

This fabric softener claims to:

• Make for soft, fluffy fabrics
• Keep towels absorbent
• Maintain athletic wicking properties
• Help reduce pilling

Ohhhh, let me tell you it holds its promises. The fabrics and sheets came out feeling like I was touching a cloud, and there was hardly ANY pilling. For those who don’t know, pilling is when tiny little fuzzballs of fiber get stuck on fabric – a true bane of my existence.

There was little, if any of those annoying little fuzzies on our clothes after using this stuff. Thank god.

The scent was not overwhelming at all either, just a gentle hint that made the clothes smell nice. So it’s nothing overpowering or irritating to the nose (and mind you, my nose is very sensitive).

Here’s how to use their fabric softener:

Use with detergent.

• First, toss pod into the washer drum.
• Then, add your armful of laundry
• Next, choose your wash cycle.

Again, to be honest, the first time around I added it to the detergent drawer (there was a free space for fabric softener) and it didn’t come out as strong as it did the second time when I actually did it right. So please follow their instructions and add it directly to the drum (along with their detergent pod).

Overall, I’m quite impressed with this fabric softener both times I used it. I’d love to try their other scents too!

Ingredients: Sodium chloride*, bentonite*, pine needle oil (abies sibirica oil)*, pogostemon (patchouli) oil*, d-limonene (fragrance allergen)*, polyvinyl alcohol film (PVOH). *Denotes plant or mineral origin.

Dishwasher Detergent (Lemon Scent)

Okay, so this is the last product I tried from Dropps and it was also the only one I did right on the first try (thank god). Their Dishwasher Detergent pods in Lemon has a refreshing, citrus scent that’s both mild and pleasant.

This dishwasher detergent claims to:

• Power away stuck on food
• Create sparkling glassware
• Rinse away stubborn stains
• Require no pre-wash

And guess what? It holds up all those promises without fail. I only had to use it once to see these instant results and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

Literally, we did absolutely no pre-washing just to see what would happen, test the waters. By the time our dishwasher was done, there was absolutely no food stuck on what so ever. Or any stubborn stains.

I kid you not, our dishes were sparkling, let alone our glassware. As someone who uses a lot of glass bottles and jars for bulk food shopping, it’s really important for me to have clean jars handy. This detergent takes the cake at providing that. If I ever need to go to the bulk food store, I’m sticking some jars into my dishwasher and using this detergent beforehand and after.

Here’s how to use their dishwasher detergent:

• Add your dishes – no pre-wash needed
• Place pod in dishwashing machine dispenser
• Choose your wash cycle

That’s it – super straight forward and easy. Kind of hard to mess up (though I’m not one to talk haha).

Also, lately our sink has been giving us a lot of problems – the faucet is acting kind of wonky and has been making it hard to wash dishes in the sink, period. So, we’ve been using the dishwasher way more, along with this detergent. And we’ve been absolutely loving it. It leaves no streaks on our dishes and makes them sparkle.

Mind you, our dishwasher isn’t anything to brag about. It came with our apartment and gives us a few problems every once and a while itself. But, we’ve had absolutely no hiccups with this detergent thus far. I also think my mom appreciates the break from washing dishes every night.

All in all, very satisfied with this dishwasher detergent and cannot stop using it, to be honest.

Ingredients: Sodium carbonate*, sodium percarbonate*, Itaconic acid co AMPS* trisodium citrate dihydrate*, alkoxylated alcohol*, subtilisin*, silicic acid*, tetraacetylethylenediamine*, alpha amylase*, fragrance, polyvinyl alcohol film (PVOH). *Denotes plant or mineral origin.

Concluding thoughts: Dropps is worth it

To conclude, I think Dropps is worth trying out. I happily give their products a glowing 10/10 review, to be honest – they just work and don’t disappoint. Despite a few hiccups along the way (all created on my own part), I’m really satisfied with them. Plus, they meet all my zero waste standards, which isn’t something conventional brands can do.

Here’s a quick recap of why Dropps rock:

• They sell a multitude of cleaning products, always fully disclosing their ingredients
• Their products come plastic-free, shipped in cardboard boxes that are compostable and recyclable.
• The pod membrane is water solvable, which helps avoid water pollution.
• Their laundry detergent reduces bubbles, which in turn helps save water.
• They actually work: All their products did exactly what they promised they would.
• Saves you money and time in the long run, especially when you get a subscription.

They’re currently having a sale where everything is 25% off, so be sure to take advantage by using the code NEWYEAR25.

What do you think of my Dropps review? Would you give this brand a shot? If you’ve tried them already, what was your experience?

Check out this huge zero waste cleaning guide for more tips and tricks.

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