Why Do Tide Pods Stain Laundry?

Since I first started working on our guide to the best laundry detergent back in 2014, I’ve noticed a steady stream of people reporting that Tide detergents left permanent purple stains on their clothes. Recently, Becca Laurie wrote for The Outline about Tide pods, that candy-like laundry pack, leaving blue stains on her laundry, and the frustrating and unsatisfying way that Procter & Gamble, the parent company of Tide, dealt with it.

The problem, according to Tide PR person Lauren Beene, is that the pod doesn’t dissolve fully in the water, causing a whitening agent to deposit on your clothes and leave a mark. We followed up with the company on this issue in early 2020, and Procter & Gamble Scientific Communications Manager Jennifer Ahoni told us that in 2018, Tide changed the composition of its pods “with new film technology that better absorbs water, allowing for better, more complete dissolution in all washing machines and water conditions including cold water.” Staining has still been an issue for some people, however, and Tide suggests this is due to not placing the pod in the washer before the clothes as recommended, or overstuffing the machine, so there’s not enough water to fully dissolve everything that needs to be dissolved. (“To ensure you aren’t overstuffing your machine,” Ahoni wrote via email, “make sure your hand fits between your clothes and the wall of the drum.”). However, according to Tide, “for the vast majority of consumers it is not a problem,” and the company has no plans to take the staining ingredient out.

When we first published this post, we reported that there was a discrepancy between the amount of detergent washing machine companies suggest you use (less), and what Tide recommends (more)—and theorized that overuse of detergent as recommended by the detergent maker may be related to the staining issue. Mary Begovic Johnson, principal scientist at Tide, wrote us to point out that the manuals of many washing machines, including our pick’s, say to use the amount of detergent suggested on the detergent bottle. Although this is true, the author of our guide to washers and dryers, Liam McCabe, has had conversations with high-level people at multiple washing machine companies who have told him that two tablespoons of detergent is enough for even large loads. Tide recommends using about five tablespoons of detergent for a large load (or about 12 pounds, according to the industry).

Though the exact factors that cause staining for some people and not for others remain a mystery, we do know that too much detergent can cause other problems: According to washing machine companies and appliance repair people, too much detergent can gunk up your machine, and leave your clothes feeling grimy and gross.

Beene told us that Tide figures out how much detergent to use “based off of our extensive testing across various machine models and wash conditions,” and though it’s something P&G continues to tweak, the company has no current plans to change its recommendations.