Travel laundry soap recommendation #2: Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets

A few years ago, I reviewed and recommended a laundry soap called Charlie’s Soap. Charlie’s Soap continues to be on the top of my list for hand washing your clothing on the road, but there’s another laundry soap I can also recommend.

The product is called Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, and since this is made by soap manufacturer Dial, they are available in most supermarkets in the laundry aisle.


A box of Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets, next to a 20-ounce bottle of soda for size comparison.

If you’re familiar with laundry dryer sheets Purex laundry sheets use a similar concept. Instead of tossing this in the dryer with your clothes, however, you actually toss it into the washing machine from the beginning. When your wash is ready to go into the dryer, you just move the Purex laundry sheet in with your clothes.


A couple of sheets taken out of the box.

These Purex laundry sheets offer maximum convenience when you’re traveling. Both the soap and conditioner/anti-static portion is infused in the sheet. There are no liquids or flakes to fall off of these sheets. Most convenient of all is that these are sized to fit into a quart-sized resealable zip baggie. This allows you to take the laundry sheets out of the box and travel with several sheets in your carry-on. It even packs completely flat, so it will take up almost no room in your bag.


You can easily pack several sheets of Purex laundry sheets into a quart-sized Ziploc bag.

There are a couple of considerations:

  • These laundry sheets only work for washing machines. They are not an option if you plan on using your hotel sink for handwashing your clothes.
  • The box shown here is their “Pure and Clean” version, which has no noticeable fragrance. Purex offers two other variations: “Spring Oasis” and “Tropical Escape.” Both of these are very strongly scented, and my personal preference is to go with the unscented version.
  • These laundry sheets are best when you’re ready for one big load of laundry, which means it’s more convenient if you’re traveling with a partner, or a family. You’re less likely to need to do a whole load at once if you’re traveling solo, since you’re less likely to carry so much clothing (especially if you know how to travel light!).
  • There is no easy way to use just a portion of the laundry sheet, so even if you have a very small load, you will use up a whole sheet.
  • These laundry sheets fit the plain quart-sized Ziploc bags, but will not fit in Ziploc’s pleated zippered baggies (which are not as tall as the regular quart-sized version).
  • These laundry sheets are not cheap. A box of 22 sheets costs around $10 each, quite expensive when you compare it to liquid laundry detergent. As an example, a two-bottle set of 50-ounce bottles of Tide laundry detergent goes for $15.00 at Amazon, and is good for a total of 64 loads, making these Purex laundry sheets at least twice as expensive (and I suspect you can buy liquid laundry detergent at your local supermarket at prices far better than from Amazon). The price difference is considerable when compared to a container of Charlie’s Soap, which for $12 lasts 80 loads.

Overall, even with these caveats, I believe Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets are a great option. You can’t beat their convenience and packability. If they are a little bit of a stretch for your budget, keep your eye out for smaller trial-size packages with just a few sheets in them. Otherwise, buy a small box and reserve them just for your travels.