Opening washing clothes products.. It's now completely ridiculous.

[Scissor]

I understand you don't want children eating washing products but I'm only early 50's still have teenagers, with hypermobility, I have used garden secateurs to chop through the side of a box of washing tabs because I cannot at all open the sodding box.

Pods are an expensive marketing gimmick. Agree with pp that powder is best for most cleaning. I only use liquid for more delicate things that haven’t had someone’s dinner smeared all over them.

The list of things I would not be able to buy if I did not have a husband is getting longer and longer. I got defeated by a bottle of olive oil today and had to wait until he came home from work. I tried and tried,got at it with a knife but no.

I have recently started using pods as my machine has stopped taking in the fabric conditioner. The first box I was really stumped how to open it, but once I did and understood the locking mechanism it was easy for the next time. That said, I doubt my adult dds with mobility issues could open them.
I do run a hot wash with powder once a week for whites so hopefully that'll stop the sludge

Relatedly, at some point all the detergent ads gave up trying to fit the words 'laundry tabs' in those warning voiceovers, so now my TV periodically orders me to "always keep away from children". Thanks everyone!

I injured my right hand last year and couldn't use it for a few days and, my god, did it give me a bit of insight into how life is made difficult for the disabled and elderly. I gave up on trying to open the tub of laundry pods because you could only do it with two functioning hands (and even then it's difficult) but the worst was trying to get the child-proof lid off a bottle of painkillers. You needed to press the lid down, squeeze it on both sides and then twist it off. It was impossible to do unless you gripped the bottle with your other hand at the same time, and I only had one hand working.

I actually pull the whole lid off, means I only have to open it once!

I remember my Grandad having child proof lids for his pills, the only person who could open them was my 4 year old brother

Probably why Aldi and Lidl are so cheap they don't spend an arm and a leg designing and fitting child safe padlocks for the packets.

They're a nightmare. I've switched to laundry leaves/sheets, much easier and no mess.

Just use detergent sheets.
They work well and take up very little room.

I got completely fed up with trying to open the stupid plastic boxes of laundry tabs, so I gave up using them some time ago and only use sheets now.

Example attached for illustration but there are dozens of brands of sheets to choose from.

https://www.thegreencompany.online/pages/laundry-detergent-sheets?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=19520414584&utm_content=&utm_term=&gadid=&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJKqBhCaARIsAN_yS_lh1ew69DxA3rUdF5RiA2BkcnOYNBKSt1ia5n6lwyf7BODSB_2gc3gaAgccEALw_wcB

The smug gits on adverts for the pods always remind you to 'keep away from children' .... I never need reminding to keep myself away from children .....

We're on laundry sheets, easiest packaging to open ever

Powder all the way, it gets everything cleaner and your washing machine doesn't smell. Plus the cardboard box is easy to open and easy to recycle. It's also really good value.

Oh God- Smol. I love the products but FFS. I could hack my way through concrete easier than their cardboard. And the instructions are incomprehensible.

My grandmother doesn't. She has to get someone else to do it then puts some in another container.

We use liquid but I used to fight with the box once then decant them into something easier to open. If I left them in the box then the box would have gone flying.....DS is 10 and still not tall enough to reach the top cupboard

It's just going to encourage people to use other containers, which for some products could be more dangerous than the correct labelled container being easier to open.

I subscribed to SMOL but then had to cancel the subscription because I couldn’t open their boxes. When I complained they told me they’d redesigned them to be more easily opened. Couldn’t even do it with a pair of scissors and had to use the garden secateurs.

We use detergent sheets in a small cardboard envelope. Easy to use, easy to open, work well, and wonderfully convenient when travelling.

I think you’d be ok if you alternate/ do a maintenance boil wash/ run washing machine cleaner through. However if like me you do none of that then you can definitely get build up round the seal.

After reading this I'm going back to boxes of powder! Thinking about it, I don't know why I switched in the first place.

Cheap trail of laundry sheets

https://www.reco.shop/products/reco-laundry-detergent-sheets-10-wash-trial-pack?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJKqBhCaARIsANySSnPdQLzmcLMMZajDVcY7kg7wYqwLL4ziDCFnUGDfI1ejlboeiZ0YaAvrrEALww_wcB

The other advantage of powder is that you can put less in for a smaller load. It's far more economical.

It's come to something when it's easier for a child to open a packet of ibuprofen/paracetamol than a box of washing pods. Shows just how stupid it is.

We empty them into a big glass jar. We don’t have young Dc and the powder/pods were getting damp under the sink.
It means opening once and then transferring them to the jar.

Oh good, I cannot open these boxes either!