This Frozen Laundry Detergent Hack Is Going Viral—But You Should Absolutely Not Do It

Laundry routines have evolved with the rise of single-use detergent pods that take away the need to measure. But with consumers looking for more environmentaly-friendly options to the pods' plastic films that don't always dissolve, a new viral hack has emerged. 

TikTok users are now freezing liquid detergent in silicone trays to create their own DIY pods. The idea is simple: Pop gout a few frozen pods and toss them into the wash. But is this version as effective? We spoke to two scientists who advised against this new method, with one potential exception. 

Why Are People Making Frozen Laundry Pods?

The main perk of this hack is laundry detergent conservation. Most people use way too much laundry detergent for the size of their load, leading to waste and potential soapy residue that leaves your clothes feeling less fresh. 

Additionally, some TikTok videos have shown how standard laundry pods take a long time to dissolve, and parts of the plastic coating on the outside could not dissolve at all, layering your clothing with even more residue. So in theory, liquid detergent pods with no coating would leave your clothes feeling cleaner and make your bottle last longer. 

The process to make frozen laundry pods is simple: Fill silicone trays with liquid detergent and pop it in the freezer for a few hours. Some people also add scent booster beads for an all-in-one option. When it comes time to wash, simply throw a frozen pod or two into the washer. 

Why Experts Don’t Recommend This Method

Some liquid laundry detergents can freeze more easily than others, but exposing any type of cleaner to extreme temperatures is not ideal. According to Tide’s fabric care scientist, Kim Romine, more concentrated liquid detergents won’t freeze all the way through, leaving you with a slippery mess.

“Tide Liquid is specifically formulated to be highly concentrated, so it does not freeze completely due to its low water content,” she says. “Only detergents with high water content are likely to freeze.”

If you do accidentally freeze detergent (concentrated or otherwise), Romine says it should recover, but it’s not recommended to do so intentionally. For optimal results, she recommends always using the proper dosing method and pouring the liquid detergent into the dispenser or directly into the machine drum. Again, because the liquids were not designed to be frozen, the DIY laundry detergent will not provide maximum cleaning performance, she says. 

Food scientist and founder of Mendocino Food Consulting, Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, says that the biggest drawback of freezing most chemical-based liquid laundry detergents is that the ingredients will separate when they thaw in the wash. 

“Cooling down the temperature will result in some of the components losing their solubility,” says Quoc Le. “This is generally not a big deal if the detergent is chemical-based, but if the detergent is bio-based and contains enzymes, this can damage the enzymes and reduce their efficacy.”

Quoc Le says chemical-based detergents include formulas from familiar brands like Tide, Gain, Persil, and All—though some of their gentler products could rely on enzymes for cleaning. For Quoc Le, if you’re going to try this hack, stick to detergents with synthetic surfactants that will still clean despite breaking apart and losing their ability to fully dissolve after the temperature changes. 

Skip using clean-label and sustainable detergent brands like ECOS, Seventh Generation, and Planet that rely more on enzymes for their cleaning power. “Enzymes require very tight environmental conditions to work properly, and they are not designed to be frozen,” says Quoc Le. “While some enzymes can survive the freezing process, they were not meant by the manufacturer to go through that cold of temperatures.”

Still, though, Quoc Le can’t guarantee the efficacy of any frozen laundry detergent pod. “It would probably be fine with chemical-based detergents,” he says, emphasizing that it will have separation and not be in its intended form.