Ranu's Reviews

The company that convinced me to use one laundry sheet for my washing machine and dryer is at it again. This time Purex is reinventing fabric softener by ditching the traditional liquid for crystals!?!

Let Me Make This Crystal Clear

After being accepted as a "Purex Insider" for the second time (they made everyone reapply), I received an extremely well-designed package containing a free sample of Purex Complete Crystals softener. It looked like a fancy container of rock salt and after Mother Nature regurgitated over two feet of snow in Jersey—the last thing I wanted to look at was more frigging rock salt, but these crystals smelled much better than the stuff that melts the ice on my driveway.

According to the generous and surprisingly disclosure-free marketing materials, traditional fabric softeners are all oil-based. These traditional softeners coat fabrics with an oily residue and over time will cause harm. Even though oil and water don’t mix, I guess oil and fabrics do to some extent because I have seen warnings about not using fabric softeners on certain children's clothes and athletic wear.

These unique crystals form a 92% natural fabric softener that provides a purer way to get laundry that smells clean and fresh for weeks (their words, not mine). Thanks to the crystal power, the very fibers that make up your clothes will be infused with a long-lasting fragrance (again, their claim—not mine.).

According to Purex, their Complete Crystals Softener is safe for all laundry and will not harm, wear down or discolor your fabrics like oil-based softeners. It will preserve the flame retardant-ness of children's clothes, retain your athletic wear's wicking ability, maintain your towel's built-in ability to absorb water and keep your whites from changing colors. These are some bold declarations and like Asia rocked out back in the day—"only time will tell."

Jekyll and "Hide"

I followed the instructions, dumped the crystals in the wash and returned to my washing machine when the load was done. My laundry machines are in the basement of my house and when I walked down the staircase I couldn't help but notice that the normal stench of my man cave was replaced with a really pleasant aroma.

For testing purposes only, I smelled each article of clothing that was in my first load. The smell was not equally distributed among the clothes, but each piece did have more than a hint of the Fresh Spring Waters scent. I was really impressed with this product—until I put a few pieces in the dryer. I did not add any type of dryer sheet since I didn't want to tamper with the euphoric smell that came out of my washing machine.

When I returned to the dryer 20 minutes later and opened the door, I felt compelled to say "Marco" because the beautiful smell that once existed went into hiding. I checked each piece of clothing through and through, however, I never heard a reply of "Polo"—alas the smell was gone and I started to cry me a Fresh Spring Waters river.

The End Result

Purex Complete Crystals Softener is definitely one of the best-smelling fabric softeners I have come across and it is easy to use with no mess, however, it does not live up to the audacious claims that are made by the company. Forgive me for seriously doubting that the smell will last for weeks. They neglect to tell you that the smell will not even last for hours once you start wearing your clothes.

While it might be better for your clothes, the short-lived smell of this product does little to differentiate it from the rest of the fabric softeners out there. Besides, if I start using this product regularly I will have to abandon the best thing to happen to laundry since the washing machine—Purex's 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets—and I don't smell that happening any time soon.

For more info: http://www.purex.com/products/softeners/purex-complete-crystals.