I do not feel comfortable using Downy Unstopables with my family nor would I recommend it to anyone else.
Here are my reasons why I don’t recommend Downy Unstopables:
#1) There is nothing natural about an artificial scent lasting for 30 days or 12 weeks as the current Downy Unstopables claims. What kind of chemicals are used in an attempt to produce such results?
#2) The only “ingredients” listed are: perfume dispersant, perfume, and dye. There are no further details. I am not a fan of products that are so vague.
#3) The EWG gives Downy Unstopables an “F” rating due to “Health, Environment, and Disclosure Concerns.” Their ingredient disclosure is poor. There is some concern for “Asthma, Respiratory, Skin, Allergies and Irritation.” There is no data available regarding how this product may affect Developmental & Reproductive Toxicity and Cancer” resulting in an additional “some concern” listed. Read more here: EWG: Downy Unstopables
#4) A”Material Safety Data Sheet” issued on 2/25/11 by P&G (the manufacturer), is mostly full of “unknowns” (assumed because of their lack of ingredient disclosure) and lists skin irritation and respiratory tract irritation as “Potential Health Effects (Acute and Chronic”) as a result of “Prolonged or repeated exposures to perfume oils.” Read more here.
CZL says
Very dissapointed. I thought this was going to make my laundry smell great like the liquid Downy but even better. I have been buying the Purex Crystals for a few months now and I really like the ease, convenience and scent, but expected that for
$3.00 more Downy would be even better. Not only is the Downy product NOT better, it is not even as good.
Erika says
I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience, but thanks for taking the time to share with me. I haven’t tried Purex Crystals, so maybe I should!
Kristine says
I totally agree the purex crystals are so much better they smell better and cost 1/2 the price for more I will be sticking with my purex the best product they have come out with I couldn’t don wash without it
Erika says
Thanks, Kristine!
Jenifer Dittelberger says
I tried the Downy Unstopables yesterday. I did my laundry and bed linens. It smelled great at the time, but the scent hasn’t even lasted until this morning. I think it’s definitely not worth the price in fact it’s a waste of money. Regular Downy softner works much better and is much cheaper.
Amy says
I recently bought some and I love it! And the smell last on my towels and bed linens the longest…it is expensive but I found $2 off coupons so I stocked up!!!! Love this stuff!!!! & no I was not paid to write this! I am a house wife who just loves the product!
ashley says
i have been buying the downy unstopables for months now and absolutely loving them. however they are so expensive that when i seen the purex crystals on the shelf i got sooo excited because they were a lot cheaper and came with more, a lot more! so i smelled them in the bottles and chose the peach colored ones, i cant remember the name of the scent right now. anyhow they smelled so good so i decided to get them. i have used the entire bottle almost and its time to make my shopping list and as i started to write down my laundry needs i stopped and got on my laptop to search laundry scent boosters and came across your site. so this is my opinion, i love love love the smell of the downy and they work so well in my opinion but come with to little and are to expensive but the purex crystals only smelled wonderful in the bottle. i have not even one time smelled it in my laundry. actually to tell the truth the downy fills my whole house with a good smell when i use it. what do i do? lol ! i wish they were cheaper! is there another alternative to try?
Kimberley says
I wonder if how well they work for each person depends on the water in the area they live in?
Sheila says
I just tried the Downy Unstopables. I used 2 tablespoons in the h e front loading machines. One load was cold water wash, the other hot water wash. The condo laundry room was filled with the fragrance of the “Fresh” scent. Very pleasant scent. Some laundry I have hung out to dry, some was placed in the dryer w/o softener. The hung dried & dryer machine dried clothes seem to have the same intensity of fragrance. I do detect a bit of a Febreze dry down note to the fragrance. I am wondering if Febreze ingredients are also used in Unstopables. I will write later re: length of time the fragrance remains.
Jennifer Pisano says
Hi, I have just this week tried Unstopables for the first time. I’m not sure if I LOVE them or not….yet. I have ALWAYS been a die hard Downy user, liquid and dryer sheets, So I’d heard that I wouldn’t need to use either in the wash with the Unstopables, so I didn’t, but now after using them and hearing other reviews, I’m wondering if I should? It DOES smell wonderful and when I hang clothes up to dry, it makes my house smell good 😉 . But the MAIN reason I wrote this review is to tell people that I found Unstopables at Sam’s Club 2 for $9….I didn’t check Costco, but I imagine the price is about the same. Thank you for your time.
Patty Stockton says
I loved this stuff the first couple times I used it, my sheets smelled AWESOME and it lasted for close to a week. However, that said, for some reason after the first couple loads, my stuff doesn’t have that wonderful scent anymore when I use it. It’s way less than before even though I’ve tried using more. I have HE front loading machines and I wondered if that makes a difference?
WSB says
I got my sample in the mail and used it. I love it! I usually use extra fabric softener (i know you are not supposed for the scent. I have two pre teen boys and trust me when i say these work great to get rid of the boy odors.
As for the water making a difference. It could very well. My parents used to swear by Oxyclean i saw it in action at their house while visiting and was impressed and when i got home i bought some. It didn’t work at all here for me.
Nancy says
I received a sample in the mail last week of Downy Unstopables. I used them on our bed clothes and absolutely love the scent it leaves. Everytime I walk into our bedroom I enjoy the fresh smell. Just purchased a container and can’t wait to use it for all of our laundry!
Mary Hibbets says
I just used Downy Unstopables Fresh scent for the first time. When I began to take my first load of clothes out, I noticed that most of the beads hadn’t dissolved, and had left smudges on a lot of my clothes. I followed the instructions and did everything correctly. I had to shake all my clothes off and take all the leftover beads out and wash my clothes again. This stuff smells wonderful but I’m scared to use it again because of this experience. Did anyone else have this problem?
DM says
I love the unstopables… the “shimmer” scent. The other options seemed too perfumey for me. I used them all the time when I did laundry in our top loading washer. They worked great, the scent lasted about 2 weeks strongly (meaning I could smell it as soon as I opened my closet) and then another week where I couldn’t smell it in the closet but I could when I wore my clothes. A word of caution: you need to be sure you don’t over fill your machine or the beads might not all dissolve. Also, beware if you have a low flow washer. We just got a new front loading washer and a ozone water thing that attaches to it. I no longer even need to use any detergent at all, but I still add the unstopables because I like the scent. My sister has hard water and they don’t really work for her.