I have a high school senior who will soon graduate and head off to college, so I’ve been doing quite a bit of research into what to bring and what not to bring to campus. 
 
As someone who covers the laundry detergent market in detail, I was confident that a bucket of pods/packs would be the perfect solution for my 18-year-old daughter. I imagine she will toss a pod or two on top of the super cute laundry hamper I picked out for her because it will be easier than lugging a heavy bottle of liquid to wherever the laundry room is located. 
 
Unit dose detergents continue to rise in popularity in the US—sales of packets/bars rose 11.5% to $1.6 billion, outpacing the growth rate of the market overall (LINK to story). They make it easy for anyone to properly dose product into the washing machine. Full disclosure: I have yet to teach her how to do laundry. 
 
But a recent question about college laundry posted on a dorm-focused Facebook page caught my attention—and has me second-guessing my decision. 

“Thoughts on laundry detergent…Pods or liquid? I’ve heard from some that Pods don’t always dissolve well but they are very convenient….”

 
Deb M’s innocent question generated 75 comments in less than 20 hours, and when I went back in a day later, that numbered had nearly doubled.
 
I wasn’t expecting spirited debate on this college-related topic; it isn’t nearly as heated as legacy admissions, merit aid or Parent Plus loans. 
 
Nonetheless, people were adamant: some love pods, some hate them.
 
But most the interesting of the posts were those that mentioned that their son’s or daughter’s school didn’t allow pods.
 
“Some universities ban the pods,” wrote Carol.
 
To which I replied “For real?”
 

 
Another member quickly responded to my question with: “yep they are horrible and leave a half melted mess and can ruin clothes and stain clothes.”

As more chimed in about schools that didn’t allow pods, I was able to convince one parent to name a specific school that banned them. Many mentioned that the pods clogged the machines, ruin clothing and generally were a hassle.
 
One commentator went into great detail about her loathing of this laundry format:
 
“NOOO Pods… my daughter’s school sadly allows them but she and her friends say they leave a HORRIBLE mess and they have to pick them out. Also, we used them once at our house and they ruin clothes…Leave stains. Many schools say NO PODS allowed. I had to use the laundromat [sic] last year and most machines all had pods stuck on the edge and they are gross.  I think they only work well with HOT water. We get the small bottle of liquid.”
 
I couldn’t find anything on my daughter’s school’s website about what kind of laundry detergent to bring to campus. But, the good news is: the machines are free to use—no trying to find enough quarters to do a load. (Is that even a thing these days?)
 
For now, I’ve leaning toward arming her with a small bottle of liquid or laundry detergent sheets. Or maybe I’ll send pods. I really don’t know—nor does my daughter care to discuss.
 
No matter what kind of soap I send her with, can I even be sure she will do laundry on her own?
 
That’s the big question to be answered. Hopefully I find out long before the Thanksgiving break when we arrive back on campus to bring her home. It happened for one mom who shared this in the thread:
 
“Around month #3, I got a phone call that said he wasn’t able to do laundry
 because I didn’t pack detergent for him…. he only had dryer sheets. I told him to look in the LAUNDRY drawer I made for him and the Sheetz were the detergent.
He said this wasn’t something he was familiar with so he would just bring his dirty clothes home. He had been in the dorm for THREE months. That’s 90 days…. and he hadn’t found the detergent.”