Two weeks into trying out the new Purex 3-in-1 laundry detergent, I can say that the company’s ad copywriter got a little carried away when he likened the invention of the product to the creation of the Internet.

Still, as innovations go, it ranks right up there.

Laundry is one of my least favorite chores, trumped only by mopping the floor and dispensing with cobwebs. To be sure, I have it better than say, my mother, who spent a couple of memorable years washing the family’s laundry on a washboard (including diapers for two children under the age of 3). My sturdy Maytag takes the place of the washboard and my Kenmore dryer is a step up than hanging clothes (though I do love the smell of line-dried laundry.)

Nevertheless, laundry is drudgery because of the steps involved — the sorting, the washing, the measuring, the move to the dryer, the folding, the putting away. Blecch.

So I was intrigued by Purex’s promise of one product that takes the place of two or three of the steps. The Purex 3-in-1 sheets put the detergent, fabric softener and static-control agent in one sheet that you simply drop in the washer at the beginning of the process.

I was a little skeptical when I saw the sheet. It’s scarcely a quarter of an inch thick and a little stiff. I had doubts the fabric softener would last through the wash cycle, but when I removed the sheet, the detergent portion was clean and supple, while the band of fabric softener/static guard at the top and bottom were intact. The result was clean laundry (it even got out a coffee stain on one of my blouses) that smelled clean and fresh without being overwhelmingly perfumey.

Is it cost effective? The 24-count pack cost $6, which comes to about 25 cents a load. An online consumer site pegs the cost of Tide detergent with Downey added at 31 cents per load, while store brand detergent with fabric softener added comes at 19 cents per load. Is convenience worth 6 cents a load? That’s for you to decide.

For me, it’s worth the cost and I’ll be buying Purex 3-in-1 for the foreseeable future.

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