Downy Pudding

So I was doing laundry this past weekend and when I went to pour Downy liquid fabric softener into my Downy ball, it had clumped together and came out in thick lumps, like pudding. Obviously something was wrong, I tried shaking it and tried pouring again, but didn’t seem do to anything. I was thinking about adding water to dilute it, but after reading the back, it said to never to dilute it with water.

Not knowing what happened or how to fix this (I still had about ~25% of the bottle left), I shot Downy customer support a email. Meanwhile, I opened a new bottle I had picked up from Costco.

Today I got an email reply:

Thanks for contacting Downy.

Our goal is to produce high quality Downy products that consistently delight our consumers and I’m sorry this wasn’t your experience, as it was thick. When storing the Downy April Fresh it can become thick or lumpy when exposed to extreme temperatures (either hot or cold). If it was frozen, it will appear much thicker (gel-like) and won’t return to normal consistency on its own. Best suggestion for storing the product is to store it at room temperature – in a cool, dry place and use it within one year. Please be assured I’m sharing your comments with the rest of our team.

Since your satisfaction means a great deal to us, I’m sending a replacement coupon by postal mail. You should receive my letter within the next 2-3 weeks.

Thanks again for writing.

Jimmy
Downy Team

Thinking back, the last time I did laundry before seeing this was probably mid December, right before I left for vacation. I did leave my thermostat at 50F, but maybe it got really cold? It probably has also been over a year since I started using that bottle of Downy liquid fabric softener. Living alone and doing laundry every 3 weeks means detergents lasts for quite a long time. Maybe Downy has an expiration date.

Anyway, it’s awesome they’re sending me a replacement coupon.

No, I did not try to eat Downy Pudding, but I did check to see if it was flammable. Unfortunately not. Would’ve been fun. ;p