Laundry detergent + Fabric care
−16%
CHF26.90 was CHF31.90
bluu Silvertrooper
150 Washing cycles, Sheets
Can Silvertrooper cloths stop my laundry from smelling musty?
7.10.2026
Translation: Katherine Martin
Pictures: Anna Sandner
Lately, I’ve been testing bluu’s Silvertrooper cloths. Do they really help improve the scent and cleanliness of your laundry? And what impact do they have on the environment?
Silver ions can curb the growth of many types of bacteria. Scientific studies have demonstrated as much. So, it stands to reason that we could take advantage of this when washing our clothes. For instance, when we’ve tossed some stinky workout gear in the machine. After all, it’s not just sweat that smells bad. Musty odours are caused by bacteria and their metabolic byproducts too.
What do Silvertroopers actually do?
According to bluu, Silvertrooper cloths reduce bacteria, germs and unpleasant odours and keep laundry hygienically fresh, even at low temperatures. The cloths are made of viscose, with silver thread woven in. To be exact, the manufacturer says they contain 580 metres of silver thread (the equivalent of 580 grammes of silver). Supposedly, Silvertroopers last up to 150 washes.
Priced at about 31.90 francs, each «silvery» wash cycle costs about 21 cents. Comparable products from other brands cost roughly the same, but differ on silver content, material, promised lifespan and published certifications.
The promise of fresh-smelling, hygienic laundry certainly sounds good. I guess it’s time to put a Silvertrooper cloth to the test and look at the facts behind the advertising claims.
Putting Silvertrooper cloths to the test
To see the impact of the Silvertrooper cloths with my own eyes (or rather, to smell it with my own nose), I spent several weeks testing one. The silver cloth, made by the Swiss brand bluu, took about 20 tumbles in my washing machine alongside my dirty laundry. To make the comparison fair, I did my laundry the way I usually do (aside from the silvery stowaway, of course). In other words, I set the temperature to 30 degrees, used a sensitive wash strip and ditched the fabric softener and antibacterial rinse aid. The loads comprised a broad mix of day-to-day laundry, including sportswear.
I also set the cloth an extra challenge by leaving newly washed laundry in the machine for about 24 hours. Usually, that’s a pretty surefire way to make your clothes smell fusty.
What’s the science behind the Silvertroopers?
Before I get to my own, very subjective findings, let’s take a look at the science behind Silvertrooper cloths. The basic idea underpinning them is scientifically plausible. Silver ions can bind to bacterial cell membranes and proteins, disrupting important cellular functions. As a result, materials containing silver often demonstrate antibacterial properties in lab tests.
The problems begin when you transfer that principle to your washing machine. After all, the cloth’s effectiveness will depend on things like:
- How much silver it releases
- What form its silver takes
- How long it’s exposed to fabrics in the machine
- What types of bacteria are present
- Detergent type and wash temperature
- How dirty your laundry is
Many silver studies involve testing isolated fabric samples under controlled conditions. That’s a whole different ball game to a single cloth being washed in a full washing machine alongside other types of fabrics, detergent and rinse water.
What’s more, studies on silver-based laundry products present us with quite a mixed picture. While bacterial growth was sometimes reduced in samples with slight bacterial contamination, there was no significant change when it came to higher contamination more closely resembling a real-life scenario. Based on all of this, it’s fair to conclude that silver might be effective. But it’s unclear how much cleaner a Silvertrooper cloth would make a single load of laundry.
Besides, less bacteria doesn’t automatically mean less odour. By the same token, fresher-smelling laundry isn’t necessarily cleaner laundry. As is so often the case when you look at something in detail, it’s a complicated and far from clear-cut issue. Essentially, all we can say for sure is: Silvertrooper cloths might do some good – or they might not.
My laundry passed the smell test
Okay, the science underpinning the product idea is a little shaky. But how does the Silvertrooper cloth fare in practice? One thing’s for certain: it’s hassle-free, as it’s incredibly easy to use. You simply pop the cloth in the washing machine and take it out once the load is done. That’s it.
Of course, I can’t tell from my little everyday test if laundry washed with a Silvertrooper actually contains fewer germs or is more hygienic. You’d need swabs and microbiological laboratory analyses for that. What I can judge is the scent – and there really was a difference there.
My laundry smelled fresher when washed with the Silvertrooper – especially when sports gear was in the machine. Most importantly, the cloth also passed the ultimate test of being left in the drum with damp laundry for 24 hours. Afterwards, the clothes smelled noticeably less musty than a typical Silvertrooper-free load would. Mind you, that’s just my own perception of the smell. It doesn’t necessarily mean it left fewer germs on my clothes.
What happens with the silver left in the wastewater?
There’s another point worth considering here. Especially if environmental reasons have driven you to consider swapping fabric softener for silver cloths. Studies on textiles containing silver have shown that the material can leach into the washing machine water during a cycle. At wastewater treatment plants, silver often reacts with sulphur compounds to form silver sulphide. This is significantly less soluble – and usually less harmful – than free silver ions. As a result, a large portion of the silver ends up in sewage sludge. However, there’s no public documentation revealing how much silver the Silvertrooper cloths release or what ultimately becomes of it.
Nevertheless, cloths like these aren’t banned in Germany or Switzerland for environmental protection reasons. Free silver ions can harm aquatic organisms. While silver sulphide, by contrast, is much less problematic, it can get into the soil via sewage sludge. And we still don’t fully know what the long-term impact of that is.
In my opinion, Silvertrooper cloths aren’t worth buying. The benefits of using them are too minor, and the science backing them up is too thin to justify their potential environmental impact.
In a nutshell
Makes laundry smell better, but there’s no proof backing improved hygiene claim
Silvertrooper cloths can simply be tossed into the washing machine, where they sometimes help reduce nasty odours. This is especially noticeable when you’re washing sportswear or when you’ve left damp laundry in the machine for too long. However, there’s no proof that the cloths genuinely make washing your clothes more hygienic. Silver can potentially end up in the wastewater during a spin cycle too – and there’s no information available on the silver quantities released by the cloths during use. With this in mind, Silvertroopers are more of an optional scent booster than a laundry-day essential.
Pro
- A cloth lasts up to 150 wash cycles
- Easy to use
- Reduces unpleasant odours
Contra
- <negativeConclusionDetails>Unclear how much silver is released into wastewater
- Not definitively proven to be more hygienic
- Expensive
- high price
Anna Sandner
Senior Editor
Anna.Sandner@galaxus.deScience editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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