The best and worst laundry detergents from Consumer Reports' tests.
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There are so many laundry detergent choices in a grocery or big-box store that it can feel overwhelming.
Ultra Stain Release is one of the detergents from Tide, along with Simply Clean and Fresh.
Kelly Moomey, a senior market analyst at CR, says that the laundry detergent market has narrowed due to the popularity of liquid detergents.
Some CR readers buy what is on sale, but others prefer the scent of the detergent.One CR reader said it was great smelling.They were both talking about the same detergent, Persil's Pro Clean 2-in-1.
Most major detergent brands are reformulated at least once a year as manufacturers look for ways to improve stain removal.Our test engineers are busy.
They wash fabric that is saturated with blood, body oil, chocolate, coffee, dirt, grass, and salad dressing.We use stains that are hard to remove so that we can detect differences between detergents.Every stain can be removed with the best detergents.
We wash the swatch in two washers with the same detergent, then let it air-dry.The heat can alter the stains, so a dryer is out of the question.
Testers use a colorimeter, a device that measures color intensity, to see how much of the stain remains on each dry swatch, compared with stained swatch that have been laundered using only water.
The detergents we tested have an Excellent rating in removing body oil and dirt, but they can also tackle tougher stains, such as grass and blood.The effectiveness of detergents can be reduced by hard water.You'll see in our ratings that we test for that as well.
There are five of the best liquid detergents we tested, along with the two worst.
The price per load is calculated based on the number of ounces in each container.In some cases, the prices listed are for multipacks.
The price of higher- scoring detergents from Persil and Tide is half that of the Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean.In our tests, Kirkland earned an Excellent rating for removing stains from body oil, one of the chemicals in sweat.Consider the types of stains you typically have to contend with, because Kirkland doesn't pack the same punch when it comes to blood and grass stains.One of the detergents tested cleans well in hard water.
Unless your baby's skin becomes irritated, regular detergent is fine for washing baby clothes.If you have sensitive skin, consider a detergent meant for it.Most major manufacturers claim that their formulas do not contain dyes or perfumes.It is one of the least expensive detergents we have tested and earns a Very Good rating for removing dirt.Considering how much laundry you will be doing with a little one at home, that is something to consider.
The best detergents we tested that were marketed for sensitive skin at tackling grown up stains like body oil, dirt, and salad dressing were rated Excellent by CR.The scent from the chemicals used to make the formula may still be present in detergents that are supposed to be free of dyes and perfumes.
Only two of the dozens of liquid detergents we tested were very good at removing tough stains such as blood and grass.The Persil ProClean Stain Fighter is one of those detergents.It can be used to treat stains.It was found to be better than most of the laundry stain removal products we tested.
Tide is widely sold, which is why you will see 10 liquid Tide detergents in our ratings, including Tide Plus Ultra Stain Release.There are stains from dirt and body oil.No sweat.Are you talking about chocolate?No problem.The results are better than most spray-on stain removers we tested because Tide Plus Ultra aced our pretreat tests.Tide works well in water.What is the difference between Tide and Persil?They both top our laundry detergent ratings and earn the same Overall Score.