Consumer NZ Reveals The Best And Worst Laundry Detergents

Three laundry detergents have scored no better than water in Consumer NZ’s laundry detergent test.

We put 46 detergents through the wringer. Two detergents ended up with an overall score of 27 out of 100 – the same score given to a wash with only water. Those two products were Shotz Laundry Liquid and EcoLiving Laundry Detergent Sheets with lavender scent.

Another laundry sheet product – Re-Stor Laundry Detergent Sheets fresh linen scent – scored even lower. These sheets were rated ‘poor’ at removing everyday grime and most of the stains we use in our detergent tests, including grass and mud, olive oil and tomato.

Our head of testing James le Page said he wasn’t surprised laundry sheets once more took out two of the bottom spots in the test.

“They only weigh a couple of grams, so when you put them in your machine, they’re just not going to do a good job compared with a capful of laundry liquid or scoop of powder, both of which have the potential to contain more active ingredients,” James said.

However, James wouldn’t be surprised if laundry sheets one day climbed up the test results.

“They’re early in their developmental journey as a product. They’re years behind the other options, so they’re playing catch-up.”

Persil products took out the top three spots in the test results, with Persil Ultimate powder proving to be New Zealand’s most effective laundry detergent.

Persil Active Clean powder wasn’t far behind, followed by Persil 3 in 1 Ultimate capsules.

Ten detergents were given ‘Consumer Recommended’ status, including some New Zealand-made Laundromate and Ecostore products.

The cheapest Recommended detergent was Ecostore Ultrapower Citrus Fresh – it costs just 8c per wash. It was particularly good at removing everyday grime as well as grass and tomato stains.

We have made our laundry detergent test results available for anyone to view on our website.

“We encourage people to have a look at the results and see how the detergent they’re using now scores. You might find something that will do a better job for a better price,” James said.

Best powder detergent – Persil Ultimate 
Best liquid detergent – Ariel Original 
Best capsule detergent – Persil 3 in 1 Ultimate

Note:

Consumer NZ test results are usually exclusively available to our members. However, this time, we have made the laundry detergent test results available for all New Zealanders. You can view them at www.consumer.org.nz/products/laundry-detergents/review.

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