The most effective washing powders and laundry detergents completely remove even the most tenacious stains. In order to assist you in finding the appropriate laundry detergent, we assess the best and the worst of the available options.
Best and Worst Laundry Detergents
If you use the very best laundry detergents, you can rest assured that your clean clothes will emerge from the machine immaculate, with whites that are brilliant and colours that are vivid. Nobody else performs testing with the same level of rigour as we do.
Because the testing that we do in our independent labs simulate the everyday grime and stains that you receive on your clothes and linen, you can have confidence that the laundry detergents sold at Best Buy will effectively clean even your dirtiest washing.
In order to determine which washing powders, liquids, gels, and capsules are the most effective as well as which ones are the least, we subjected both biodegradable and nonbiodegradable options to our rigorous cleaning testing. In our most recent round of testing, we used detergents from major brands like Ariel, Ecover, Fairy, and Method, as well as store-brand options from grocery stores like Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.
Which kind of washing detergent is the most effective?
As powders, liquids, and capsules all have their own distinct advantages, it is in your best interest to purchase a variety of detergents in order to get the most out of your washing machine and achieve the best possible results. To help you identify what you require, we have provided a simple visual chart below that is based on our considerable experience evaluating various laundry detergents.
Liquids and gels maintain colour vibrancy but are not ideal for producing really brilliant whites.
Capsules are fantastic for speed and convenience, but they struggle to clean clothing that are extremely stained.
Powder is fantastic for getting whites and badly soiled items particularly bright, but it has a tendency to make coloured clothes less vibrant. Be cautious to check the results of our tests for the individual goods below before making a purchase. If you choose the incorrect brand, it is possible that you will not achieve the desired level of cleaning power, regardless of the kind of product you purchase.
Washing powders have been shown, over the course of many years of research and testing, to be superior to liquid detergents in terms of maintaining the brilliant appearance of whites. On the other hand, liquid capsules, as well as liquid and gel detergents, typically do a better job of preventing colours from fading.
Therefore, if you want the best results, it is a good investment to get both a powder for your whites and a liquid for your colours. After a battery of exhaustive tests, we determined that three washing powders, three laundry capsules, and four laundry liquids met or exceeded our Best Buy gold standard.
Some of our Best Buys are expensive branded items, but you can save money by selecting Best Buy supermarket own-brand powders from Aldi, Morrisons, Tesco, or Sainsbury’s. These supermarkets are located in the United Kingdom. In addition to having a cost per wash that is significantly lower than that of branded alternatives, these products also tend to perform better on particular stains.
Liquid and gel detergent results explained
According to the results of our research, there are four Best Buy laundry liquids that are superior to their competitors. Both the Aldi Almat Bio Concentrated and the Ariel Original Bio Washing Liquid are powerful stain removers, but they are especially useful for removing oily markings and common stains like perspiration, mud, and ink. Both of these products can be purchased at Aldi.
In spite of the fact that liquids and gels don’t always perform an excellent job of maintaining the purity of whites, these two products defy the norm. They are tied for first place in this category and are the only liquids or gels to receive a perfect score for maintaining the brilliance of whites. The price is the primary factor that differentiates these two highly rated products, though. A load of laundry with Almat Bio from Aldi will only set you back 6 pence, but a load with Ariel liquid from a more well-known brand would cost you 13 pence.
If you do four loads of laundry each week, switching to the Almat Bio may save you almost fifteen pounds over the course of a year. If you have an Aldi store close by, it is highly recommended that you keep this in mind. Additionally, the judges praised Ariel’s Bio Gel, awarding it high marks across the board.
The Wild Lavender Bio laundry liquid by Method was the biggest surprise among the liquid and gel detergents that we tested, and it is the first “eco” detergent to win our Best Buy recommendation. The liquid contains a blend of lavender and other natural ingredients.
Method is the ideal choice for you if you want a product that has ingredients derived from plants and has a history of being environmentally responsible. In our tests, several brands of washing liquids, including those sold by Fairy, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, M&S, and Waitrose, did not perform well. None of them are effective at removing stains.
Liquid capsule findings explained
For the first time in what feels like years, we are in a position to recommend laundry capsules, and the Ariel Pods with Oxi Stain Removers, Morrisons Bio capsules, and Tesco Bio 3 in 1 capsules all made the cut for the Best Buy list. There is a significant gap in cost between the three options, despite the fact that there was very little to choose between them in terms of performance.
The Morrisons capsules are our Best Buy since they cost only 15 pence per wash, while the Ariel Pods cost 28 pence every wash. You might be able to rack up significant savings over the course of the year by making the transition from name brands to store brands. If you prefer a detergent that is not biodegradable, then the Lidl Formil Non-Bio Caps are the ideal option for you.
They are highly effective at removing grease marks as well as beverage stains, such as those caused by red wine and tea. Because of the low quality of these three capsules, we do not recommend purchasing them. They are all not very effective at removing stains, and the capsules with the lowest scores will also make your whites look less bright.
Which capsules are the best and worst for the various stains?
Capsules have varying degrees of efficacy against various stains due on the ingredients they contain. The following is a rundown of the best and worst capsule brands to use for each specific stain. With this information, you will be able to select the most effective detergent for cleaning up after you and your family.
Drink: BEST Oxi stain removers included with the Ariel All-in-One Washing Pods. WORST Fairy Non-Bio Pods, Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Bio Laundry Capsules, Tesco 3 in 1 Non-Bio Capsules, and Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Non-Bio Laundry Capsules are some of the capsules that are available.
Food is the BEST. Ariel All in One Washing Pods with Oxi Stain Removers, Morrisons Bio Laundry Capsules, Tesco Bio 3 in 1 Detergent Capsules, Tesco Bio Capsules, Lidl Formil Bio Caps, Lidl Formil 3 in 1 Bio Caps, and Lidl Formil Bio Capsules are some of the capsules that are available on the market. FAIRY Non-Bio Pods, Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, and Tesco’s own brand are the WORST of the bunch. Non-biological Capsules That Are 3 in 1
Make-up: BEST Ariel Washing Pods that Remove Oxidized Stains and Are All-in-One FAIRY Non-Bio Pods, Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, and Tesco 3 in 1 Non-Bio Capsules are the products that fare the worst.
Everyday: BEST Ariel All in One Washing Pods with Oxi Stain Removers, Morrisons Bio Laundry Capsules, Tesco Bio 3 in 1 Detergent Capsules, Tesco Bio Capsules, Lidl Formil Bio Capsules, Lidl Formil 3 in 1 Bio Capsules, and Lidl Formil Bio Capsules are some of the products that can be found in this category. FAIRY Non-Bio Pods, Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, and Tesco’s own brand are the WORST of the bunch. Non-biological Capsules That Are 3 in 1
GREASE: THE VERY BEST Ariel’s All-in-One Washing Pods with Oxi Stain Removers, Morrison’s Bio Laundry Capsules, Tesco’s Bio 3-in-1 Detergent Capsules, and Tesco’s own brand of All-in-One Washing Pods with Oxi Stain Removers are some examples of multi Bio Capsules, Lidl Formil Bio Caps, as well as Formil 3 in 1 Bio Caps, can be found at Lidl. WORST There are three varieties of these capsules available: Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Bio Laundry Capsules, Aldi Almat Premium 3 in 1 Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, and Ariel Laundry Capsules. Tesco, All-in-1 Pods, and Fairy Non-Bio Pods are the three brands that are now available. Non-biological Capsules That Are 3 in 1
The findings about washing powder explained
The biological powders performed the best in our tests; however, we did find certain biological products that were not very effective at removing stains. If you prefer non-bio products, the non-bio powder sold under Sainsbury’s own brand is the best option; in fact, it’s the only powder that we tested that earned the maximum possible number of stars for its ability to remove make-up stains.
In general, supermarket own brands have a tendency to be significantly more affordable than major brands. The Aldi Almat Bio (8p a wash) and Sainsbury’s Bio and Non-Bio laundry powders are the three supermarket own brands that made our list of Best Buy laundry powders (both 9p a wash). In our tests, each one was either good at or great at eliminating practically all different kinds of stains.
Due to the fact that several well-known brands of powder, including Persil, were in the process of being reformulated at the time of our 2021 test of laundry powders, we were unable to include them in this round of evaluations.
Save money on laundry detergent
If you buy your laundry powder from a well-known brand rather than Aldi Almat Biological powder (74 percent, Best Buy), you could end up saving almost £20 per year. If you move from the brand that received the highest score to one that offers a fantastic value as an alternative, you can save as much as £15 on liquid or gel and up to £22 on liquid capsules.
Be wary, though, of more expensive items that don’t perform as well in the wash. You will spend more than £19 more a year on Fairy’s Non-Bio Powder (40 percent) than you would on a fantastically priced Best Buy.
