Every year, Consumer Reports runs a series of tests to determine what the best laundry detergent to use for a number of specific needs. In this year’s test, Tide and Persil were overall winners, whereas some of the cheaper brands were barely able to lift any dirt and grime.

When you’re looking for the best laundry detergent, you should consider what your needs are regarding whose clothes you’re cleaning.

There are detergents for those with allergies and sensitive skin.

There are also detergents that are completely useless. You might be getting better value by washing your clothes with just water.

If you have kids who are constantly on getting dirty, getting grass stains and spaghetti sauce all over themselves, you might need the most powerful laundry detergents.

For every situation there is more than likely a product that caters to your needs.

Read the detailed consumers report or read further for the summary of this year’s winners.

What laundry detergent has the best value?

According to Consumer Reports, the award for the laundry detergent with the best value goes to Kirkland Signature Ultra Clean (Costco’s brand). The award was based on the effectiveness to remove dirt and body oil for about half the price of the leading brands.

This product didn’t measure up when it came to the tougher stains such as grass and blood. This might be a factor if you have rambunctious kids or are married to an MMA fighter.

What is the best laundry detergent to use for babies?

The laundry detergent that won the award for Best For Baby Clothes goes to Kirkland Signature Ultra Free and Clear. Unless your baby’s skin becomes irritated, most pediatricians will say regular detergent is alright to use for babies. Kirkland’s brand doesn’t carry dyes or perfumes which is a characteristic of most hypoallergenic formulas but at a fraction of the price.

What is the best laundry detergent to use for sensitive skin?

After Consumer Report’s testing (February 2020) the best laundry detergent for sensitive skin was Persil ProClean Sensitive Skin. This was the most effective at removing the tougher stains without irritating the skin from dyes and fragrances.

What is the best laundry detergent to use for removing stains?

The laundry detergents that tested the best for removing the toughest stains was Persil ProClean Stain Fighter and Tide Plus Ultra Stain Release. When used to pretreat stains, both products tested outperformed spray-on stain removers. Since Kingston has hard water, Tide might be the best choice for removing tough stains as it performed well in the hard water test.

What are the worst laundry detergents to use?

The Worst Performing Laundry detergents were Sun Triple Clean and Era 3X Oxibooster. These detergents were able to remove sweat and body oil from clothes. However, they failed miserably when working on tougher stains.

Coffee and chocolate proved too tough to take on. When compared to the options such as Tide, Persil and Kirkland, these detergents were no match in cleaning power.

How is the detergent tested for effectiveness?

Manufacturers are said to reformulate their detergent at least once a year. Each brand makes an effort to improve the cleansing power of their products. Consumer reports test each product by washing heavily stained clothes. Clothes are stained with blood, dirt, body oil, chocolate, coffee, grass and salad dressing.

These are the toughest stains to get out. No product removes the entire stain. However, it’s easier to compare products by seeing how much of the stain is removed.

The clothes are then hung to dry since a dryer could alter the colour of the stains. The technicians ill then use a colorimeter to test how much of the stain remains on each swatch.

The best products receive high ratings based on the ability to remove body oil, dirt. The test also takes into account how well they remove tough stains.

Some of the worst detergents were the equivalent of using water. Most people tend to choose their laundry detergent based on what’s on sale or what smells the best.

At least now you know that not all products are created equal. If you value clean clothes you may want to stay away from the bottom of the barrel brands.

For coin laundry in Kingston, you might want to stick to using Tide for its effectiveness in hard water.

Doing laundry is meant to be simple. However, some of the simplest of tasks actually have complicated issues to work out.

At Surf’s Up! Laundry & Dry Cleaning we advise that you use the recommended amount as stated on the label of your detergent.

How much laundry detergent do you need when using soft water?

You can use just enough to cover the bottom of the cap on a liquid detergent bottle or the bottom of a powder detergent scoop for a single load of laundry if you’re washing your clothes with soft water.

Would it surprise you to know that the recommended amount of detergent to use can be approximately 10 times the amount you actually need to do a load of laundry in soft water?

We have hard water in Kingston and at the laundromat, so customers cannot cut back too much on detergent.

You can view the Kingston water quality reports here.

Why is there such a big difference from the recommended amount?

Hard water means that there are mineral deposits in the water such as calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese. 

These deposits can make it difficult for the detergent to work on removing stains and the normal dirt on dirty clothes.

Rather than make the distinction; detergent companies simply instruct you on what works no matter how hard or soft the water. It’s up to you to find the most appropriate amount of detergent that works best in your situation.

If you live in an area that provides soft water you’re probably using way more detergent than you need in your average load of laundry.

How much laundry detergent do I need when using a front loader machine at a coin laundry facility?

If you were using a high-efficiency washing machine (HE washing machine), such as what you would find in our Laundromat you can generally use less laundry detergent.

We advise customers to use the amount recommended for a regular load (equivalent to a single load top-load washer) when using a front-loading triple load washer.

Front-loaders use less water and therefore need less detergent than you think based on the large quantity of clothing washed. (it depends on the ratio of water to detergent to determine the correct amount to use).

For more laundry tips that can save you time and money read: Laundromat Tips: Make Coin Laundry Easy

Use “the general rule” for deciding how much detergent to use

It depends on the type of water and the type of washing machine you’re using that will determine the amount of detergent to use.

If your city area uses soft water the general rule is to try cutting back your detergent by 1/3 of what you’re currently using and see if you notice any difference.

Here is the Ontario report for Water Hardness Levels By City

People tend to use more detergent than they need because they still think more bubbles means better cleaning. Many good detergents are now manufactured to not foam/create bubbles (ex. HE branded detergents).

Cheaper detergents tend to foam more and give people the impression that they are working because they see bubbles. A cold water wash is good for your clothes, but you cannot ‘see’ the detergent working because cold water does not generate many bubbles.

The truth is you may be using more detergent than you need to use. Make your dollar stretch a little further by doing a little experimenting with what works best for you.

Interested in reading more articles? Read the answer to this question: Are laundromats safe to use during the Coronavirus quarantine?

Doing laundry isn’t the most glamorous of activities. In fact, if you’re doing laundry for more than just yourself it can be downright painful. Here are a few laundromat tips that can make doing coin laundry a lot easier to do.

#1-Avoid carrying an entire container of detergent

Rather than lug the big box of detergent, or a jug that weighs a ton, bring exactly what you need for the loads you’re about to wash.

Detergent pods are an economical option. You need only count out a few and throw them in your purse (or man-bag). Surfs Up! sells individual pods as well as bottles of liquid detergent to make things easy and accessible.

If you use powder detergent, another option is to measure out the scoops you need and use a small plastic bag to take it with you.

You’ll obviously need to know how many loads you’re going to do, to estimate how much laundry detergent to use. If you’re not sure, take a couple of loads extra. It beats carrying the entire container. Your back will thank you in the long run.

#2-Check every surface before putting your clothes down

Before you rest your clothes on a table or on top of a washer, check the surface for any spilled liquids. It’s possible that someone may have splashed bleach or fabric softener.

Fabric softener can stain clothes when contacted in concentrated form. In the event someone left some residue on a folding table or a washer, don’t put your clothes on any surface without first checking.

This may not make the process of doing laundry easier, but this will definitely make your life easier if you avoid bleaching or staining clothes you don’t want to change colour.

#3-Get a jump on sorting your clothes

One of the major time sucks that goes into doing laundry is sorting clothes into darks loads, light loads and white loads. You can nip that in the bud by making your hampers at home colour co-ordinated.

There are a number of different options you can choose from depending on the system you have for collecting dirty clothes.

We sell laundry bags of different colours which could be used as a sorting method at home and are easily transported to the laundromat.

An alternative option is to have two baskets or hampers for each person in your household. This way your laundry gets sorted before you’ve even left the house.

Here is an example of the baskets one mother used for each of her daughters in their room.

Another example is having bins for each colour in a central place in your home.

#4-Fold as you go

If you’d like the feeling of being done with your laundry when you get home, try folding your clothes as you take them out of the dryer. You can save a bit of time by getting this part of your routine finished on the spot.

Folding your clothes fresh out of the dryer also reduces the amount of wrinkles that will set in. If you like wrinkle-free clothes, this is an option you may want to consider.

#5-Eliminate the time spent on matching socks

Do you spend a chunk of time matching pairs of socks? Or even worse, do you lose the second sock somewhere in the mix of doing your laundry?

One of our laundromat tips to save time is to use a mesh bag to wash socks.

Give each of your family members a mesh bag to put their dirty socks in. When laundry day arrives, zip it up and throw it in the wash.

You can wash and dry your socks in the bag and eliminate the possibility of any socks going rogue during one of the cycles.

The beauty of this laundry tip is that since everyone has their own bag, they also get to fold their socks themselves.

One less thing you have to worry about.

#6-Empty the lint trap

Not everyone remembers to do this after they dry their clothes, but emptying the lint trap will put less strain on the dryer and dry your clothes more efficiently.

Be the bigger person and make the move to save energy and time for you and the environment. Apart from reducing the hydro bill for your laundromat you also reduce your wait time as clothes will dry much quicker with better air circulation.

#7-Treat yourself to some time off

Why not allow yourself some luxury and drop off your laundry to have our staff do it for you! Our wash and fold service is at your disposal whenever you feel like taking laundry day off and letting us do the dirty work.

#8-Ask one of our friendly staff for advice

You are always welcome to ask the staff member on duty if you are unsure which size washer to use or to what level to load your dryer.

Small things make a difference. For instance, the dryer should be no more than half-full to effectively dry a load; conversely, you don’t want too few items in the dryer, as the tumbling of clothes helps to distribute the heat evenly.

Feel free to ask us for any laundromat tips that will help make your experience as pleasant and efficient as possible.

#9-Overcome boredom by assigning “me time”

It’s easy to get caught up in everyday distractions that take time away from the simple things. One of our laundromat tips to make laundry more enjoyable is to assign something leisurely to the time you spend waiting.

Use the time you spend waiting for cycles by listening to a podcast, reading a book or learning a new language on Duolingo. Get caught up on world events, local news or make it a point to call family and friends you don’t get the chance to talk to.

Whatever your fancy is, give yourself the opportunity to enjoy the downtime. The phrase “glass half empty, glass half full” can give doing laundry a whole new spin.

You might even start looking forward to laundry day. Make it the day where you give yourself the time to enjoy a few small pleasures.

Related reading: Is Coin Laundry Safe During the COVID-19 Pandemic?