Walk down the laundry aisle and you will see a wall of boxes, bottles and little bags, each promising whiter whites and softer towels. Your washer and dryer already do most of the work.
Consumer Reports has tested plenty of this stuff, and its laundry coverage points to products that cost more than they deliver. In its article Laundry Products That Waste Loads of Money (October 1, 2022), the magazine says a good detergent and a good dryer carry the load.
Here are 6 laundry products you can stop buying without missing them, with an earlier 2019 Consumer Reports article adding a few more details.
Some of these are products, and some are habits at the store. Either way, the magazine’s testing gives you a reason to put them back on the shelf.
Detergent Strips Did Not Clean Stains In The Tests
Consumer Reports (2022) put it bluntly: “None of the detergent strips we tested were effective at cleaning stains.” The strips are tidy and tempting, but the magazine found they need a pretreatment or stain remover to be worth the money.
If you already bought a box, keep a spray stain remover handy for the dirty spots.
That extra step means you are paying for the strip and the stain remover, which defeats the purpose of buying a simple, mess-free option.
Premium Heavy Duty Detergent Can Cost Double
The magazine said Tide Hygienic Clean Heavy Duty 10X is effective, but it runs about 44 cents per load. That is more than double Persil ProClean’s 21 cents and four times Kirkland Signature’s 11 cents, which Consumer Reports names a Best Buy.
It also notes that using more detergent than recommended wastes water, so a bigger glug is not a better wash.
In other words, you can pay a premium price and still have to measure carefully. A less expensive detergent that does the job gives you the same clean clothes for far less per load.
Cheaper Detergents That Cannot Handle Everyday Stains
Saving money only works if the clothes come out clean. In its 2022 article, Consumer Reports says Era 3X Oxibooster, Gain Original Liquid and Sun Triple Clean are “no match for common stains, such as body oil, dirt, and chocolate.”
An earlier Consumer Reports article (2019) found Xtra ScentSations and Trader Joe’s Liquid Laundry HE clean “only slightly better than plain water,” and advised skipping Xtra Plus OxiClean and Sun Triple Clean.
A low price tag does not help if the shirt still has the stain. Cheap detergent that leaves spots behind means rewashing, and that costs you extra water, power and time.
Fabric Softeners Are Usually Unnecessary
Consumer Reports (2022) says fabric softeners, along with scent boosters, color enhancers, static guards and dryer sheets, are usually unnecessary. They can also leave residue that may irritate sensitive skin.
The magazine’s laundry expert Rich Handel said, “few of those ancillary products are necessary” when you use an effective detergent and a high-performing dryer.
Scent Boosters And Color Enhancers Add Cost, Not Cleaning
Those little beads that make your sheets smell like a spring meadow and the liquids that promise brighter colors fall in the same group. Consumer Reports lists scent boosters and color enhancers among add-ons that can leave residue on clothes.
If your laundry comes out clean without them, that is money you can keep.
Static Guards And Dryer Sheets Can Leave Residue
The magazine names static guards and dryer sheets among the extras that are generally not needed and may leave residue. A well-performing dryer, run properly, takes care of most of what these sheets claim to do.
Handel’s advice is worth taping to the laundry room wall: “Let your laundry machines and detergents carry the load—that’s what they’re designed for.”
Big-ticket appliances matter too. The same 2022 article names a Whirlpool WED4985EW dryer at $715 as tied for the worst-performing dryer in its ratings and among the noisiest, and says a Samsung WA41A3000AW top-loader at $575 earns only a Fair rating for cleaning.
Before you buy a new machine, check the ratings, not just the sticker.
The same logic applies down the aisle. A product earns its spot in your cart when it does a job your detergent and dryer cannot already do, and the magazine found that most add-ons do not.
Try this for a month. Skip one extra at a time, watch how the laundry looks and feels, and see which ones you truly miss.
What do you buy instead? Start with a detergent that earned its keep in testing. Consumer Reports named Kirkland Signature a Best Buy at 11 cents a load and Persil ProClean at 21 cents, against 44 cents for the premium heavy duty option.
Pair it with a stain remover for the tough spots, and check the cost per load on the label, not the size of the jug.
The savings add up. Skipping softener, scent beads and dryer sheets can free up cash from the cart every month, and your skin may thank you if it is sensitive.
Use up what you have rather than tossing it, and when it runs out, try going without. You might find that your towels and your wallet are just fine.
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