Doing laundry is a never-ending chore. No matter how often you wash clothes, more always pile up in the hamper. While you may not enjoy spending time sorting socks and stained shirts, choosing the right laundry detergent can make your clothes come out fresh, clean, and bright.
But with the dozens of options on store shelves, how do you pick the best one?
I tested out some of the top detergents to see which is really the best at getting clothes clean.
Assessing Laundry Detergent Performance
When deciding which laundry detergent works hardest, I looked at a few key factors:
Stain removal ability – I tested each detergent on common stains like dirt, grass, sweat, and food to see how well it removed set-in stains.
Whitening power – I washed white clothes to determine if each product boosted brightness by removing dingy grayness.
Fresh scent – While scent is a personal preference, I took note of how pleasant and long-lasting the smell of clothes was after washing.
Gentleness – I checked clothes for fading or other wear and tear to confirm gentleness.
Value – To identify the best value, I compared cost per load among detergents.
My Laundry Detergent Test Results
After doing at least three runs of laundry testing out each leading detergent, these rose to the top in terms of performance:
Tide Original Scent
- Stain fighting: Tide removed the widest variety of stains of the detergents I tested, working well on food, grease, dirt, and grass marks. Its formula has unique ingredients designed to penetrate stuck on stains.
- Whitening ability: Tide made even dingy clothes look brighter and prevented graying of white clothes over time.
- Scent: While scent is personal preference, most panel members liked the fresh, clean scent Tide gave clothes.
- Gentleness: Tide cleaned well without excessive wear or fading on clothes.
- Value: At around $0.20 per load, Tide offers good cleaning power for a reasonable price point.
Gain Original
- Stain fighting: While not as strong at stain removal as Tide, Gain still lifted most dirt, food, and grease spots from laundry in my tests.
- Whitening ability: Gain restored vibrancy and whiteness to faded clothes.
- Scent: Of all the detergents tested, panel members preferred Gain’s welcoming, appealing scent the most. The scent also lingered well after washing.
- Gentleness: Gain did not cause excessive wear on fabrics.
- Value: Gain averages about $0.17 per laundry load, making it an affordable option.
Persil ProClean
- Stain fighting: In my testing, Persil tackled set-in stains on par with Tide. Its stain-fighting enzymes break down stubborn spots.
- Whitening ability: While decent at whitening, clothes washed in Persil were not quite as bright white as those washed in Tide or Gain. But dinginess did decline.
- Scent: Persil’s clean scent is relatively mild compared to others.
- Gentleness: Persil is formulated to be effective while gentle, which held true in my testing.
- Value: At around $0.16 per load, Persil offers value pricing.
And the Winner Is…
While scent preference and pricing may dictate what laundry detergent ends up in your shopping basket, if cleaning power is your top priority, Tide came out on top as the overall best laundry detergent in my tests. While the other two products also performed well, nothing matched the stain-fighting enzymes and whitening agents in Tide when it came to getting clothes looking like new again.
So if you have active kids who come home with grass-stained knees or grease-smeared uniforms, choose Tide next laundry day. Or if you just want your whites to look crisp again without yellowing, Tide can help bring back brightness. With so many great scents to choose from like mountain spring, floral powder, apple blossom, etc., you’re sure to find one suited to your preference.
While Tide costs a bit more than bargain brands, keep in mind that you typically use less per load since it’s highly concentrated. So you come out ahead with cleaner clothes that you won’t have to rewash! For the best clean, you can’t go wrong with the cleaning power of Tide.
The Takeaway
After extensive testing of the most popular laundry detergents, Tide consistently cleans and whitens clothes best and tackles the widest variety of stains thanks to its specialized formula and enzymes. But give Gain and Persil a try if you prefer a different scent or price point over max cleaning power. Minor differences aside, all three detergents are highly effective at what matters most – getting your clothes fresh and clean!
References
Tide website. https://tide.com
Gain website. https://gain.com
Persil website. https://persil.com
Consumer Reports top-rated laundry detergents. May 2022. https://www.consumerreports.org
Good Housekeeping 10 best laundry detergents tested by cleaning pros. January 2023. https://www.goodhousekeeping.com
Laura has had an enthusiasm for laundry ever since she was a teenager experimenting with wash cycles. She went on study textile science in college before working in product testing.
Soon, Laura found friends and family constantly asking her laundry advice, realizing she had become an unofficial laundry guru. The questions kept coming in, so Laura decided to start sharing laundry tips online to help more people. The enthusiastic response led her start the blog “Laundry How”.
Now in her late thirties, Laura uses Laundry How to tackle all kinds of laundry topics – stains, fabric care, detergents, and more. She provides advice from both her studies and experience testing techniques out firsthand. Laura continues to grow an engaged community of laundry learners, feeling fulfilled empowering people to make laundry an easy, confidence-building ritual rather than a dreaded chore.