Consumer advocacy group Choice has put more than 40 supermarket laundry detergent products through the wringer, naming two Omo and one Aldi product as its best performers – while some other brands perform barely better than water.
In a lab test of 48 laundry powders, liquids and capsules, Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate, Omo Active Clean Powder and Omo Ultimate Powder shared equal-first billing for front loader washing machines, with all three products scoring 82% overall.
For consumers looking for a detergent that knocks their socks off, the Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate was the best value, with a price tag of $10.49 for a 2kg box or 44c per wash.
By comparison, Omo Ultimate Powder costs for $36 for a 2kg box or $1.16 per wash, making it the most expensive laundry powder in the test.
Chris Barnes, a Choice household expert said the results are “not surprising”. Omo and Aldi Trimat laundry powders historically perform well in Choice tests, although at very different price points. “Aldi …[tends] to produce some very good performers at quite a good price,” said Barnes. “But then you’ll get other brands like Omo who clearly are positioning themselves as a premium product.”
“Omo … do often come out pretty well. Although not necessarily better than the cheaper Aldi ones.”
In Choice’s test, which was conducted in an external lab, each detergent was taken for a spin in a front loader and top loader machine. Aldi Trimat Advanced Laundry Powder Concentrate also scored top marks when tested in a top loader, at 66%, while Omo Ultimate powder placed second with a score of 62%.
Barnes said the products were tested on swatches stained with perspiration, grass and mud, and “general soiling”, as well as olive oil, tomato, chocolate ice-cream, baby food, mineral oil, make up and blood.
After washing, the samples were measured with a spectrophotometer to assess their reflectance and how well the detergents performed. “It’s not just an eyeball measurement,” says Barnes.
There were some dud suds, with five detergents scoring below 50% – barely better than water. When tested in a top loader machine, Earthwise Sensitive Laundry Liquid scored just 47%, making it the overall worst-ranked product of the test. By comparison, soiled laundry washed only in water in a top loader scored 43%.
Active Expert Laundry Capsules and Earthwise Orange & Eucalyptus Laundry Liquid were also among the worst-performers in top loaders, both scoring 48%.
Said Barnes: “You’re still paying a lot for not much more than water.” Earthwise Sensitive Laundry Liquid and Earthwise Orange & Eucalyptus Laundry Liquid cost 50c per wash.
Guardian Australia contacted Earthwise and Metcash, the company behind Active Expert.
Speaking generally about laundry detergents, Barnes said he can’t make a “clear conclusion” between a product’s environmental claims and its performance, as a lack of green claims on a product’s packaging don’t always correspond to a lack of green behaviours by a manufacturer. “Just because something claims to be eco-friendly, doesn’t always mean that the ones that don’t claim it, are not,” he said.
As an example, many detergent brands have minimised or phased out phosphate chemicals over the years he said. “I think a lot of the manufacturers do look to be as environmentally friendly as they can, but they’re not always putting a top focus on it.”
