Is it worth paying for Fairy Liquid? Washing-up liquid is one item that every household needs and one that is often debated.
Does more expensive mean better? We put Fairy to the test against Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl, Aldi, Morrison's and next-best-selling brand Ecover.
Testing the detergents on price, effectiveness, fragrance, and overall value, we try to answer the question "which is the best washing-up liquid?"
This is ho we got on.
Read more: We compared Lurpak to the Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons versions and one was a cut above.
Price
The cheapest option was from Lidl at 68p per litre. This was closely followed by Asda, Aldi, then Tesco. The detergents from Morrisons and Sainsbury's were both over £1.00 per litre.
Fairy and Ecover were significantly more expensive. Fairy came in at £2.30 per litre, and Ecover at £2.63 per litre.
Full list of prices below:
Asda: 37p for 500ml (74p/litre)
Lidl: 68p for 1000ml (68p/litre)
Morrisons: 49p for 450ml (£1.08/litre)
Aldi: 42p for 500ml (82p/litre)
Sainsbury's: 55p for 450ml (£1.22/litre)
Tesco: 38p for 450ml (84p/litre)
Fairy: £1.00 for 433ml (£2.30/litre)
Ecover: £2.50 for 950ml (£2.63/litre)
Fragrance
I tried to keep it as close to Fairy as possible, so selected the lemon option for each brand.
Six of the eight liquids were simply called "lemon", but two were slightly different. Asda tried to spice things up with "zesty lemon", while Ecover opted for the slightly fancier "lemon and aloe vera".
The liquids from Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Sainsbury's and Tesco smell almost identical: like synthetic lemon flavouring that you would find in car air fresheners or cleaning products.
Fairy smells slightly sweeter, while the Lidl product smells like sherbet lemon sweets. Ecover's offering was by far the nicest fragrance, almost like shower gel or hand soap.
Effectiveness
I tested each liquid with hot water in a full sink and used the same bamboo scrubbing sponge, in order to keep it fair.
I noticed no difference in the cleaning power of any of the detergents. All worked on plates, cutlery, greasy pans, coffee-stained mugs, and baked-in food.
They all got pretty bubbly too.
Overall value
The most important test of which washing-up liquid is the best is how long it lasts. For full disclosure, this was not a scientific test. I did not measure out the same amount of liquid each time I did the washing up.
I did my washing up as normal, squirting a small amount of liquid into the bowl and filling the sink to do a full load of dishes. I used each liquid for four days and compared them visually.
All of the supermarket own-brand versions were used up at a similar rate. I found they had big nozzles so a lot of liquid comes out with each squirt.
Fairy and Ecover for me were on par. The bottles for both of these branded liquids feature a very small nozzle, which minimises how much of the product comes out each time. It makes sense, then, that these brands lasted longer than cheaper options.
Verdict
I was surprised to find that the liquids all smelled similar and worked just as well. Fairy and Ecover last the longest, but this is just because of the bottle.
If you have your own dispenser at home, then it really doesn't matter which liquid you buy and you should go for the cheapest option (Lidl). If you don't already have your own dispenser, I would recommend buying a bottle of Ecover and filling it with supermarket-brand liquid once it runs out.
It's worth mentioning that Ecover is the most environmentally-friendly option we tested, but there are other refillable schemes and plastic-free options out there if you order online from specialist stores.
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