Liquid laundry detergent: store brands and homemade soap win out

Store brands and homemade soap dethrone branded detergent

A liquid laundry detergent from Fairy, the brand that dominates the dishwasher market, has landed in promotional leaflets promising to bring its effectiveness to the washing machine drum. The doubt is reasonable: does it work as well outside the sink? The answer among those who buy and compare is less epic than the packaging suggests. The price, they say, is the first hurdle: some wait for a discount before trying it, because the product is being advertised as a launch and has yet to convince anyone to dig into their pockets.

Which liquid laundry detergent offers the best value

The conversation starts with a double question: how well does Fairy's laundry detergent work, and what detergent do people use? The most common answer points to supermarket own brands. A Marseille-type liquid soap from Lidl, cited as a benchmark in an OCU (Spanish consumer organisation) comparison, wins the backing of several users. The same goes for Aldi's Tandil Universal, described with enthusiasm, along with a concentrated fabric softener from the same brand as a complement. The conclusion is simple: a low price doesn't miccionan a poor wash.

Some go further and buy from a local coconut soap maker, a former Mercadona supplier, and claim they don't even need fabric softener. The store brand thus becomes the common denominator for those who look at the price label before the fragrance label.

Homemade detergent from used oil and lye: pros and cons

The DIY route has convinced advocates. Some make their own detergent from used oil and lye and present it as the best and the cheapest. The problem arises when the mixture thickens: one user reports that the washing machine filter keeps getting clogged and that at home they miss the smell of clean laundry. The shared solution is to dilute the mixture more, use less soap and more water, and add fragrance with a splash of fabric softener, essential oils or plant infusions. Another method: make solid soap first, grate it and whisk it with water when needed.

The most detailed homemade recipe combines grated Lagarto soap bars, bicarbonate of soda, perborate or percarbonate and laundry activator in equal parts. With three 200-gram bars at 1.61 euros, the mixture lasts more than two months. For fabric softener, white vinegar with bicarbonate and a splash of cologne.

Capsules, fabric softener and odour: what goes wrong in the wash

Not everything new convinces. A branded gel-and-powder capsule gets a blunt critique: it doesn't dissolve and forces a hot wash on a long programme. For sweaty sportswear, the recommendation is a specific hygiene detergent; without it, the smell lingers. And on fabric softener there is growing consensus: it ruins breathable fabrics and elastics, so it's better to skip it.

It ends where the maths runs out: branded detergent remains in the leaflet and the shopping trolley keeps filling up with store brands. No one has yet measured what that difference really costs.