Consumer Reports tested more than fifty detergents in both top-loaders and high-efficiency washers to get the answer.
"We also run the same kind of load using just plain water so we can see what difference the detergent makes," said Bob Markovich of Consumer Reports.
One of the more surprising results was from Martha Stewart's "Clean" laundry detergent, which claims it "removes tough stains."
So, how did Martha's detergent do?
In conventional top-loaders, there was barely a difference between the swatches washed in Martha's detergent, and those washed in plain water. Results from high-efficiency washers were only slightly better.
So which detergents did do well? For conventional top-loaders, Tide 2X Ultra Concentrated for Cold Water worked best.
And for high-efficiency machines, Gain Original Fresh HE is a best buy at just six cents a load!
If you're looking for a green laundry detergent, both Kirkland Signature Free and Clear 2-X Ultra and Seventh Generation Natural Powdered HE cleaned reasonably well. Both are for high-efficiency top-loading machines.
Hain-Celestial manufactures Martha Stewart Clean Products. The company says it has received no consumer complaints about the detergent's performance. It also says a report by another independent testing agency called NSF indicates the 'Clean' detergent performs as well or better than the other products on the Consumer Reports list.
