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The big detergent comparison: Where can you save the most?

Written by Marianne Beckmann, market analysis expert

Published on August 15, 2024

Anyone who walks past a shelf in a supermarket today will immediately realize that everything is getting more expensive! So people try to save money wherever they can, and the manufacturers of various products make it difficult for us to compare prices by changing the packaging sizes and contents. On the contrary: packaging is deliberately designed in such a way that customers have difficulty comparing, in order to influence their purchasing decisions. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the detergent shelf. Almost every manufacturer has its own packaging sizes and contents. The number of loads of laundry contained is deliberately chosen so that no direct price comparison is possible. In this article, you will find out which detergent can really save you money, as well as time and effort, without compromising on quality.

What types of detergent are there?

When you stand in front of the detergent shelf in the supermarket, you are overwhelmed by the enormous selection of products. To get an initial overview, we want to first summarize the individual detergents into types: The currently most common types of detergent are:

- washing powder

- liquid detergent

- detergent pods

- detergent sheets

The price comparison

In order to compare the prices of the different detergents, we calculate the cost per load of laundry. This is the only logical way to make a comparison, because detergent manufacturers in the EU are obliged to use the unit of measurement "laundry load" equally. According to the European Detergent Regulation, a "laundry load" refers to 4.5kg of dry textiles with a normal level of soiling. The fact that modern washing machines can hold up to 9kg of laundry per load seems to be ignored by the legislator. To make a correct comparison, we divide the price of the respective product by the number of loads of laundry it contains. For our large-scale comparison, we compared over 250 different detergent products and came to the following result:

Flexible Table

	Waschpulver	Flüssigwaschmittel	Waschmittelpods	Waschmittelblätter
Durchschnittliche Kosten pro Wäscheladung	0,2€	0,31€	0,36€	0,16€

The evaluation

The most expensive products by far are the detergent pods, which is due to the high product price and the comparatively small number of loads of laundry per pack. The pods are also quite complex to produce. Liquid detergent follows in third place with an average of €0.31 per load of laundry. It is important to note that liquid detergent can quickly become more expensive than the pods due to the unclear dosage instructions. Manufacturers often misleadingly state the dosage instructions in order to increase consumption and encourage repeat purchases. Bad for the water and just as bad for your wallet. Often only half a dosing cap should be used for one wash. If you overdose, a bottle of liquid detergent often lasts less time than stated.

Washing powder and detergent sheets follow in second and first place. The powder suffers from the same problems as liquid detergent. The dosage instructions are unclear, often no measuring cup is included in the product and the consumption is artificially increased. We noticed the packaging sizes as being particularly negative: the washing powder boxes weigh up to 10kg, you need up to 100g of washing powder for a load of laundry and the cardboard boxes are often only 3/4 full, which takes up unnecessary storage space. Upon closer research, we found that washing powder manufacturers use fillers such as sodium salts to stretch the product so that it is larger. The customer is supposed to think that they are getting a lot of product for their money, even though the fillers only dissolve in the water and do not contribute to the washing performance.

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But what is the most convenient solution?

We not only evaluated the price, but also the convenience: liquid detergent and washing powder are often large, heavy containers that are bought in supermarkets or drugstores. Unclear dosage instructions increase the effort involved in washing clothes. Pods and detergent sheets, on the other hand, are easy to dose and easier to store. Since detergent sheets are not yet available in all supermarkets, young start-up companies have taken on the task of offering detergent sheets on the Internet. Due to their small size, orders can simply be delivered by the postman with the rest of the letters. One of these companies is OceanWash. They also offer the so-called "wash subscription", where you are supplied with supplies at freely selectable intervals without having to think about buying more.