Aldi bursts Fairy’s bubble in washing-up liquid rankings

An own-brand washing-up liquid from German discount retailer Aldi has been named the best performing in the market, pipping the major brand Fairy Liquid to the post.

Aldi’s Magnum Premium washing-up liquid performed the best in the test of 13 different products by the consumer group Which? with an overall score of 89%. It was also rated for being great value for money at 79p for 500ml. Fairy Platinum came a close second for performance, with a score of 88%, but was more expensive at £1.70 for 383ml.

The consumer group first analysed the cleaning power of washing-up liquid in 1959 (well before automated dishwashers became common in British homes) and this year has put 13 labels from supermarkets and major brands to the test.

Researchers carried out separate tests to measure fat removal and foam duration. For the former, they poured 1.2kg of animal fat on to 742 plates and counted how many were cleaned before the fat started being redeposited on the plates. In the foam duration test, researchers smeared 759 plates with foodstuffs, including beef tallow, margarine, lard and flour. They then counted the number of plates that each liquid cleaned before the foam disappeared.

Aldi and Fairy cleaned a similar number of greasy plates per 100ml, but Aldi’s Magnum Premium washed nearly three times as many plates per £1 spent. Tesco’s Expert Lemon washing-up liquid was the worst performing overall, with a score of 37%, and only washed 1,200 plates per 100ml. Aldi’s Magnum Premium, by comparison, washed 2,350 plates per 100ml.

Aldi’s Magnum Premium washing-up liquid is available in selected stores but will be on sale more widely from September. Which? said Fairy Original was not available to be tested due to current reformulation of the product.

Two Ecover washing-up liquid products - Lemon & Aloe Vera and Gentle Touch Mango & Shea Butter – came 11th and 12th in the survey after scoring only 38% and 37% respectively.

Richard Headland, editor of Which? said: “We first tested washing-up liquid 55 years ago, but the past few years seem to have been the most competitive with supermarket own labels giving the major brands a run for their money.”

Over the past nine years Fairy has been the top scorer six times. Aldi has taken top position on the other three occasions.