AS the cost of living soars, the price of many every day items is going up.
A large three litre bottle of Comfort Fabric Conditioner will now set you back £4.50 at most supermarkets.
Lynsey Hope taste tested fabric conditioners.
But can you get your clothes feeling soft and smelling fresh for less?
We asked mum-of-three Lynsey Hope, 41, from West Malling, Kent, to try out some cheaper own brand options to see how they compare to the big brands.
Here’s what happened:
Winner Asda Sensitive Fabric Softener (74 washes)
Asda is todays winner
Lynsey says: “Asda’s softener did a great job of softening clothes and is a great value bottle.
“I loved that it’s a big bottle, enough for 74 washes, and it’s only 3p per wash. I was able to use it on my five-year-old daughter’s clothes even though she has very sensitive skin and it smells nice.
“I went back for more and it was sold out so will have to keep looking. Great product, great price from Asda.”
- Efficiency: 10/10
- Value: 10/10
- Overall rating: 10/10
- Total score: 30/30
Sainsbury’s Gentle Pure Fabric Conditioner (42 washes)
Sainsbury’s placed a close second
Lynsey says: “A lovely option from Sainsbury’s at a great price.
“Again, almost identical to Comfort or Fairy at a fraction of the price. You’d never have known it was different.
“It smelled lovely and left clothes feeling soft and with a nice subtle smell. A winning price too.”
- Efficiency: 9/10
- Value: 9/10
- Overall rating: 9/10
- Total score: 27/30
Essential Waitrose Fabric Conditioner Gentle (50 washes)
Waitrose placed third
Lynsey says: “A great price and great product from Waitrose.
“It’s not the cheapest but still 3p cheaper per wash than Fairy. The smell is delicate and subtle and clothes were super soft after washing.
It’s at least as good as any brand if not better. Great results.”
- Efficiency: 9/10
- Value: 7/10
- Overall rating: 8/10
- Total score: 24/30
Comfort Pure Fabric Conditioner (33 washes)
Comfort is a classic brand
Lynsey says: “I’ve used Comfort for many years and it always makes the washing smell lovely and clean.
It’s very sensitive on the skin and doesn’t clog up my washing machine. However, it’s so expensive now that I feel it’s time to look for something a bit cheaper.”
- Efficiency: 9/10
- Value: 6/10
- Overall rating: 8/10
- Total score: 23/30
Aldi Almat So Soft Fabric Conditioner (42 washes)
Aldi’s scored the same as Comfort
Lynsey says: “Super cheap fabric conditioner from Aldi. It costs less than half the price per wash of Comfort and Fairy.
“It wasn’t my favourite and did leave a few lumps in the machine drawer after washing. However, it had a subtle fragrance and clothes felt ok afterwards.
“Nothing much to complain about and if you’re tightening the purse strings, it’s a fab price.”
- Efficiency: 6/10
- Value: 10/10
- Overall rating: 7/10
- Total score: 23/30
Morrisons Pure Fabric Conditioner (42 washes)
Morrisons has a thick consistency
Lynsey says: “You really can’t tell the difference between this and Comfort and it’s only £1.65.
“It has quite a thick consistency so you don’t need to use a lot, a little goes a long way. It left clothes feeling soft and smelling fragrant.
“It doesn’t have the strong scent others do but was pleasant enough. A great price.”
- Efficiency: 9/10
- Value: 5/10
- Overall rating: 7/10
- Total score: 21/30
Fairy Fabric Softener (33 washes)
Fairy is a well known brand
Lynsey says: “The most expensive of the bunch. It did a great job, leaving clothes soft and fragrant, but there are cheaper alternatives which are just as good.
“It’s the same price as Asda’s bottle but only does half the number of washes and before you knew it, the bottle was empty. Not great for a family of five with lots of dirty washing!”
- Efficiency: 7/10
- Value: 5/10
- Overall rating: 6/10
- Total score: 18/30
Tesco Pure Fabric Conditioner (42 washes)
Tescos didn’t score well
Lynsey says: “This looked a little watery but it left clothes soft and fresh.
“My only complaint was a few lumps left in the machine drawer that I had to wash out after the cycle was finished.”
- Efficiency: 5/10
- Value: 5/10
- Overall rating: 5/10
- Total score: 15/30
Lidl Formil Tropical Lily Fabric Conditioner (28 washes)
Lidl’s unfortunately placed last
Lynsey says: “Not the budget option you’d expect from Lidl, it was actually second most expensive in our test.
“I didn’t like it at all. It clogged up my machine drawer afterwards and clothes weren’t noticeably softer or more fragrant after the wash. My least favourite.”
- Efficiency: 2/10
- Value: 2/10
- Overall rating: 2/10
- Total score: 6/30
We’ve also tested own brand supermarket kitchen roll and a budget version was the best.
We also tested supermarket chopped tomatoes and one 28p can tastes better than Napolina.
And we tested supermarket fish fingers against expensive rivals and you’ll be surprised who won.