Sometimes a paper towel is the only tool for the job, so it’s something we’re constantly buying. But which brand will do what we need so and not waste our money?
The experts at Consumer Reports just spent weeks putting six popular paper towels brands -- Amazon Basics, Brawny, Bounty, Amazon’s Presto!, Scott, and Sparkle -- through a series of pick-up, strength, and absorbency tests to find which brand comes out on top.
“Paper towels -- they’re not always the best option for the environment, but there are just some messes like kids’ messes and pet messes that you don’t want to have to wash out of a reusable paper towel,” said Jodhaira Rodriguez with Consumer Reports.
For quickly cleaning up spills, you want a single sheet to hold as much liquid as possible, so testers calculated the absorbency of each paper towel.
Testers also measured strength by slowly adding weighted test pellets into a cup held up by just a single wet paper towel until the paper towel gave out. The more and longer it can hold, the stronger it is.
A machine helped testers evaluate scrubbing strength. The best paper towels scrubbed a piece of sandpaper for about 15 cycles before breaking down; the worst struggled after just six cycles.
And -- apologies in advance -- Consumer Reports’ dedicated tester even simulated vomit with a concoction of chunky oatmeal and dehydrated vegetables to see how well each paper towel could pick up the mess.
“We also checked to see how fast each sheet ripped from its roll and whether or not a paper towel could be reused. And we evaluated the price -- both per roll and per sheet,” Rodriguez explained.
The winner? A name synonymous with paper towels for almost 60 years -- Bounty -- “The quicker picker upper,” had the highest overall score, but it comes at a price. Bounty was the most expensive brand tested. ($.04 per sheet/117 sheets per roll)
Consumer Reports says Brawny could be a good alternative if you’re trying to save a few dollars and don’t want to lose out on performance. ($.02 per sheet/120 sheets per roll)
CONSUMER REPORTS: Results for all paper towels tested
All the paper towels in Consumer Reports’ tests could be reused after light use. But paper towels aren’t recyclable. For routine cleaning, Consumer Reports recommends reusable paper towels and microfiber cloths, which you can wash and reuse. See recommended paper-towel alternatives here.