Consumer Reports puts paper towels to the test

Friday, March 21, 2014

Paper towels are great for cleaning up spills and messes around the house and one of those everyday products we all rely on. Consumer Reports tested 18 paper towels, including some from Bounty, Viva, and Brawny. Plus store brands like Costco's Kirkland Signature and Walmart's Great Value.

"You want a paper towel that picks up a lot of liquid, and that doesn't fall apart when you use it. So we test for all that," said Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman, Consumer Reports.

First a simple absorbency test. Testers weigh a dry paper towel, dunk it in water, and then weigh it again to see how much water it can hold. To test for strength, testers use this machine. It measures how much force it takes to break through a wet paper towel.

And then there's the scrub test. A paper towel is strapped onto this machine, then passed over a rough surface. Some can handle lots of scrubbing; others, not so much. Bounty's DuraTowel rated excellent in all of consumer reports' tests.

"They aced the scrub test, so they're great for tougher messes. But they are expensive - around twice as much as other paper towels," said Kuperszmid Lehrman.

Consumer Reports' tests turned up some other good choices - some from viva and two others from bounty. Great Value strong and absorbent from Walmart was the best of the cheaper paper towels.

You shouldn't use a paper towel for everything. They'll scratch your glasses, your TV screens, and camera lenses. You're better off using a microfiber cloth instead. You can find those with the cleaning supplies in stores like Walmart and Target.

Consumer Reports is published by Consumers Union. Both Consumer Reports and Consumers Union are not-for-profit organizations that accept no advertising. Neither has any commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.