BLOG: Best Toilet Paper (Seriously)
By Jim Donovan: If balancing strength and softness is a big challenge for you when it comes to toilet paper, well I've got good news. In its latest ratings of toilet tissue Consumer Reports' finds that White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra Soft and Thick (Walmart) wiped out the competition. Twenty five varieties of toilet papers were tested for strength, softness, tearing ease and disintegration and products with "green" claims often made trade-offs between these features.
In Consumer Reports' tests, Walmart's White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra Soft and Thick beat out the second-highest scoring toilet paper, Quilted Northern Ultra Plush, by a meaningful margin. It was soft, strong and an exceptional value at 25 cents per 100 sheets – it was the only toilet paper tested deemed a CR Best Buy. Although Quilted Northern Ultra Plush was not as strong as the top-rated White Cloud, it delivered excellent softness and tearing ease and costs 38 cents per 100 sheets.
Consumer Reports also tested "green" toilet paper, including Trader Joe's Super Soft Bath Tissue, 19 cents per 100 sheets. It was very soft but faltered when it came to strength and tearing ease. Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value, 18 cents per 100 sheets, and CVS's Earth Essential, 8 cents per 100 sheets, landed at the bottom of the Ratings due to roughness and middling strength and tearing ease – yet both offer excellent disintegration.
Rolls that do away with the cardboard tube are the latest thing in toilet-paper marketing. However, Consumer Reports found that it was not as easy to unravel, the paper did not tear off easily, and it was harder to place the roll in the holder.
The full report on toilet paper, which features the complete Ratings, tips on how to choose, and products that have been downsized, is available in the May issue of Consumer Reports and online at www.ConsumerReports.org.
