Saturday, August 11, 2007

Store Brands

I am all about saving money. I'm, for the most part, not brand loyal. Ziplock bags, wipes, olive oil, butter, condensed soups...the store brand is good enough. Really whatever is cheaper, on sale or just plain better deal is what I buy.

Well, I've been using this store brand dishwashing detergent. And I've noticed my dishes are just looking dull and sometimes not getting clean. Especially the silverware (not real silver) has just been looking BAD. I finished up the off brand stuff and had a bottle of Cascade that I had gotten on sale at CVS. (Which, by the way, tends to put name-brand stuff on sale often). When I opened the dishwasher, I immediately noticed how shiny and clean everything looked.

I thought, did I wash on a different cycle? No. The only thing I did differently was change detergents. So now I'm wondering, is it THAT much better?

Anybody got any opinions on this? Not just dishwashing detergent, but do you have any store brand/real thing preferences?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I found that Target has the closest store brand to real brand items. Their store brands are almost identical to name brands! I have had a few times when the store brand just did not do well compared to a name brand. I wouldn't get that kind again and just try to save money on the other store brand things!

Jen said...

i totally agree!!! dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent are the biggies for me right now. i used to be a cheapskate and buy the off brand dishwasher detergent until i splurged on some cascade and it made a huge difference. i also am hooked on All laundry detergent, too. i can deal with off brand everything else.

Karen @Snakes-Snails-Puppydogtails said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE Target brand!!! It works so great and their market pantry food is yummy!

Stephen and Tara said...

I think that most cleaning supplies are better in the name brand. They are less deluted and clean better. You can find good deals on these name brands a lot of times at dollar stores.

ellieandavasmommy said...

Some of my favorites:

~DAWN liquid dish soap
~SWIFFER brand
~Dollar General "Sun Oxygen" cleaner, instead of Oxy Clean
~DOWNY fabric softener (liquid)
~Wal-Mart version of Pantene hair products
...I could go on and on, but those are some of my very favorites.

Rachel said...

If you want something BETTER than Cascade, I LOVE the Electrosol Powerball Tabs. There are 20 in a container and you use one per wash. You don't even have to scrub your plates before putting them into the dishwasher...it gets EVERYTHING off! It is amazing!

Anonymous said...

It really depends. I find most store brands are the exact same. Working for a grocery store, I know that sometimes the store brand is made by the brand company! Somethings, no. I know dish detergent is best with the name brand.