Best everyday cleaning products for special events

Before shopping for food for your holiday baking and cooking, make sure you have enough cleaning supplies on hand, especially if you’re expecting house guests. This is the week to stock up on paper goods, detergents, and other cleaners so you have room in your shopping cart for a roast, veggies, and other fresh ingredients on your next supermarket outing. Here are the best paper goods and detergents from Consumer Reports tests plus some to skip.

Laundry detergents

• Liquid: Tide Plus Ultra Stain Release, 25 cents per load

• Powder: Tide HE Plus Bleach Alternative, 23 cents

• Packs: All Mighty Pacs Oxi, 17 cents

• Skip: Great Value Naturals (Walmart), 14 cents

Dishwasher detergents

• Packs: Cascade Complete ActionPacs, 29 cents per load

• Powder: Cascade Complete Powder, 21 cents

• Gel: Palmolive eco+, 6 cents

• Skip: BabyGanics Dish Dazzler, 27 cents
  

All-purpose cleaners

• Liquid: Pine-Sol Original, $2.48 per item

• Spray: Seventh Generation Natural All Purpose Cleaner, $3.99

• Spray: Green Works All Purpose Cleaner, $3.49

• Skip: Nice All Purpose Cleaner (Walgreens), $3.79

Paper towels

• Bounty DuraTowel, $4.04 per 100 square feet

• Bounty Extra Soft, $2.62

• Viva Choose-A-Size, $2.69

• Skip: Family Values Paper Towels (Family Dollar), $1.79
  

Toilet paper

• White Cloud 3-Ply Ultra (Walmart), 25 cents per 100 sheets

• Charmin Ultra Strong, 41 cents

• Quilted Northern Ultra Plush, 38 cents

• Skip: Scott 1000, 8 cents
  

Facial tissues

• Puffs Ultra Soft & Strong, $1.69 per 100 sheets

• Kleenex Lotion Aloe & E, $1.36

• Puffs Plus Lotion, $2.52

• Skip: Ology Soft & Strong (Walgreens), $1.08

Need something that's not on this list? Check our recent report on "The best everyday products" at your local supermarket and the big box stores.

—Mary H.J. Farrell (@mhjfarrell on Twitter)

What to Get & What to Forget At ...

Catch up with our series on what to get and what to forget at the big box stores including:

Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's
Sears, Target, Walmart

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