Washing-up liquid

Magnum from Aldi€ 0.79 for 500ml €1.58 per litre

Oh look, there is a cheaper option to Fairy. While we appreciate some readers may consider us touched to even suggest that this product can rival the biggest player in the market, it does deliver sparkling dishes at a fraction of the price of its better known rival.

The bubbles last longer and it cleans dishes as well as Fairy does.

Seriously.

And if you don't believe us, believe Which?

Last autumn, for the first time in 20 years, the consumer group failed to give its top slot in its washing up liquid test to Fairy after Aldi’s Magnum pipped it at the post.

It said Aldi’s foam bubbles lasted slightly longer so less had to be used each time.

Verdict:Very good value

Star rating: *****

Persil €1.49 for 500ml €2.98 per litre

So, Persil make washing up liquid now?

Yes, it does, although based on our admittedly limited experience of it, it has some work to do before it matches the more established brands on the market. We were promised apple fizz, but, like the Tesco Apple washing-up liquid, it was very quick to go flat.

It is remarkably similar to the Tesco own-brand product, with the only real difference being the price and, try as we might, we could not work out how the manufacturer could justify charging 60 cent more for this. It struggled to get our dishes clean and we would have concerns that a bottle would disappear a lot faster than a bottle of the market leading brand.

Verdict: Poor

Star rating: **

Fairy €2.40 for 650ml €3.69 per litre

It won’t come as news that Fairy makes a very good washing up liquid and has been doing so for generations.

It promises to last up to 50 per cent longer than the next best-selling brand and, unlike the claims made by many companies, this one stands up to some scrutiny with the august Which?consumer magazine in the UK always ranking it very highly in its rigorous tests.

We certainly found it to be super-efficient when it came to doing our dishes, it left our wine glasses squeaky clean, the bubbles stayed bubbly for longer and we know from experience a bottle will last a very long time.

It is pricey, however. If only there was a cheaper option.

Verdict:Excellent, dear.

Star rating: ****

TESCO APPLE €0.89 for 500ml €1.78 per litre

We would very much like to give this washing-up liquid a rave review because it smells like an orchard – well, like an orchard that has been hosed down with soapy water – and it is very cheap.

Sadly, we can’t find too many nice things to say about it as despite its cheapness and its smelliness, it let us down terribly.

It was the first of the liquids to lose its bubbles and had taken on a murky swamp-like appearance within minutes of us starting the washing up.

Of more concern was its cleaning ability.

It did not leave our wine glasses sparkling and it really struggled to get off the burned-on mess we had deliberately cooked on to on our sample dish.

Verdict:Cheap

Star rating:***

Ecover €2.19 for 500ml €4.38 per litre

It is hard to get away from the price of this product.

It is more than twice as expensive as the cheapest brand on the market and while we think the environmentally sound approach the company takes to its business is to be commended we simply can’t justify the higher spend.

It is by some margin the dearest of the washing-up liquids reviewed and a very long way from being the best.

The suds were poor and it was not great at powering through a mountain of dishes.

Verdict:Disappointing.

Star rating:**