I Tested 13 Laundry Detergents On The Worst Stains Imaginable!

Product reviewed (video subject)

A head-to-head test of 13 laundry detergents (liquids, sheets, and pods) against six common stains:

• Egg yolk
• Ketchup/mustard mix
• Soy sauce
• Coffee
• Blackberry/blueberry
• Motor oil/gear-oil type stains

Plus an additional scenario for mud/dirt + foul gear-oil odor, with a final overall ranking using measured stain “color score” / whiteness metrics.

Key features evaluated (what brands claim)

• Concentration: many are marketed as “ultra concentrated” or “two times concentrated.”
• Hypoallergenic / sensitive-skin positioning: Amazon Basics, Earth Breeze, All, Seventh Generation.
• Whitening / color protection claims:
  • Persil premium deep clean
  • Tide pods color protection
• OxiBoost / oxygen / stain-fighting boosters: Tide Ultra, Gain, Tide Pods, plus an OxiClean booster tested separately.
• Ingredient restrictions / “safer ingredients”:
  • Earth Breeze: no parabens/phthalates/phosphates/bleach/dyes/optical brighteners
  • Molly’s Suds: no formaldehyde/dioxane/synthetic dyes/fragrances/SLS/optical brighteners
  • All: perfume & dye free

Main pros / cons observed (from results described)

Pros (best performers across categories)

• Tide Ultra with OxiBoost: strong overall across stains, repeatedly competitive in the top spots.
• Persil (liquid): very strong—especially on coffee—and 2nd overall.
• Tide Pods: generally excellent across many stains (3rd overall), with notably good oil/gear-oil handling.

Cons (weaker performers)

Several “gentler/sensitive” and/or “eco/ingredient-restricted” options struggled in at least one major category:

• Earth Breeze sheets: notably weak on egg and mud/gear-oil in the summarized comparisons.
• Molly’s Suds: underwhelming overall, especially weak on gear oil.
• Arm & Hammer liquid and some sheets: inconsistent; the liquid performed especially poorly on oil (worse than water in that specific measurement).

Convenience vs performance tradeoff

• Sheets were generally less messy, but often didn’t beat equivalent-performance liquids.
• Arm & Hammer sheets did not consistently outperform their liquid counterpart; early results were described as “too close to call,” while overall ranking favored liquids/pods with OxiBoost.

Price/value highlights mentioned

The video repeatedly compares cost per load:

• Budget leaders:
  • Amazon Basics (~$0.06/load)
  • Purex (~$0.08/load)
• Mid/high:
  • Persil (~$0.20/load)
  • Tide Ultra (~$0.23/load)
  • Tide Pods (~$0.24–$0.24+/pod-equivalent cost)
  • Earth Breeze (~$0.20/sheet; more expensive than Arm & Hammer sheets)

Verdict framing:

• If money matters most: choose Amazon Basics or Purex
• For best cleaning: pay more for Tide Ultra (with Persil as next best)

Stain-testing outcomes (major findings with numeric ratings)

The video used a measured color/lightness score where higher = better.

Coffee stain (color score averages)

• Control (water only): 73.62
• Amazon Basics: 76.92
• Purex: 73.65
• Arm & Hammer liquid: 74.71
• Persil: 78.57 (lead)
• Earth Breeze: 75.13
• Molly’s Suds: 74.96
• Tide Ultra: 79.66 (lead)
• Gain: 76.20
• Tide Pods: 76.17
• Seventh Generation: 78.13
• OxiClean booster: 75.99

Berry (blackberry/blueberry) stain (average color score)

• Water only: 68.13
• Amazon Basics: 71.12
• Purex: 68.75
• Arm & Hammer liquid: 67.61
• Arm & Hammer sheets: 69.52
• Persil: 71.46 (lead so far)
• Earth Breeze: 68.08
• Molly’s Suds: 68.52
• Tide Ultra: 72.70
• Gain: 74.51
• Tide Pods: 74.55 (lead)
• All: 71.90
• Seventh Generation: 70.55
• OxiClean booster: 81.75 (best for berry)

Egg stain (average color score)

• Water-only control: 84.57
• Amazon Basics: 87.05
• Purex: 88.20 (best)
• Arm & Hammer liquid: 86.12
• Arm & Hammer sheets: 86.48
• Persil: 87.41
• Earth Breeze: 86.18
• Molly’s Suds: 86.36
• Tide Ultra: 87.30
• Gain: 87.89
• Tide Pods: 87.28
• All: 86.58
• Seventh Generation: 87.18
• OxiClean booster: 86.72
• Stated podium: Purex 1st, Gain 2nd, Persil 3rd

Motor oil / gear oil stain

• Water-only control: 49.01
• Amazon Basics: 53.34
• Purex: 55.69 (early lead in this segment)
• Arm & Hammer liquid: 48.04 (worse than water)
• Arm & Hammer sheets: 53.21
• Persil: 57.60
• Earth Breeze: 54.59
• Molly’s Suds: 54.76
• Tide Ultra: 62.24 (best)
• Gain: 56.45
• Tide Pods: 60.67 (2nd)
• All: 55.10
• Seventh Generation: 53.09
• OxiClean booster: 50.02
• Stated best-for-oil: Tide Ultra, then Tide Pods, then Persil

Mud + gear-oil odor scenario (final “muddy laundry with gear oil”)

For mud/whiteness measurement

• Water-only whiteness: 74.97
• Tide Ultra: 79.75 (2nd in mud list, but top overall)
• OxiClean booster: 79.84 (best mud score)
• Persil: 79.69 (3rd)
• Amazon Basics: 78.62
• Purex: 79.27
• Gain: 77.97
• Tide Pods: 78.07
• Earth Breeze: 75.49
• Molly’s Suds: 74.67
• All: 75.53
• Seventh Generation: 78.5

For gear oil stain removal

• Water-only oil score: 52.13
• Amazon Basics: 63.43
• Purex: 65.41
• Arm & Hammer liquid: 61.14
• Arm & Hammer sheets: 59.16
• Persil: 66.87 (best after Tide Ultra/Pods)
• Earth Breeze: 59.8
• Molly’s Suds: 48.4
• Tide Ultra: 69.62
• Tide Pods: 72.16 (best)
• Gain: 65.6
• All: 66.22
• Seventh Generation: 56.68
• OxiClean booster: 65.13

Direct comparisons made

• Budget comparison: Amazon Basics vs Purex vs Arm & Hammer
  • Amazon Basics generally improved over water.
  • Purex was often close but not dominant in some stain types.
• “Gentle/sensitive” brands vs performance
  • Earth Breeze and Molly’s Suds were repeatedly described as lagging in mud/gear-oil performance.
• OxiClean booster vs detergents
  • OxiClean booster highlighted as best for berry (81.75) and top for mud (79.84), but it was not the overall winner.
• Tide Ultra vs Tide Pods
  • Both near the top overall.
  • Tide Ultra won overall average; Tide Pods led gear-oil stain in the mud scenario (72.16).

Unique points mentioned about the product/test approach

• Tested 13 detergents with multiple stain types and a water control to measure real benefit.
• Used soaking + sun + 48 hours drying for dried stains.
• Used measured lightness/color scores for some stains (including coffee, berry, egg, oil, and mud/gear-oil).
• Evaluated both stain removal and indirect issues like soap suds / progress, and mentioned possible stain transfer/color fading using a red shirt control early on.
• Included multiple detergent forms: liquids, sheets, pods, plus OxiClean booster alone.

Speakers/views

• Single test presenter/host voice: ran the entire comparison, shared brand claims (concentration, hypoallergenic, OxiBoost, sensitive-skin), and presented measured results and ranking conclusions.

Concise verdict / recommendation

• Overall best pick: Tide Ultra with OxiBoost — strongest overall average (reported finish: 2.3) and top performance across most stain categories.
• Best “premium alternative”: Persil — 2nd overall (average finish: 3.4), especially strong on coffee.
• Best for oil/gear-oil in that final scenario: Tide Pods — best gear-oil stain score (72.16), though 3rd overall.
• Best budget value: Amazon Basics or Purex — both finished in the top half for cost-per-load and overall performance.