Product Comparison: Purex Vs Tide Laundry Detergents

When you have a big family, that washing machine seems to be running day and night. Between the warm water, the laundry soap, and all the special stain removing additives, keeping a family in clean clothes can get pretty expensive.

My Mother was a Tide fan from way back. We lived on a farm and she swore there was nothing out there that knocked the stains like Tide. It was more expensive than other brands of detergent, but she couldn't be convinced to switch. When I set up house as a young bride, Tide was the laundry soap I chose as well.

Why I switched brands

As our family grew, my husband and I began looking at ways to stretch the monthly paycheck. Even though we had been brand loyal to the products that our own parents used, we realized that we couldn't afford to continue using some of these more expensive brand names. Laundry soap was one of the products that saw the switch.

Now our family has rather sensitive skin, and we soon discovered that many of the budget brands of soap were too harsh. The children would get rashes on their legs and the sheets would be too scratchy to sleep in. Eventually we found Purex, and 18 years later, Purex still continues to be our daily laundry soap.

So how does it compare?

There are two major differences between the products. Most significant is the price. The basic Tide soap (without any additives) retails at $7.99 for a 40 load box. Plain Purex retails at $4.99 for a 40 load box. Purex does seem to be on sale quite a bit, and can usually be found for $2.99 at my favorite discount grocery warehouse.