Paper Towels That Are Worth Your Money

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Story Published: Nov 17, 2009 at 8:38 PM PDT

By Jackie Watanabe

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For small spills and messes, paper towels come in handy. But walk down the paper towel aisle, and you have rolls and rolls of options.

Consumer Reports tested more than 20 paper towels including ones from Viva, Bounty, and Scott, and even the ones claiming to be made from recycled paper.

In absorbency tests, testers measured the amount of water each paper towel holds. They adjusted for sheet-size differences.

"Our tests found the best paper towels held almost three ounces of water, but the worst performers held just half an ounce," said Kim Kleman from Consumer Reports.

In a wet-strength test , Consumer Reports measured how much weight a wet towel can support before it breaks. Some held significantly more than others.

In another test, paper towels were scubbed against a tile surface ubtil it started to shred.

One brand started to shred after 25 scrubs. But other brands held up after more than 50 scrubs.

Among the green paper towels tested, Consumer Reports found most using recycled paper were pretty weak.

"Practically every green paper towel we tested scored at the bottom of each of our tests," Kleman said.

Bounty Extra Soft was the clear winner, wiping up the competition.

For other good quality and less expensive paper towels, try Walgreens Ultra Quilted or Viva Kleenex.

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