Canstar Blue’s paper towels review compares Viva, Quilton, Handee, ALDI Confidence, Naturale, Coles Ultra, Woolworths Essentials and Coles on strength & quality, absorption, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction.
Viva cleaned up in Canstar Blue’s paper towels review for the FOURTH year in a row, with five-star reviews for absorption, strength & quality, packaging design and overall satisfaction.
When it comes to cleaning up, paper towels are a staple for many Aussie households. Whether it’s to wipe down the kitchen bench, clean up the BBQ, or even check the engine oil, there are plenty of good uses for the humble paper towel both inside and outside the home. It might also be on your packing list for camping trips and picnics! So, with paper towels playing such an important role, you’ll want to find a quality product, so you don’t end up using the whole roll for one spill! Buying ‘cheap’ might not mean you’re buying an inferior product, but buying the most expensive may not guarantee the best value for money either.
To find out which brands are keeping Aussies happy when doing the most unpleasant tasks (cleaning), we have again surveyed more than 1,900 consumers who have bought and used paper towels in the last six months. Brands were rated on their strength and quality, absorption, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those that received the minimum survey sample size of 30 responses are rated in this year’s report.
Our latest annual ratings saw Viva soak up a fourth consecutive win, rating best for overall satisfaction and most other categories.
Here are the best paper towel brands in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
Viva cleaned up the competition as the best-rated brand for absorption, strength and quality, packaging design and overall satisfaction. Runner-up Quilton and Naturale also scored top marks for packaging, while ALDI Confidence rated best for value for money.
When it comes to choosing the brand of paper towels to go with, our research revealed that about two in five (40%) Aussies always buy the same brand. Other key findings from our research included:
When it comes to buying paper towels, there are a few key factors that will make or break the paper towel (literally). Our survey identified the following drivers of customer satisfaction when it comes to paper towels:
The strength and quality of a paper towel is another factor affecting customer satisfaction. If you’ve ever tried to wipe up a greasy grill on a BBQ and half of the paper towel got left behind – doubling the cleaning you needed to do – you’d also value the strength and quality of paper towels.
Many brands boast fast absorption times, but whether they live up to these claims is another matter. That’s why we survey customers to find out which are really living up to their expectations. There’s not much point in using a paper towel that fails to soak up liquids or clean up spills, especially if you need to use almost half a roll each time.
Getting good value for money is also important, which makes sense considering how many rolls you’d go through in a lifetime. However, buying the cheapest brand might not always get the job done. According to our review, a fifth (21%) of survey respondents typically buy the cheapest brand of paper towels, although roughly the same number (19%) regret buying the cheap stuff as it doesn’t soak up spills or tears too easily. That isn’t to say that all cheap brands are a flop though, but it’s something you might like to keep in mind.
While packaging design won’t have any impact on cleaning performance, it’s still an important factor to consider. Packaging that’s easy to open helps with the overall cleaning process. Think urgent clean-ups and annoying plastic packaging! Some brands boast environmentally-friendly packaging to help reduce waste.
Viva has topped our paper towel ratings for the fourth year in a row, which gives credibility to the brand. If how well a paper towel can absorb a big spill is the most important factor to you, then Viva, Quilton, Handee, and ALDI Confidence might be the brands to consider, according to our review. But, if you’re on a budget, you may like to look at supermarket branded options like ALDI Confidence which was rated to provide the best value for money. At the end of the day, it’s important to compare a range of brands, as you’ll want a paper towel that gets the job done every time.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Content Lead, Megan Birot. She’s an expert on household appliances, health & beauty products, as well as all things grocery and shopping. When she’s not writing up our research-based ratings reports, Megan spends her time helping consumers make better purchase decisions, whether it’s at the supermarket, other retailers, or online, highlighting the best deals and flagging anything you need to be aware of.
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased and used paper towels in the last six months – in this case, 1,972 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
Here are the previous winning brands of Canstar Blue’s paper towels review:
Appliances - April 13th
Gas or electric, convection or conventional? Find out which type of oven is right for your home.
– Read more
Best-Rated Home Security Systems - March 16th
As a result, it makes sense that you want to take care of your investment, from ensuring that your solar panels are installed correctly through to checking that you’re on a decent feed-in tariff, as …
– Read more
Appliances - March 15th
Kmart just released a gadget that could cut your cleaning time in half. The budget department store’s new $39 Anko handheld scrubbing brush is designed to tackle all the scrubbing jobs you dread AND works …
– Read more
Appliances - February 5th
Curtains, padded textiles and sofas can elevate your home décor, but we all know too well that removing stains, spills and dust from fibres in carpets, rugs, and upholstery can be tricky, if not seemingly …
– Read more
Appliances - January 20th
Who cleans the cleaner? Washing machine cleaners cost under $10 and can help keep your washing machine performing well. Find out more at Canstar Blue.
– Read more