By Zach Pozniak, VP of Operations at Jeeves of Belgravia New York and fourth-generation dry cleaner · @jeeves_ny
Last reviewed November 2026 · based on my own hands-on lab testing · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tide Odor Refresh liquid is out of stock on Amazon, so its links go to the pods version; the score is for the liquid I tested.
Quick answer: Persil Ultra Concentrated ↗ scored 108 in my lab test, the highest score I have ever given. It is the new top-performing laundry detergent, dethroning Ariel 2X powder ↗ after 61 weeks in the number one spot. The score was driven mostly by incredible cold water results, it costs about 20 cents a load, and it comes in a free and clear option, sold in the US as Persil Free & Sensitive.
Huge congratulations to Persil and Henkel, and to German engineering. Henkel make Persil, and they have been close to the top of my board for years.
| Product | Persil Ultra Concentrated. The links go to the free and clear version, Persil Free & Sensitive ↗ |
|---|---|
| Performance score | 108.0, the highest on my board |
| What drove the score | Cold water. Its cold water score beat some detergents’ hot water scores. |
| Price | About 20 cents a load, right at the industry average |
| Dose | 1.5 tablespoons (22 ml) for a medium load |
| Measured against | Tide Hygienic Pods ↗ at 100, washing with water alone at 1 |
| Previous leader | Ariel 2X powder ↗ at 102.4, number one for 61 weeks |
| Free and clear version | Yes. The bottle says hypoallergenic, dye and perfume free. |
| Size | 82.5 fl oz, 110 loads (the free and clear bottle) |
| What the score covers | Stain removal, and nothing else. Price, formulation, ingredient safety and packaging are still your call. |
The score was driven mostly by incredible cold water results, which is usually where a detergent’s overall performance suffers. In fact, its cold water score beat some detergents’ hot water scores.
At about 20 cents a load, right at the industry average, it’s very reasonably priced. And as the name says, it’s ultra concentrated. The recommended dose is just 1.5 tablespoons (22 ml) for a medium load, so one bottle should last you ages.
Persil has been strong on my board for a long time. Persil liquid took bronze in my 2024 round-up. When I re-tested the new Advanced Clean liquid in November 2025 it came back at 87.2, and at the 2025 award show I said that all of the Persil lineup is really strong and that Henkel knows what they are doing. The German edition of the Persil discs scored 97.8, my best international product of 2025.
My one complaint at that award show was about Persil Advanced Clean ↗: the scent is quite polarizing, and Persil don't make a lot of free and clear products. So I’m really glad the new number one comes in a free and clear option. I’m usually not a fan of Persil’s fragrances.
I recommend it, and it may even become my daily driver. It’s a very impressive product and definitely worth a try.
You have nothing to worry about. Ariel 2X powder ↗ is still a great product, and if you like it, keep using it. The difference in stain removal among the top products is marginal, and performance is only one of many factors to consider when buying. Ariel 2X, for example, is heavily perfumed, which is why I’ve never used it myself.
I run every detergent through the industry standard laundry detergent testing method. White cotton swatches get stained across several stain families, washed, dried, and then read with a spectrometer that compares the colour before and after, which tells me how much of each stain actually left the fabric. I do not judge results by eye, because eyes are unreliable.
The scale is open at the top. A detergent that removes more stain than Tide Hygienic Pods scores above 100, so 108 is not 108 out of something. It means this detergent got more stain out of my swatches than anything else I have tested.
One caveat rides on every score I publish: this is purely performance. Price, formulation, ingredient safety and packaging all belong in your decision, and none of them are in this number.
Free and clear means no dye and no fragrance. It is what I recommend for kids’ clothes and for anyone whose skin reacts to their laundry, and the free and clear version of this one says hypoallergenic, dye and perfume free on the bottle. If you like your laundry to smell of something, I would still start with a high performing free and clear detergent and add scent separately, with something like scent beads, so the cleaning and the smell are two different products.
Persil is not one formula everywhere. In the UK it is made by Unilever, and in most other places by Henkel, which likely explains the varied performance I have seen between countries. The one on this page is Persil Ultra Concentrated, which says Ultra Concentrated on the front of the bottle. Its free and clear version is sold in the US as Persil Free & Sensitive ↗, and that is the one the buy links on this page go to.
To avoid confusion: Persil Ultra Concentrated is not the same as Persil Triple Care, which scored a 79.1. Triple Care is still very good and highly recommended, but it’s a different product. Here are the Persil products I have scored:
| Persil Ultra Concentrated | 108 |
|---|---|
| Persil Advanced Clean ↗ liquid | 87.2 |
| Persil Triple Care | 79.1 |
| Persil Original ↗ liquid | 62.6 |
If you want a free and clear detergent and this one is out of stock, Tide Odor Refresh ↗ scored 96.9 and only comes in free and clear. My free and clear picks cover the rest, and everything I have scored is in my tested laundry detergent rankings.
If you came here because of one specific stain, pretreat it before washing. A powerful liquid detergent rubbed into the stain is just as good as a stain remover spray, and my lab-tested stain remover rankings compare the sprays.
On stain removal, Persil Ultra Concentrated ↗. It scored 108, the highest score I have given, and took the top spot from Ariel 2X powder ↗, which had held it for 61 weeks at 102.4. Tide Hygienic Pods ↗, the benchmark my board is built around, score 100.
The free and clear version, which Persil sells in the US as Persil Free & Sensitive. The bottle says Ultra Concentrated, hypoallergenic, and dye and perfume free. I’m really glad it comes in a free and clear option, since I’m usually not a fan of Persil’s fragrances.
No. Persil Triple Care scored a 79.1. Triple Care is still very good and highly recommended, but it’s a different product.
As the name says, it’s ultra concentrated. The recommended dose is just 1.5 tablespoons (22 ml) for a medium load, so one bottle should last you ages.
On my board, yes. Persil Advanced Clean ↗ liquid scored 87.2 when I re-tested it in November 2025, and Persil Ultra Concentrated scored 108. Advanced Clean is scented, and I called its scent polarizing.
My board is built around Tide Hygienic Pods at 100, and washing with water alone scores 1. The scale is open at the top, so a detergent that removes more stains than Tide Hygienic Pods scores above 100. 108 means it cleaned better than the benchmark, and better than anything else I have tested.
Persil Ultra Concentrated ↗ is the best cleaning detergent I have measured, mostly because of how it does in cold water. It costs about 20 cents a load and comes in a free and clear option. Until now the top of my board was Ariel 2X, a heavily perfumed powder, and it is still a great product if you like it. Huge congratulations to Persil and Henkel. Read the short post on the new leader for the headline numbers.
Or ask about any laundry or garment care question
Zach Pozniak is VP of Operations and co-owner of Jeeves of Belgravia New York, the Madison Avenue dry cleaner serving New York since 1979, and the fourth generation of his family in the trade. Zach posts garment care techniques as @jeeves_ny on TikTok to over 900,000 followers, and his book The Laundry Book, co-written with his father Jerry Pozniak, was featured on Good Morning America in October 2024. Jeeves NY's clients include the Metropolitan Opera, the Met Museum, and FIT, and the business has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine.