Comparing Capsule Laundry Detergents: Varying Prices and Strengths

[Anchor]

It is time for our Friendly Economy segment with reporter Han Jiyeon. Han, today (the 20th) we are talking about capsule laundry detergents.

[Reporter]

The Korea Consumer Agency compared 8 brands of capsule laundry detergents, and it turns out that their strengths varied greatly from product to product—some were better at grease, while others excelled at ink.

Capsule detergents are very popular these days because you can just drop them in without needing a measuring cup.

However, if you go to the detergent aisle at the mart, there are so many brands that it is hard to choose.

To cut straight to the conclusion, unfortunately, there was no such thing as an all-in-one product that washes away everything.

Instead, I will pinpoint which products are good at removing specific types of stains.

For everyday stains like grease and protein, "Beat" was relatively superior.

For tough-to-remove stains like blood and ink, "LiQ" and "Persil" excelled.

However, there is a twist here.

Not a single one of the 8 products received an "excellent" rating for stains like sebum and red pepper pigment.

This means that on days when sebum stains build up around your shirt collars or you get kimchi stew soup splashed on you, you should not rely on capsule detergents and instead pre-wash them once.

The second point is how fast the capsules dissolve in water.

If they dissolve slowly, the time the detergent actually spends removing dirt decreases, and film residues may remain on the clothes.

In cold water of about 8°C, it took an average of 11 minutes, making the dissolution speed twice as slow as in room temperature water of 25°C.

Products that dissolved well even in cold water were "Beat," "Kirkland," "Tech," and "Persil."

"LiQ," "Saenghwal Gongjakso," "Snuggle," and "Aックス" (Acts) were relatively slow.

To summarize, considering both cleaning power and cold-water dissolution, "Beat" and "Persil" received good evaluations across multiple categories.

[Anchor]

I heard there is quite a bit of price difference, too?

[Reporter]

Based on a 1- or 2-person household, the lowest cost per laundry load was 157 won for Kirkland, showing a sixfold difference compared to the highest cost of 950 won for Snuggle.

The reason for such a big difference is that the price per single capsule and the recommended laundry load differ by brand.

"Kirkland" can wash up to 6kg with a single capsule, and "Snuggle" uses one capsule for laundry loads under 7kg, but the price of the capsule itself was relatively expensive.

"Kirkland" was not only the cheapest but also rated "fair" or higher in both cleaning power and dissolution speed.

In the end, buying solely based on the price per individual piece could result in a loss.

It is recommended to calculate the price tag based on a 4kg load for 1- to 2-person households and a 7kg load for 4-person households.

There is one more thing to point out here.

In safety tests, all 8 products had no issues.

However, "Saenghwal Gongjakso" contained 3 ingredients that can cause allergies, but failed to label them, resulting in a non-compliance judgment.

The company announced that it will fix the labeling and re-release the product starting from the middle of next month.

And there is just one more thing worth knowing.

Rinsing twice is said to be enough.

When 3 representative products were tested, rinsing just twice removed 97.3% of the detergent ingredients.

This means that those of you who rinse three or four more times thinking "it might not have all washed out" do not need to do so.

[Anchor]

It seems you have organized travel destinations this time.

[Reporter]

Travel destinations across 100 thematic categories were selected through a national vote.

As a hint for the number 1 spot, it is a place well-known to anyone who loves bread.

Over 40,000 citizens cast their votes directly.

Nearly 9,900 destinations were selected, and even after removing duplicates, there are more than 6,300 places.

Looking strictly at the votes received in a single category, everyone probably guessed the number 1 spot.

It was Daejeon's Sungsimdang in the "bread pilgrimage" category.

Gunsan's Lee Sung Dang was also frequently selected, showing that food itself can become a travel destination.

On the other hand, when combining all votes received across multiple categories, the overall number 1 changes.

Jeju's Seongsan Ilchulbong received even votes across 22 categories, including the "sunrise spot" category.

Following that, the National Museum of Korea, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, and Sungsimdang ranked high in the combined standings.

Surprisingly, the most popular category was "good-price restaurants."

Along with "hidden old-fashioned eateries" and "seasonal foods," 4 out of the top 10 categories were food-related.

By region, Seoul had the most with 1,261 locations, followed by Gyeongbuk, Gangwon, and Jeonnam-Gwangju.

These results can be checked on the "Korea Tourism Organization's Visit Korea" (Korea Guseokguseok) website.

You can also receive travel destination recommendations tailored to your taste.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.