Move Over, Brawny: Consumer Reports Reveals Its Top Pick For Paper Towels

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Is your life full of spills? Better keep a roll (or two) of paper towels handy. But, which paper towel brand is going to do the best job? To answer this question, Consumer Reports tested multiple brands of paper towels, evaluating how well they cleaned up chunky messes, soaked up water, and stood up to rigorous scrubbing. The publication also tested how reusable the paper towels were, in an effort to get you the most bang for your buck — and it examined whether it's a good idea to put paper towels in your fridge.

At the end of its tests, two popular brands were neck and neck — Bounty and Brawny. However, Bounty Select-a-Size Triple Rolls edged out Brawny Tear-a-Square 3-Ply thanks to their greater ability to clean up disgusting messes, as well as their reusability. That said, there may be times when Brawny is the better pick, such as when you need to mop up a lot of liquid.

Bounty Select-a-Size towels didn't top Consumer Reports' rankings when it comes to reusability, although they came close, earning the third-highest ranking. Consumer Reports tests reusability by wringing out and drying used, wet paper towels. Since they're meant to be a single-use product, getting one or two more uses out of them should be considered a win. If you want a product that is infinitely reusable, you may want to look toward paper towel alternatives instead.

Bounty's Select-a-Size towels earned high marks in all of the publication's testing categories. For cleaning up chunky messes and standing up to repeated scrubbing, Select-a-Size is the paper towel to beat. The paper towels also absorb a decent amount of water at 62 grams, and they're the second-strongest of the bunch when wet. Another Bounty product, Quick-Size paper towels, came in third place. It's not as absorbent as its Select-a-Size cousin, but is one of the most reusable options and holds up to a tough scrubbing job. The downside: it's one of the most expensive paper towels, priced at four cents per sheet.

Meanwhile, Brawny Tear-a-Square earned second place in the rankings. While Brawny paper towels may not stand up to a tough scrub job as well as Bounty, they are the most absorbent of the bunch, soaking up 74 grams of water, and they had the best strength when wet. So, if you find yourself frequently mopping up liquids, Brawny might be the brand to pick.

Bounty and Brawny paper towels may be the best of the bunch, but they come at a price, ranging from two to four cents per sheet. If your life isn't that messy, you're on a budget, and you have a fair amount of storage space for paper towels, try Kirkland Signature two-ply paper towels from Costco. They're only sold in packs of 12, but they just cost one cent per sheet, giving you plenty of bang for your buck.