Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent

Last Updated on September 27, 2023

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For many years, I bought the cheapest laundry detergent house brand available at Aldi. It comes in a blue bottle and is comparable to name-brand Purex, which is a budget brand. At some point during the last few years — maybe when we were spending more time at home due to world events — I decided to upgrade my laundry detergent. I started occasionally buying the most expensive house brand detergent at Aldi. It’s a red bottle that is comparable to Tide Original Scent. Because it’s Aldi, though, splurging and buying the priciest detergent still saves me money over actually buying its name brand counterpart.

Today, I’m taking a look at the three private label laundry detergents Aldi sells, and I’ll offer a closer look specifically at the most premium option among the Aldi detergents.

What Laundry Detergents Does Aldi Sell?

The three house brand laundry detergents at Aldi.

Aldi laundry detergent formulas haven’t really changed over the years. For a long time now, Aldi has sold three different color-coded house brand detergents under their Tandil private label. The Aldi detergents are as follows:

• Tandil Essentials Mountain Fresh Laundry Detergent in a blue bottle, comparable to Purex Mountain Breeze and the cheapest detergent Aldi sells.
• Tandil Premium Island Breeze Laundry Detergent in a green bottle, comparable to Gain Island Fresh and the mid-priced house brand detergent option at Aldi.
• Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent in a red bottle, comparable to Tide Original Scent and the most expensive house brand detergent at Aldi.

Aldi also often sells at least one or two name brand detergents such as Tide and Gain. They also sell some other laundry items such as fabric softener (house brand and name brands) and name-brand scent boosters.

Tandil is not a company, and Aldi can be secretive about who makes their private label products. At the time of writing, the Aldi detergent bottles specify that they are not manufactured or distributed by The Dial Corporation (which makes Purex) or Procter & Gamble (which makes Tide and Gain). We do know, though, that all Aldi house brand laundry detergent is a product of Canada.

Here, I’m taking a detailed look at the priciest laundry detergent option at Aldi, which is sold in a red bottle and is comparable to Tide Original Scent. Tide, which was introduced in 1946 by Procter & Gamble, is the global best-selling detergent brand. In fact, in a 2009 survey during the Great Recession, shoppers said Tide was among three brands they were least likely to give up. Tide is respected for its stain fighting abilities, and it has a pretty good scent to boot.

Price Comparisons:

Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent cost $7.99 for a 100-fluid-ounce bottle (3.12 quarts, or 2.95 liters) at the time of publication. That comes out to about 8 cents per ounce.

This is a Regular Buy, so you should be able to find it at Aldi all year, the same as all of the other Aldi house brand laundry detergents.

A bulk 146-ounce bottle of Tide Original Liquid Laundry Detergent, which is what the Aldi red bottle detergent attempts to imitate, costs about 14 cents per ounce at Walmart at the time of writing. So there is definitely a savings if you go with the Aldi version.

As mentioned above, this is the most expensive Aldi branded detergent. If you’re looking for the cheapest option at Aldi, you’ll want to go with Tandil Essentials Mountain Fresh Laundry Detergent (in the blue bottle), which is comparable to Purex and costs $5.99 for 100 ounces, or about 6 cents per ounce. The mid-priced Aldi brand detergent is Tandil Premium Island Breeze Laundry Detergent (in the green bottle), which is comparable to Gain Island Fresh and costs $5.99 for 100 ounces, or about 7 cents per ounce.

On a side note, the cheapest laundry detergent I’ve ever found is at Dollar Tree, where they sell the LA’s Totally Awesome brand for about 3 cents an ounce.

Using Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent:

Directions. (Click to enlarge.)

Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent is sold in a 100-ounce bottle that claims to be good for 64 loads, as measured to line 1 on the cap. It can be used in standard and high efficiency machines, and it was not tested on animals.

Use it like you would most other laundry detergents. Sort the laundry, separating colors from whites and lightly soiled items from heavily soiled. Select an appropriate wash cycle and temperature setting. Measure the detergent using the cap: for regular loads fill to line 1 on the cap, and for large or heavily soiled loads fill to line 2. The bottle instructs to add the measured detergent to the machine’s dispensing drawer or for top loaders add to the wash water and then add clothing.

I have a top loading machine, and I add the detergent first, then the clothes, and then I start the machine.

The bottle also says you can test for colorfastness by applying detergent to an inconspicuous part of the garment. Then rinse and dry. Look for color fading or bleeding.

For tough stain removal, the bottle says to wet the stained area and apply a small amount of detergent directly to the stain. Gently rub the fabric together. Let stand for 1 minute, then wash as usual.

Ingredients include cleaning agents, suds reducer, solvent, stabilizer, brightener, water softener, buffer agent, colorants, fragrances, and water. This bottle actually lists the specific ingredients in the detergent, which the blue bottle Aldi Purex knockoff detergent does not list. This red bottle detergent does contain fragrance allergens. This detergent also includes biodegradable cleaning agents. It has no phosphates and is safe for septic systems, and it was not tested on animals.

It has the warnings typical of detergent. It’s an eye irritant and should be kept out of reach of children. If swallowed, give a glassful of water and call a poison control center or a doctor immediately. Do not induce vomiting. In case of eye contact, flush with water for 15 minutes and consult a physician.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been purchasing this Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent more frequently from Aldi during the last few years. It’s a nice detergent with a higher-end feel. It works just fine at getting clothes clean and getting rid of stains, and my family also likes the scent. This detergent leaves more of a scent than the blue bottle Purex knockoff detergent from Aldi, which is the detergent I used to buy more regularly.

The Verdict:

Tandil Premium Original Scent Laundry Detergent is the most expensive house brand laundry detergent at Aldi. It’s sold in a red bottle and is comparable to name-brand Tide Original Scent. Tide is a tried-and-true trusted consumer brand, great at fighting stains and getting clothes clean, with a good scent. This Aldi detergent works as well as Tide in my opinion, and for a fraction of the price.