I am a natural born price killer. I hate to pay more for less, and I can be found at any grocery store comparing prices to the cost per ounce. I am not ashamed of generic item, but I have found that not all generic item measure up to their name brand competitors, and in the long run, I end up paying more for the so called savings on generic.
I originally never considered buying paper towels. I would just use the hand towels and kitchen towels to get up spills, and even to dry hands, but now that I have four children the messes started to out grow my towel collection. Originally I bought the store brand. It was affordable, and I didn’t feel like I was making too much away from the grocery budget.
For years I used them happily, and then my mother in law came to visit. We were all eating in the kitchen and my daughter spilled her soda, and I was out of paper towels. My mother in law took a Bounty paper towel out of her purse, and wiped up a whole cup of soda with one towel! I would have four or five of my generic paper towels. I went to the grocery store the next day, and I decided to make the switch. Bounty were way more money then the towels I was used to buying, and I, at first, considered it a luxury purchase. After an entire week, though, I was still using the same roll! I couldn’t believe that I was actually saving by buying the more expensive brand. I made Bounty my one and only and I used it for years. Then a twist in fate would occur that would once again change my paper towel preference for my home.
Two months ago I sent my husband to the store, and as he was about to pull out of the driveway I yelled out that we needed paper towels. He nodded and drove off. When he returned he hauled in a family pack of paper towels, but they were not my Bounty. I did as any good wife would. I hen pecked and told him he should know we only use Bounty not these “Viva” paper towels he brought in. He defended himself like a true husband and simply said, “They were out.” I looked at his receipt and after seeing the price, much cheaper than my Bounty, I knew the quality would be mediocre in comparison.
That night at dinner we used the last of the Bounty, and with nothing more than these cheap paper towels I had to clean up the kitchen. I started with one counter, and it worked pretty well. It felt like cloth instead of paper. It didn’t quite have the absorbency as Bounty did for the spills, but thank goodness it didn’t, because I went to the sink to wring it out, rinsed it, and then, to my amazement, it got stronger! I couldn’t believe that it was even a paper towel!
Now, anyone who reads my reviews knows that I couldn’t just let this go. It was testing time. I decided to see how much of my kitchen I could clean with just one paper towel. I got one counter cleaned, then another, and another until all four were cleaned. Then I decided to go for the stove. It worked! This ONE incredible paper towel had cleaned my whole kitchen with the exception of the floor and dishes. Now, since the paper towel was still usable I had to keep pushing, and it may be hard to believe, but this mighty little paper towel got through half a sink of dishes! Not the cooked on grime kind of dishes, but the pre-soaked in Dawn’s 5 minute soak kind of dishes, but either way, half a sink! The towel was still usable to where I could wipe off some splatter on the floor, but to get so much use out of one paper towel was amazing.
If anyone asks me which is the best paper towels to soak up a quick spill, then Bounty is the best, but you will have to throw it out when you’re finished. If you asked me which is the best paper towel I have ever used in my entire life, then I would tell you that my new paper towel is Viva. Yep, that’s right, Viva paper towels has bumped my beloved Bounty right to the curb, and the most beautiful part for any bargain shopper, it’s cheaper! I stand by my new paper towels, and my husband wants everyone to know that, it is thanks to him.
