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EVERYONE knows one of the best ways to save on your weekly shop is to opt for supermarket own-brands.

But there is one regular household product we all buy and for which we often pay top dollar – kitchen roll.

Hayley Mills tests supermarket own-brand kitchen roll against brand leaders Plenty and Regina
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Hayley Mills tests supermarket own-brand kitchen roll against brand leaders Plenty and ReginaCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun
She discovers whether it's really worth splashing out, or if the cheaper alternatives are worth a shot
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She discovers whether it's really worth splashing out, or if the cheaper alternatives are worth a shotCredit: Getty

There is always the fear cheaper versions won’t match up to the quality of the big brands and nation’s favourites – Regina, which boasts you only need one sheet, and Plenty.

Hayley Minn tests supermarket versions to see how they fare mopping up a water spill, and gives marks out of five.

She found two that, at nearly half the price of the pricey big brands, are just as tough . . . 

Co-op kitchen towel

£2.90 for 200 sheets

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The Co-op's offering is one of the pricier own-brand options, but it became soggy almost immediately
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The Co-op's offering is one of the pricier own-brand options, but it became soggy almost immediatelyCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

I THOUGHT this may do well on the spillage as it was one of the most expensive of the own-brands I tried.

Nothing of the sort — it became very soggy almost immediately after I dabbed it on the water and didn’t seem to actually mop up much of what I had spilled.

I would definitely need more than one of these sheets to do the job of getting things clean and tidy.

Score: 2/5

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Plenty kitchen towel

£5 for 200 sheets, Sainsbury’s

You really do need just one sheet of Plenty - but it's also pretty expensive
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You really do need just one sheet of Plenty - but it's also pretty expensiveCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

KNOWN as the nation’s favourite kitchen roll, this brand prides itself on customers only needing one sheet.

But as it is one of the most expensive rolls on the market, I had to put this to the test.

Straight away, the paper did feel a lot thicker and tougher than the others — and it was also very good at soaking up the water.

And yes, it’s true, you do need just the one sheet of this Plenty.

Score: 4/5

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Floralys kitchen towel

£2.55 for 200 sheets, Lidl

Despite being one of the cheapest, this was extremely good at soaking up all water on the countertop
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Despite being one of the cheapest, this was extremely good at soaking up all water on the countertopCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

DESPITE being one of the cheapest, I found this kitchen roll was one of the best.

It was extremely good at soaking up all the water on my kitchen countertop and felt very tough and intact, even after the fourth time I put it on the spillage.

It felt just as thick as Plenty, and I only needed the one sheet of it.

This was one of my top rolls, for sure.

Score: 5/5

Tesco kitchen towel

£2.55 for 200 sheets

The Tesco offering managed to stay intact - but in general, it wasn't great at mopping up water, and got flimsy and thin very quickly
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The Tesco offering managed to stay intact - but in general, it wasn't great at mopping up water, and got flimsy and thin very quicklyCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

AS soon as I got a feel of a towel it was obvious how much thinner these sheets were in comparison to some of the others.

And sadly it wasn’t great at mopping up the water.

It felt like it was getting quite flimsy and thin very quickly.

But I found it managed to stay intact, even after doing four passes in the water.

Score: 2/5

ASDA Shades kitchen towels

£2.65 for 200 sheets

This felt high quality at first, but it definitely wasn't as great as some of the others
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This felt high quality at first, but it definitely wasn't as great as some of the othersCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

WHEN I took it out of the packaging, this kitchen roll felt like it was good quality, and it continued to feel quite solid after it had been in the water three times.

But it wasn’t as great as some of the others.

It felt like it was nearing its end after the fourth go, so I would have needed another sheet had I kept cleaning.

Score: 3/5

Regina Blitz kitchen towel

£4.75 for 140 sheets, Sainsbury’s

Regina lives up to all the hype, but there are other brands that can do the job for about half the price
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Regina lives up to all the hype, but there are other brands that can do the job for about half the priceCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

I HAD high hopes for this as one of the big brands in kitchen roll — and it lived up to the hype and my expectations.

The big sheets felt very strong and there was absolutely no sign of ripping, no matter how many times I dabbed up the spilled waster.

But there are some other own-brands that are just as good and come in at about half the price of Regina.

Score: 4/5

Saxon Blast kitchen towel

£1.99 for 100 sheets, Aldi

This delivers the same quality as Regina Blitz at half the price
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This delivers the same quality as Regina Blitz at half the priceCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

I NOTICED how similar this budget version looks to Regina Blitz, so I was very interested to see whether it could deliver the same quality at half the price. And it definitely did.

Although it seems more expensive than the other own-brand towels, with only 100 sheets, these sheets are almost double the size.

It held up well when I put one to the water test and it soaked up everything.

There was no need for another piece.

Score: 5/5

Sainsbury’s Super Absorbent towel

£2.50 for 200 sheets (or £2 with Nectar card)

These did become flimsy quickly, but a sheet did remain intact after being used five times
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These did become flimsy quickly, but a sheet did remain intact after being used five timesCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

THE first thing I noticed about these kitchen towels was that they felt quite thin in comparison to some of the others.

For this reason they did become flimsy quite quickly once put it in water.

But credit where it is due, I did manage to use one sheet five times, and it still remained intact — and so a top effort.

Score: 3/5

Marks & Spencer Absorbent towel

£2.75 for 200 sheets

The M&S own-brand kitchen roll was the only one to break
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The M&S own-brand kitchen roll was the only one to breakCredit: Louis Wood - Commissioned by The Sun

UPON first touch, the towels felt like they were the good quality you would expect from the higher-end supermarket.

But on actually mopping up the water, I found this wasn’t the case at all.

As soon as I put the sheet in the water it soaked right through, becoming flimsy.

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It then ripped on the second dab — and was the only one to break. A let-down, sadly.

Score: 1/5

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