High quality toilet paper comes cheap

Toilet paper is magically shrinking before your eyes! So now it makes more of a difference than ever to get the best deal that you can.

When I talked about this a couple of years ago, there were a few companies reducing the size of packages by doing tricks like making the tubes fatter and putting less paper on the roll.

Now The Dallas Morning News reports the average square of toilet tissue has been reduced by 26%. So you’ve got 26% less paper in that square when you’re doing your business.

I was at Costco the other day and I wanted to see if this downgrade was universal. Turns out it is. It seems everybody has reduced their sheets to a 4.5 x 4 inch rectangle — down from a perfect 4.5 inch square just a few years ago.

TP is universal, we all use it, and we’re all getting ripped off. I will continue my quest to find any toilet paper that has not shrunken the size of its rolls!

Read more: Scientists say a messy bed is a healthier bed

You don’t have to pay a lot for the best toilet paper

Sizing issues aside, do you think you have to spend a lot for high quality toilet paper? Think again.

Consumer Reports  says the best toilet paper in America is a Wal-Mart exclusive — White Cloud 3-ply Ultra Soft and Thick. At 25 cents per 100 sheets, White Cloud got a high score of 77 based on softness, strength, disintegration and tearing ease.

In distant second place, Nice Premium Ultra (Walgreens) got a score of 57 and costs 33 cents per 100 sheets. In third place, Scott Extra Soft scored 53 and costs 20 cents per 100 sheets.

White Cloud Ultra Strong & Soft (Walmart) and Quilted Northern Ultra Plush came in fourth and fifth, with scores of 52 and 50, respectively. The White Cloud costs 27 cents per 100 sheets, while the Quilted Northern costs 43 cents.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature checked in with a mediocre score of 37 though it only costs 13 cents per 100 sheets, almost the cheapest brand sampled.

The absolute cheapest option was Great Value Bathroom Tissue (Walmart), which cost 6 cents per 100 sheets, but had the lowest score of all on the Consumer Reports tally — a 9 out of 100. Ouch!

For more money-saving advice for your home, see our Life section!

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