Today In Our Test Labs: The toilet paper video edition

Crack jokes at our expense if you want, but Consumer Reports tests toilet paper.

Everybody uses it. Everybody buys it. So Consumer Reports tests it.

Our team looks at not only the feel and strength of the paper, but how easy it is to open the packaging and how hard it is to start a roll.

Bottom line, we do all this to find the softest, strongest toilet paper for the best value.

UPDATE: Our new ratings-based report on toilet paper is online now and appears in the May 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.

For more news and tips on keeping your home running smoothly, visit our Home & Garden Blog.

You can watch more of our testing at the Consumer Reports video hub.

Today in our test labs: The sounds of silence

Accurately testing the sound quality of a speaker requires an absence of sound. Here at Consumer Reports we have a room specially built to swallow echoes and ambient noises, leaving only total silence.

The anechoic chamber, seen on the right, is lined with fiberglass wedges to suppress sound waves from bouncing back off the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Our chamber is actually built on a separate foundation from the rest of the building to keep out the vibrations.

Standing inside the anechoic chamber can be a little disorienting, as your ears, which are used to processing all the ambient sound in the outside world, don't have enough reference material.

But if you're looking for the the true sound from a speaker--or your own voice--this is pretty much the only way to hear it.

All of our testing is to help you make smart purchasing decisions. Consumer Reports has everything you need if you're looking to buy new speakers or a home theater system.

Today in our test labs: Hold that pose

We've all ended up with stars in our eyes after a camera flash, but imagine posing for hundreds, if not thousands, of snaps while the Consumer Reports team tests the latest batch of digital cameras.

Well, nobody really wanted to do it. So, we got Audrey to do it. She's a star in her own right for our test lab paparazzi.

That's her on the right, patiently sitting for countless portraits in the test labs as each camera's flash fired over and over again.

It does help that she's a mannequin.

For more on digital cameras, see the Consumer Reports buying guide and information page.

Today in our test labs: You've got to get dirty to get clean

Dishwashers are a kitchen staple, but which one should you buy?

Consumer Reports makes recommendations, so we are always testing the different makes and models.

It's not an easy process.

To test dozens of different dishwashers, you need to find dozens of similarly dirty plates, dishes, cups, and glasses. If you can't find them, then you make them.

And that is what was happening today in our test labs.

 (Click the images to see larger photos)

For more on dishwashers, see the Consumer Reports buying guide and information page.