The NFL draft starts tonight but the National Football League has already made its No. 1 pick—Tide laundry detergent. Tide is now the "Official Laundry Detergent of the NFL" and all 32 of its teams after the signing of a multi-year deal by the league and Procter & Gamble. It couldn't be a better match-up—Tide is also a top pick in Consumer Reports' tests of laundry detergents.

In addition to being tiresome, doing the laundry can be an energy-wasting chore. But with a few tweaks to your washday routine you can save energy, conserve water and avoid getting soaked by your utility company.

With its promise of spill, stomp and "say goodbye to stains" the so-called "stain-lifting pads" Stomp 'N Go from Bissell seemed like the perfect cleaning shortcut. So we bought five pads for $5 and set about staining the carpet in our labs with red wine, tomato sauce, coffee and French dressing. Then we put our foot down.

J.D. Power and Associates released the results of its 2012 Upright Vacuum Satisfaction Study earlier today. The study, based on responses from 5,700 owners who purchased an upright vacuum cleaner in the last year, measures customer satisfaction across six criteria: performance, ease of use, features, price, styling/appearance, and warranty. Miele came out on top in the ranking of 12 brands, with an overall score of 809 on a 1,000-point scale, followed by Dyson and Riccar. How does that compare with Consumer Reports' upright vacuum Ratings?

Back in 1991, the notion of energy efficiency was not top of mind for most American consumers. That started to change a year later with the creation of the Energy Star labeling program by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As the program celebrates its twentieth anniversary in 2012, its mission of promoting energy efficient appliances, electronics, lighting, and other consumer products is recognized by more than 80 percent of Americans. Consumer Reports joins other advocacy groups, manufacturers, and industry leaders in congratulating Energy Star on its achievements.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission's launch of SaferProducts.gov, a web-based database designed to give consumers a place to report problems about products and check safety histories before making new purchases. Of the more than 6,500 reports filed during the site's first 12 months, roughly one-third had to do with appliances. Toys, nursery equipment, footwear, and home climate-control systems also received a significant number of reports.

Energy efficiency standards will save consumers and businesses $1.1 trillion and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas pollution and other emissions by 2035, according to The Efficiency Boom: Cashing In on the Savings from Appliance Standards. The study, released this week by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, looks to quiet any election year arguments against efficiency standards for appliances, lighting, and other home gear.

We’ve been hearing a lot lately about smart appliances—refrigerators that alert you when your food’s no longer fresh, small appliances that shut themselves off when you forget. But now there's the promise of smart laundry that tells the washing machine what cycle to use and lets the consumer know when to separate lights from darks. Sounds good, but can this new technology help you find a lost sock?

When it comes to big-ticket items, seven out of 10 home improvement shoppers say they are not brand loyal, according to a new survey from the Complex Shopper. "Considering it may be three, five, even 10 years between purchases … it's not so surprising that shoppers turn to new brands when it's time to replace or upgrade," said Frank Maher, whose company, the Integer Group, conducted the study. Shopping for top-performing products at the best price is something Consumer Reports has long advocated even if it means your appliances won’t sport matching logos.

You can find a lot of advice online that recommends only using distilled water for your steam iron, arguing that since it’s mineral-free, minerals can’t clog the iron. But after combing through some of the manuals of our recently tested steam irons, we found that just may be another suburban myth and, worse yet, can possibly void the warranty.

Can you use regular detergent in a high-efficiency machine? Not a good idea. High-efficiency front-loaders and top-loaders use less water than conventional washers and regular detergents produce too many suds. This soapy surplus can affect cleaning performance, extend the wash cycle, cause the machine to overflow, and even cause mechanical problems over time.

The final 11 states and territories have closed their cash for appliance rebate programs, officially ending the program across the country. As of December 31, the two-year-old program had paid 1.7 million consumers rebates valued at $258 million and has been hailed as a “huge success” by the Department of Energy.

Usually it’s the Super Bowl where marketers unveil edgy ads for everything from cars to websites. But this Sunday during the Academy Awards, Procter & Gamble is introducing commercials for Tide Pods, its one-step laundry solution. Using the tagline, “Pop in. Stand out,” Tide is promising a “whole new kind of clean.” But that clean is going to cost you—four more cents a load.

Vacuum testers at Consumer Reports spend months in the labs vacuuming carpets and floors and measuring the airflow critical for tools. In our tough carpet tests, sand and then cat hair is embedded into the carpet piles and we’ve discovered that not all models are up to the task of removing it. Our most recent tests confirm that you don’t have to pay a lot for good performance: Nine of the uprights we recommend cost $200 or less and four of the recommended canisters cost $300 or less.

When you’re shopping for a vacuum you can pay as little as $50 or as much as $1,500 or more. But even a capable vacuum can bring some sacrifices at the low end of the price spectrum. A model may be light on features or unwieldy to use. So no matter where you end up buying one, you should go to the store first to push, pull, turn and lift the vacuums that you’re considering. Check out the controls and features and how easy or difficult it is to attach cleaning tools. Here are some drawbacks Consumer Reports found on a few lower-priced models in its recent vacuum cleaner tests.