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Which Dishwashing Detergent Works Best?

atla033108-dishwashsoap.jpgLA local news station KABC 7 and Consumer Reports joined investigate forces and tested 12 hand-dishwashing detergents to determine which one did the best job of cleaning baked on food. which one did the best? More details after the jump...

 
 

To test, Consumer Reports takes glasses coated with a mixture of flour, egg yolk, sugar, and evaporated milk then puts it in an oven for ten minutes in order to simulate baked-on food. After the glass cools, testers place it in a scrubbing machine with warm water and one teaspoon of detergent. A counter then tallies the number of scrubs it takes to remove the food.

Sounds more like they were baking a delicious dessert rather than testing the liquid cleaner.

Anyhow, the two top performers of the bunch were Dawn Direct Foam and Ajax Lemon Dish Liquid, but the testers noted that "even the lowest-rated product will get dishes clean if you scrub long enough". The more expensive brands just do it quicker. Time may mean money, but we think we'll stick with our favourite for now (or the stuff from the 99 Cents Only Store).

[via Consumerist]

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Comments (26)

I use palmolive scrubbing bubbles, or the dishwasher. Both work quite well ;-)

posted by Melissa82 on March 31st 2008 at 8:05am
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I didn't watch the video, but from the picture, it doesn't look like they tested any "green" liquids. I love my Ecover.

posted by Pixie on March 31st 2008 at 8:06am
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i have that large Dr. Bronner's bottle of soap to still use up so i've been using a slightly diluted mix for my dishwashing. works very well and i love how sudsy it gets.

posted by *heather leaf* on March 31st 2008 at 8:08am
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I just put a couple drops of whatever in with lots of hot water and let it soak...

posted by bepsf on March 31st 2008 at 8:12am
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I prefer Caldrea. Comes in pretty bottles/colors/smells. It beats having that fluorescent green goo sitting out staring at me.

http://www.caldrea.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=235

posted by PaintChip on March 31st 2008 at 8:13am
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Since most of my dishes are washed in the dishwasher, I'd love to see a smack-down of all the green dishwasher detergents. I tried using 7th Generation and it was so awful, I couldn't finish the box. So, I use Cascade, but I'd love to find something natural.

posted by Pixie on March 31st 2008 at 8:16am
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I agree, almost every liquid dish detergent you buy will get the dishes clean. I almost always start off with really hot water and a decent soak before I wash my dishes.

That said, these days I pick my detergent based on scent. I have grapefruit, lavender and citrus and choose according to my mood. Make washing the dishes way more pleasant.

posted by rose on March 31st 2008 at 8:22am
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I've been using two that I really like one being VIP cucumber Melon biodegradable soap which is Canadian made (so I'm not sure it's available in America, though I did once see it with Spanish on it so I assume it's out there somewhere)

and secondly we have a soap exchange on Vancouver Island which has an equally great product, though I fear many would look over both because they do not have bubbles to the same degree as other brands, but it's not the bubbles that do the cleaning anyways...

posted by CWillows on March 31st 2008 at 8:31am
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and they officially ran out of news.

posted by Djluckyonline on March 31st 2008 at 8:31am
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Actually, they did test ecover and it came in right behind dawn.

posted by highshinebright on March 31st 2008 at 9:19am
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My conscience & my wallet like Trader Joe's dish soap. (No animal testing and eco-friendly.)

posted by Rachel Abrams on March 31st 2008 at 9:36am
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Ecover has tables for the dishwasher.
I love my Ecover and Citra Solve dish soap.

posted by arstellla on March 31st 2008 at 9:39am
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Oh thanks for the reminder about Dr. Bronners! (or what we like to call "Jesus Soap"). I use it when we're camping/backpacking because it's safe in fragile environments. I love it for shampooing my hair in the desert. I use about 5 drops and get TONS of suds, and it rinses away literally squeeky clean with about 2 cups of water. I bought a bottle of Method at Target this weekend -- but I think I'm going to look for a bottle of Dr. Bronners for my dishwashing soap in the future.

posted by kimg924 on March 31st 2008 at 9:39am
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What environment isn't "fragile"? : )

posted by Rachel Abrams on March 31st 2008 at 9:43am
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I have tried a lot of "green" products - hand soaps, body wash, detergent, dish soap, cosmetics - and I usually end up disappointed. They usually cost a little (or sometimes, a lot) more and then end up being less effective. Unfortunately, chemicals work and efficiency wins out to environmentalism.

I like Method products from a design standpoint and I'm currently using Method dish soap, but may end up going back to a non-green brand once this bottle is gone - it just doesn't work very well.

I haven't tried the Trader Joe's stuff. Anyone else have experience with it?

posted by meatavious on March 31st 2008 at 9:52am
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highshinebright - thanks!

arstellla - do you mean tablets? Do they work well?

posted by Pixie on March 31st 2008 at 9:54am
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I didn't like the TJs brand of dish soap -- I just don't think it works that well. I'm in adoration of crazy Dr. Bronner's soap... peppermint keeps working the best for me. It's an EXCELLENT mouthwash (diluted, of course), too.

posted by darcidoodle on March 31st 2008 at 12:42pm
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"Unfortunately, chemicals work and efficiency wins out to environmentalism."


That is just so... depressing.

posted by MirandaJay on March 31st 2008 at 12:53pm
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Not to be preachy, but I don't care if I have to work a little harder with a green(er) cleanser to get my dishes clean. I accept that tradeoff. That said, I've used Trader Joe's, Ecover and 7th Generation and not noticed a difference in quality between them and the supermarket brands. Hadn't thought of using Bronner's -- I'm always a little freaked out by the wordy packaging, but I store my dish soap in a pretty glass bottle anyway. Good idea! Now my dishes can be both clean, and minty fresh! Ha.

posted by sugar2s on March 31st 2008 at 1:01pm
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I make baby wipes with Dr. Bronners. Love the smell!

posted by gourdsaregorgeous on March 31st 2008 at 1:04pm
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P.S. to Pixie: Green Clean Review recommends Ecover dishwashing tablets and Biokleen's automatic dish powder for use in dishwashers. Haven't tried them. See the blog at http://ecocleanreview.blogspot.com/

posted by sugar2s on March 31st 2008 at 1:11pm
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thanks much sugar2s. I'm going to check that out. I'm currently using Biokleen laundry detergent and I like it.

posted by Pixie on March 31st 2008 at 5:26pm
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i

posted by lelusama on March 31st 2008 at 8:37pm
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Wait, was this really a news show or just another commercial? Isn't there anything at all happening on this planet to report on with some kind of useful meaning?

posted by plain jane on April 1st 2008 at 5:12pm
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Can someone explain why Cascade (or Palmolive, or whatever big band of dishwashing or handwashing detergent) is worse for the environment than Seventh Generation, Ecover, TJ's soap, etc.? I'm not asking rhetorically -- I'm actually looking for an answer here.
FWIW, in my experience some of the big brands really *do* work a lot better than the ones marketed as "eco-friendly." (But some don't.)

posted by pilgrim on April 1st 2008 at 7:41pm
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This is kind of nit-picky, but is comparing a concentrated cleaner (like Dawn direct foam) against a non-concentrated soap fair?

They say they use a teaspoon of each, but the teaspoon of concentrated cleaner was probably supposed to have done 3 or 4 times the dishes...and probably costs 3-4x as much for that amount. (yep, i'm a research analyst)

posted by DearAbby on April 2nd 2008 at 12:53pm
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