Dishwasher Detergent

At this website on eco-friendly parenting, Jamie Ervin tests five green dishwasher detergents: Palmolive Eco+, Planet, Seventh Generation liquid, Method Smarty Dish tabs and Ecover. Ervin states at the… outset that she prefers tabs over liquid detergents, and that she is not a fan of powdered detergents. Ervin is disappointed with the cleaning ability of two of the detergents: Palmolive Eco+ and Planet. She states that the Ecover tablets work "okay," but that the tablets crumble when they are removed from the package. Ervin's favorites are the Method Smarty Dish tabs and Seventh Generation liquid. She states that they both clean as well as conventional detergents.

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This website devoted to cleaning tips gives four families Cascade Complete powder to test during the course of a month. The families "were trying to make this product fail," by putting very dirty dishes… into the dishwasher without pre-rinsing. Together, the families do more than 100 loads. The editors calculate that Cascade Complete Powder offers a 99 percent success rate; only about 1 percent of items need rewashing. A few comments from family members confirm that the product does an exceptional job. We would feel a little more confident about this website if we knew who was behind it other than "a group of cleaning professionals." And although the editors promise to report the success or failure of a product in living up to the manufacturers' claims, we note that this detergent was supplied by the manufacturer for free.

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Drugstore.com lists about a dozen dishwasher detergents. You will find even more by searching for them. Seventh Generation Natural Automatic Dishwashing Detergent, Free & Clear receives the most reviews,… with 79. Many of the comments about this detergent are negative, with complaints that it leaves behind a white residue. Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder receives four out of five stars from 70 reviewers. Palmolive Eco+ Gel Dishwasher Detergent, Lemon Splash, Lemon Scent receives mixed reviews from 13 reviewers. Most other detergents receive just a handful of reviews.

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At the Los Angeles Times website, a blogger known as Siel writes about green dishwasher detergents based on her own experiences and those of her friends. She recommends three: Ecover Dishwasher Tablets,… Planet Automatic Dishwasher Detergent and Shaklee's Get Clean Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate. She does not recommend Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Gel, Trader Joe's automatic dishwashing powder or Whole Foods' 365 brand powdered detergent. After the article, several people post comments about their own experiences with green dishwasher detergents.

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Editors at this website for eco-conscious consumers test Palmolive Eco in the Lemon Splash scent. Although the product cleans dishes well, the testers are put off by the lemon scent, which resembles that of… a commercial cleaner. After this article, two readers note that Palmolive Eco has bleach in it, which, to them, nullifies its "eco" credentials. One commenter states that this detergent leaves a "chalky substance" on dishes and in the dishwasher.

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This blogger/reviewer was sent a bottle of Cascade Fresh Scent gel to try, along with a bottle of a similar product made by one of Cascade's competitors. She tries Cascade Complete instead of her usual… powdered detergent and finds that Cascade Complete does a good job at cleaning and leaves behind no residue. The other brand left a slight residue, although it did a good job as well. The reviewer does not say who sent her the two products.

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Blogger "Emily" is happy with Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder. She likes that it is concentrated, and that the small bottle is easy to lift. She does wish that the container had a pouring spout. The review… is followed by an FAQ section supplied by the manufacturer of Biokleen. This reviewer also finds Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Detergent to be "a great detergent" that makes her dishes "clean and sparkly."

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At this blog for new parents, Stephanie Sheaffer compares Cascade Complete gel with Electrasol gel, when she is asked to do so by a PR company. Per Cascade's directions, Sheaffer does not prewash the… dishes, and she finds that they come out clean. With Electrasol, pieces of food are stuck to the dishes. Elsewhere on her site Sheaffer says that while she pledges to be honest about her experiences, readers should assume she has received a product or payment in exchange for a review.

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