Welcome to our Dishwasher Detergent Investigation! Y’all should know that we both had no idea that prior to us starting this investigation both of our dishwashers were going to crap out, like for real? We kinda need working dishwashers to help us out here! So after that snafu, we are both up and running and the investigation didn’t have to be shelved for long. We also take these investigations seriously and test these products out over months.
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The Nitty Gritty On Dishwasher Detergents
Sadly, most dishwasher detergents are filled with chemicals. What’s not these days, right? We also know that most toxins come from products right in our own home. Dishwasher detergents are big offenders in our household toxin realm and also something we use with high frequency. Here are common ingredients in most dishwasher detergents:
- Ammonia
- Coal Tar Dyes
- Cocamide dea
- Chlorine bleach
- DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (monoethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine)
- Formaldehyde
- Fragrance
- Glycol ethers
- Phosphates
We don’t want to eat off of dishes with that crap on them…no danke!
What We Found
As a whole, there are very few nontoxic dishwasher detergents out there. We only reviewed dishwasher detergents that are rated an A on the EWG website for household cleaners because homey don’t play! We only want the best for our families and for yours too.
Our criteria on the investigation was:
- How non-toxic are the ingredients?
- How well does the product actually work?
- What is the cost?
Mama Suds Review
EWG Rating: A
Ingredients: non-GMO citric acid, sodium bicarbonate, sodium percarbonate, sodium carbonate. **Allergy alert: do not use if you have a corn allergy.
Cost: $16 and lasts for 60-90 loads depending on how much you use. This works out to about $.18-$.27 per load.
How it worked:
I would recommend purchasing a sample of this for $5 (cost at the time the article was published) which will be good for 5-10 loads to see if this works well with your water.
We tried using this at various different measurements points such as putting in a 1/2 scoop to 2 scoops to notice if there were any pro’s or con’s to that. There really wasn’t a marked difference in the cleanliness of the dishes either way, so as a money saver we would just stick to the 1/2 scoop. On the bag it recommends that you use vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser for best results, which we did. We both have extremely hard water and Mama Suds left a pretty decent film on our dishes and didn’t get them very clean. Like what was mentioned before, we would recommend trying the sample pack to see if this works well first with your particular water situation.
Mama Suds also does other vegan household cleaners and non-toxic skin care.
Eco Olea Dishwasher Gel Review
EWG Rating: A
Ingredients: Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Water [Bio-treated, patented], Dead Sea Salt, Camellia Oleifera (Tea) seed extract, Pinus Sylvestris (Pine) Bark Oil, Xanthan Gum, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Leaf Oil, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil.
Cost: $8 and lasts for about 50 loads. This works out to about $.16 a load.
How It Worked:
Right out of the gate this worked really well. It didn’t leave much of a film and cleaned the dishes well. What we did notice is that the we needed to use a bit more than the .5 oz it recommends to have optimal results. If we used the label recommendation, it left more or a film and didn’t clean as well. Overall, I really like Eco Olea Dishwasher Gel. Keep in mind that you may have to use more than the recommended amount depending on how hard your water is.
Olea Essence also has a wonderful line of non-toxic skin, hair, body products and olive oils that I love from olive orchards along the Sea of Galilee.
Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder
EWG Rating: A (For both the Citrus Essence and Free & Clear)
Ingredients for Free & Clear: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Sulfate, Zeolite, Sodium Silicate, Sodium Citrate (plant based chelator), P(AA/NaHS03)_Na Salt, Hydrogen Peroxide, Amylase Blend, Protease Blend, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride
Cost: $12.52 and lasts for about 64 loads which is about $.20 a load.
How It Worked: For my (Kacy) type of water and dishwasher, this was the best at cleaning and not leaving a film and cleaning the dishes well. This and Olea Essence were very close in regards to performance. As you can see below, both my sisters and I are fans of Biokleen. They have a great product line up and are offering a great product and wonderful alternative to your normal, chemical ridden detergents.
In addition to dishwasher detergent, Biokleen has many other household cleaners that have awesome ratings on the EWG website.
Biokleen Automatic Dish Gel
EWG rating: A
This came in a 64oz. liquid plastic bottle. I have to say I’m not sure how many loads this did for me. It says 32 loads on the packaging and I’m going to say that is about right. I don’t run our dishwasher everyday, but at least every other day and I can say it lasted me over a month.
Ingredients:
Water (filtered), Sodium Citrate (plant based chelant), Sodium Silicate, Zeolite, Sodium Caprylyl Sulfonate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Extract, Xanthan Gum (plant based stabilizer), P(AA/NaHS03)_Na Salt, Amylase Blend, Protease Blend, Sodium Carboxymethyl Inulin (plant based chelant), Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Sodium Sulfate, Isopropyl Alcohol
CONTAINS NO
Phosphate, chlorine, ammonia, petroleum solvents, butyl, glycol ether, metasilicate, brighteners, SLES, or EDTA. No materials listed by the ACGIH as hazardous.
Costs: $17.32 per bottle, 32 loads, which is about $.54/load.
This left a bit of a hazy film on the dishes, but after adding some white vinegar as a rinse aid that helped quite a bit. This was pretty good at getting regular food off of the dishes, but anything like sunflower seed butter (hard to get off with a sponge!) or anything baked on didn’t come off. I usually wash the dishes pretty well before they go into the dishwasher, but left some stuff on just to see how the detergent did. I also always squirted the soap holder full and then a little extra! I think this is good detergent and has overall great ingredients, but for baked on grime you need to make sure that you do the scrubbing before the dishes are added to the dishwasher.
I have also heard that adding the extra detergent could be what caused the film. It seems like you need more, but if you follow the instructions exactly and have the white vinegar as a rinse there is less/no film.
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Pack Free and Clear
EWG Rating: A
Ingredients: Sodium carbonate (mineral-based cleaning agent), citric acid (plant-derived water softener), sodium sulfate (mineral-based processing aid), sodium percarbonate (mineral-based oxygen stain removal agent), ppg-10-laureth-7 (plant-modified synthetic cleaning agent), sodium polyaspartate (synthetic anti-filming agent), sodium silicate (mineral-based cleaning enhancer), sodium magnesium silicate (mineral-based anti-spotting agent), sodium aluminosilicate (mineral-based water softener), protease and amylase (plant-derived enzyme blend soil remover). Fragranced with plant-based essential oils and botanical extracts*Lemon: Citrus Grandis (grapefruit) peel oil, citrus limon (lemon) peel oil, cymbopogon schoenanthus (lemongrass) oil.*d-Limonene is a component of these fragrance ingredients.
Product Manufactured in: Illinois, USA
Ingredient Origins: USA and Globally Sourced
Cost: $5.99-$7.99 for 20 pods. So it’s about $.30- $.40 a load.
This is the detergent that I (Kara) am currently using. I’m happy to report that it leaves dishes clean, no film and the handy pods are nice. This product gives you the best bang for your buck that I have found. It also seems the most like “regular” dishwashing detergent. It’s pretty middle of the road as far as cost goes, not the cheapest and not the most expensive. Eco friendly, less toxic, effective, doesn’t break the bank. Yes Please!
2 comments
Thank you so much ladies! I was making my own but then dishwasher stopped working — not sure if it was what I was using in there or some other reason. For a couple years washed dishes by hand, but finally got a dishwasher again and wanting to use something pre-migraine and safe for the new dishwasher as well as safe for our bodies. I will try out the 7 the generation pods and the biokleen powder!! Thanks again!!
You’re welcome Dr. Summer! My dishwasher is running at this moment with the 7th Generation Pods and they are super convenient and get the job done. Yay for dishwashers! So glad we could help narrow down the choices to a few that work for us and are safe!