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There’s nothing more frustrating than unloading the dishwasher only to find stuck-on food or cloudy glassware. A powerful detergent can make all the difference, saving you from rewashing dishes by hand or running another cycle.
To help you choose a formula that delivers consistently clean results, our team evaluated and compared the top dishwasher detergents available. Below are our top picks to keep your dishes spotless with ease.
Top 5 Dishwasher Detergents
Based on our research, these are the best dishwasher detergents.
- Best Storage: Cascade Complete Dishwasher Pods
- Most Tablets: Finish Dishwasher Detergent Tabs
- Most Bottles: Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Gel
- Best Powder: Ecover Dishwasher Soap Powder
- Largest Bottle: Palmolive Eco Dishwasher Detergent Gel
Compare Top Dishwasher Detergents
| Product | Form | Quantity | Scent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Complete Dishwasher Pods | Tablets | 78 tablets | Fresh |
| Finish Dishwasher Detergent Tabs | Tablets | 82 tablets | Original |
| Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Gel | Gel | Six pack of 42-ounce bottles | Lemon |
| Ecover Dishwasher Soap Powder | Powder | Eight pack of 48-ounce containers | Citrus |
| Palmolive Eco Dishwasher Detergent Gel | Gel | Three pack of 45-ounce containers | Lemon |
| Product | Form | Quantity | Scent |
Best Storage
Cascade Complete Dishwasher Pods
- $18.1
- $20.99
- 14% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes in a pack of 78 pods
✔ Doesn’t leave behind residue
✔ Can remove 24-hour stuck-on grime
✘ Can cause poisoning if a child accidentally ingests it
✘ Can sometimes leave residue on dishes
Key Features
- Tablet form
- 78-pack
- Fresh scent
- Phosphate-free formula
What Customers Are Saying
Customers gave these dishwasher pods positive reviews for being simple to use, leaving a fresh scent, and working in a variety of dishwasher models and brands. However, some customers had issues getting the pods to dissolve properly, while others said that they contained too much soap.
Most Tablets
Finish Dishwasher Detergent Tabs
- $16.38
- $19.26
- 15% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes in an 82-pack
✔ Comes as pre-portioned tablets
✔ Uses bleach to remove difficult stains
✘ Has a strong chemical scent
✘ Can burst when it’s being stored
Key Features
- Tablet form
- 82-pack
- Three-part formula
What Customers Are Saying
Positive reviews pointed out that this dishwasher detergent was effective at leaving a variety of dishes sparkling clean. However, customers who left negative reviews for this product struggled to get all three chambers of the tablet to dissolve.
Most Bottles
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Gel
- $54
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Has a bio-based formula that’s free from synthetic fragrance, dye, chlorine, and phosphate
✔ Has a lemon scent that’s made from 100% essential oils
✔ Is packaged with recyclable materials
✘ Has a 65% bio-based formula instead of a 100% one
✘ Is not effective for hard water stains
Key Features
- Gel form
- Six-pack of 42-ounce bottles
- Lemon scent
- Bio-based formula
What Customers Are Saying
Satisfied customers liked that the gel had a pleasant scent and worked in older dishwashers. They also appreciated how they could customize how much they used per load. However, negative reviews claimed that it sometimes left a cloudy residue or didn’t remove all of the grime.
Best Powder
Ecover Dishwasher Soap Powder
- $49.52
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Comes in eight 48-ounce boxe
✔ Available with or without fragrance
✔ Packaged in recycled cardboard
✘ Can make a mess if it spills
✘ Doesn’t work well as as some other detergents that use harsh chemicals
Key Features
- Powder form
- Eight-pack of 48-ounce containers
- Citrus scent
- Biodegradable formula
What Customers Are Saying
Customers who gave this product positive reviews said that it worked well on hard water stains and had a minimal smell. However, other customers were disappointed when it left a film instead of a sparkling shine on their dishes.
Largest Bottle
Palmolive Eco Dishwasher Detergent Gel
- $24
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Pros and Cons
✔ Has a phosphate-free formula that’s friendly to lakes and streams
✔ Has a fresh lemon scent
✔ Comes with three bottles
✘ Contains bleach, which has a strong smell and health risks
✘ Can leave dark spots on Sterling silver utensils
Key Features
- Gel form
- Three-pack of 45-ounce bottles
- Lemon scent
- Phosphate-free formula
What Customers Are Saying
Happy customers liked that this dishwasher detergent was good for the environment and effective with hard water. They also mentioned how long the three large bottles lasted. However, dissatisfied customers consistently said that it left residue on their dishes. A small group also mentioned the bottles being packaged poorly and leaking during transit.
Buying Guide to Dishwasher Detergent
From type to scent to amount, there are several important factors to consider as you’re searching for and purchasing new dishwasher detergent. We put together this buying guide to help you find the best detergent for your home.
Type
Dishwasher detergent comes in liquid, powder, gel, or tablet form. Tablets are pre-measured and ready to place in the detergent compartment of your dishwasher. While convenient, they’re more expensive than the other types. The remaining three each have their own benefit, with powder scrubbing, gel degreasing, and liquid shining your dishes.
Scent
Some detergents come with a fresh scent, such as lemon or citrus, to make your dishes smell clean when you pull them out. Others are unscented or chemical-smelling. If you’re sensitive to smells, opt for a detergent with a light scent or no scent.
Eco-Friendliness
Many dishwasher detergents are starting to use more eco-friendly ingredients. Using plant- or mineral-based formulas, they avoid phosphates, dyes, and other harsh chemicals. Some detergents are also packaged in recycled or recyclable materials, such as cardboard.
Amount
The number of tablets or the number of ounces of detergent you have determines how many times you can run your dishwasher. Most tablets come in packs between 50 and 100, while liquid, gel, and powder detergents typically come in bottles or packages that hold around 40 or 50 ounces. Sometimes multiple bottles are packaged together to give you more detergent at a more affordable per-ounce price.
Items You Shouldn’t Wash in a Dishwasher
We can all agree that washing dishes in a dishwasher is more convenient than doing it by hand, but there are certain items that aren’t safe for your dishwasher. Here are some items that you have to clean in your sink:
- Aluminum cookware
- Chef’s knives
- China
- Copper pots and pans
- Crystal dishes
- Graters
- Hand-painted dishes
- Insulated glasses
- Labeled or printed dishes
- Nonstick pots and pans
- Wooden dishes
Frequently Asked Questions About Dishwasher Detergent
How much dishwasher detergent do I need to use?
If you’re using tablets, use one per load. For gel, powder, or liquid detergent, measuring it can be more tricky. Typically, two or three tablespoons per load is sufficient, but you may need more or less depending on how many dishes you’re cleaning, what type of stains are on them, and how effective your dishwasher is.
Can I use dishwasher detergent to wash my dishes by hand?
No. Detergent doesn’t suds well, and it can irritate your skin. Conversely, you shouldn’t use dish soap as a replacement for detergent either, as it can overflow or flood your dishwasher.
Why aren’t my dishwasher pods dissolving fully?
There are several reasons your pods may not be dissolving, but two of the most common ones are that your dishwasher isn’t getting hot enough and that your detergent door is blocked. Both of these problems have easy fixes. You can change the wash cycle or rearrange the dishes, respectively.
Why You Can Trust Us
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
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