Dishing on Dishwasher Detergent

I had three enviromentally friendly dishwashing detergents that didn't work so I decided to buy three more to see if I could find one that did!   (I am not sponsored or connected to any of these companies. )

Here the results of my research.

The Problem

before washing

after washing

The dishes were not getting clean.  This is spaghetti sauce with chesse washed with Ecos.  Also the three products I had, Ecos, Nature's Promise and 7th generation consistently did not clean cinnamon off my breackfast bowls. (I use a lot of cinnamon.) 

Constants

Dishwasher - Bosch - set on Pot scrubber
Rinse Agent - white vinegar

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Products Tested

Product

​Nature's Promise 


​Ecos



​Mrs. Myers


dropps



​7th Generation


​Ecover Zero  

Clean Dishes
No


​No



​Yes


Yes



​No


Yes

$/ load
15 ¢


​22¢



​42¢


​39¢
22¢ with auto ship

​9¢


​19¢

Packaging

​recyclable 
​

​recyclable 



​unrecyclable 


recyclable



​recyclable 


some plastic 

Parent Company

​Ahold Delhaize  Co.   -  Netherlands
​
​Earth Friendly Products Co. - New Jersey

Johnson & Johnson -Wisconsin

dropps - Illinois


​
​Unliever - London


Johnson & Johnson - Belgium

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Animal Testing

Leaping Bunny Certified
Ecos, Ecover, Mrs. Myers, 7th Generation
requires that no new animal testing be used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or ingredient suppliers

PETA Cruelty-Free
dropps
a product and its ingredients weren't tested on animals.

​Cruelty Free
Giant Nature's Promise
 may only refer to the finished product, not any testing that may have occurred at the ingredient level.

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Ingredients

All were:

• plant based
• No phosphates
• no chlorine
• no sulfates except 
  • droops -contains alkyl (C10-16) a sugar based compond that is biodegratable​​

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My Choice

Image used with permission of dropps

dropps is what I will use from here on out and I am willing to pay a bit more because:

• my dishes are clean
• there is no waste
• ​they are PETA Certified Crulety-Free
• they off set 100% of their carbon emissions from shipping
• ​they sell a sampler so you can try it out
• they are very responsive customer questions

Although Mrs. Myers and Ecover both performed well they both had recycable issues and although they are Leaping Bunny Certified, Johnson & Johnson is not.

Homemade Option

3 drops of dish soap (I used Method dish soap and very small drops)
1 1/2 tablespoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
cost- 5¢/load
Results- Dishes got clean but a residue was left on metal surfaces.