The Difference Between Cheap and High-End Dish Detergents? There Isn’t One

Turns out that soap is soap. It really doesn’t matter if you go for the super expensive stuff or the cheapo bottle. Liquid dish detergents, at least the 14 that were tested by Consumer Reports, all contain surfactants, enzymes and other chemicals that aid in cleaning. And all were proven nearly equally effective in cleaning a baked-on mixture of evaporated milk, flour, egg yolks and sugar off of glass plates.

In fact, we recommended all 14 dish liquids we tested after finding that they were very good at removing food and grease. Out of the batch were two Best Buys – the Ajax and Kirkland Signature (sold at Costco). Both cost 6 cents per ounce.

“Our tests show you don’t have to pay a lot to get your dishes clean,” said Jim Nanni, Associate Technical Director for Consumer Reports.

So it seems that this is one situation where even the experts will tell you to buy the cheap stuff. You’ll save some money and you won’t have to sacrifice quality. Oh, and one other tip from Consumer Reports?

[…] you should skip antibacterial cleaners, which don’t do any better, and could lead to the development of tougher bacteria.

Source: Cheap dish detergent is just as good as high-end brands