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The Best Dish Soap

Last updated on March 15, 2024

Our Review Process

Don't Waste Your Money is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to. Learn more.

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There’s nothing worse than spending money on a bottle of dish soap that doesn’t get your pots and pans nice and clean. You want a quality dish soap that can tackle everything from grease to stuck-on foods. That way you can spend less time at the kitchen sink and more time with your family and friends.

Simplemost Media

As you search for the best dish soap, look for a brand that has been dermatologist tested if you have sensitive skin.

Simplemost Media

You’ll also want to consider specialty dish soaps made for families with infants and toddlers if you have small children at home. For example, you’ll want a bottle that is free of fragrances, dyes, phosphates and phthalates. This formula is safer to use when washing your baby’s bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups. They also tend to be cruelty-free and never tested on animals.

Determine how effective the dish soap is against grease and stuck-on foods. Dawn Platinum Liquid Dish Soap & Sponge, 3-Pack is one brand that is well-known for tackling these issues. In fact, it’s listed as being four times more powerful at lifting away grease and able to release stuck-on foods in just a few seconds.

MORE: The Best Kitchen Soap Tray

When you’ve narrowed down your search for the best dish soap to a few choices, go with the one that has a pleasant scent. Some dish soaps use a mixture of floral and fruit notes to create a sweet-smelling dish soap that will make you look forward to cleaning up after a meal.

Our Picks For The Top Dish Soaps

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Product Overview
Our Take
 Top Pick

Dawn Grease Cleaning Dish Soap & Sponge, 3-Pack

Don't Waste Your Money Seal of Approval

Dawn

Grease Cleaning Dish Soap & Sponge, 3-Pack

Known for being tough on grease, this dish soap is a must-have for every kitchen. The dish soap comes in a refreshing scent and an attractive blue color. Each set includes two non-scratch sponges that are safe to use on cookware with nonstick surfaces.

Overall Take

Tough on GreaseStuck-on foods are no matching for the cleaning power of this dish soap.

 Runner Up

DAPPLE Baby-Friendly Dish Soap, 3-Pack

DAPPLE Baby

-Friendly Dish Soap, 3-Pack

This three-pack of fragrance-free soap is great for families that don't like heavily scented soaps.

Overall Take

Great for FamiliesThe pump-top dispenser makes this easy to use while you're at the kitchen sink.

 Strong Contender

Palmolive Deep Grease Cutting Dish Soap, 4-Pack

Palmolive

Deep Grease Cutting Dish Soap, 4-Pack

Get rid of tough stains like coffee with this dish soap. It also cleans greasy messes. The soap is a phosphate-free kosher formula.

Overall Take

Cleans StainsThis dish soap can clean tough stains like coffee.

 Also Consider

Mrs. Meyer’s Honeysuckle Clean Day Dish Soap, 3-Pack

Mrs. Meyer’s

Honeysuckle Clean Day Dish Soap, 3-Pack

This dish soap is cruelty-free and never tested on animals. It's also formulated using plant-derived ingredients and has a delightful all-natural fragrance with fruit and floral notes. In fact, the company also has a line of laundry, body care and household cleaners, all in the same scent!

Overall Take

Biodegradable Dish SoapSince this dish soap uses only plant-derived ingredients, it's completely biodegradable.

What to Look For

  • Most dish soaps leave hands feeling dry afterward. It’s good practice to keep a bottle of moisturizing lotion next to your dish soap. After you’ve finished washing the dishes, you can rehydrate your hands with the lotion.
  • Some dish soaps have a potent smell that may not be ideal for individuals who have an aversion to strong odors.

MORE: This dish soap dispenser eliminates clutter on your kitchen counter

  • Store bottles upright or in a leak-proof bag. Reviewers report that the bottles leak when placed on their sides.
  • Concentrated soaps may require additional rinsing to be fully free of any soap residue.
  • Dish soap can be used to pre-treat stains on clothing, as well as a laundry detergent substitute if you run out and can’t get to the store right away.
  • Amaze your children with a fun magic trick using dish soap. Place some water in a bowl and decorate the surface of the water with black pepper. Coat your child’s finger in dish soap and have them stick their finger in the center of the bowl. The pepper will scatter like magic.
  • If price is a factor in your selection of dish soap, you’ll need to compare the price per ounce. To get to this figure, you need to divide the total cost by the total number of ounces being sold. The Dawn Platinum Liquid Dish Soap & Sponge, 3-Pack is pretty affordable.

More to Explore

Did you know you can do much more with dish soap then clean your pots and pans? Here are just a few alternative uses for the dish soap you already have at home:

  • Create an ice pack by filling a zipper sandwich bag with dish soap and freezing it.
  • Make your own weed killer by combining one gallon of vinegar, one cup of salt and one tablespoon of dish soap.
  • Exterminate fruit flies by pouring sweet-smelling dish soap in a jar, adding water and covering the jar with a sheet of plastic wrap that has a hole in the center.
  • Clean automotive tools by soaking them in grease-fighting dish soap.
  • Spray a combination of dish soap and water over a tire or ball that you may be suspicious has a leak. If there is a leak, the solution will bubble.
  • Soak your jewelry in a mixture of water and seltzer for five minutes to get it clean and shiny again.

MORE: Can you use hand soap to wash dishes?

More to explore