The Best Dish Soaps

Buying Guide for Dish Soaps

Why buy dish soap?

Dish soap is one of the most effective tools to clean dishes. It’s essential for most households, even those with dishwashers, since not everything can fit or be washed in the dishwasher. Hand washing dishes with dish soap is a huge part of everyday cleaning. Dish soap is also great at getting grease stains out of clothing, cleaning hairbrushes, and shining jewelry.

What should you look for in dish soap?

What accessories go best with dish soap?

Consider picking out a pair of dishwashing gloves to protect your hands and nails when doing dishes. Cleaning is made easier with the addition of a good sponge to scrub and get rid of caked-on food particles. Also consider using a small tray or soap dish by the sink to hold your soap and sponge when not in use.

Our Picks for the Best Dish Soaps

Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid Soap

This soap contains three times the grease cleaning power and requires 50% less scrubbing than its competitors.

$15.94

Pros: Blue Dawn is the quintessential dish soap. It’s soft on your hands but super effective on grease. It gets super sudsy but requires less scrubbing to get dishes clean. There’s a reason it’s so popular. You should be very happy with this dish soap. This set even comes with two non-scratch sponges.

Cons: Some reviewers said the scent of this soap is too strong for them.

Bottom Line: This powerful dish soap is safe to use on dishes, cabinets, stainless steel, and even car wheels and rims. You can’t beat the value for the price, nor the impressive cleaning ability.

Palm Olive Essential Clean Liquid Dish Soap

This dish soap removes the toughest grease and gives dishes a sparkling clean.

$8.38

Pros: This bottle of dish soap is soft on your hands and tough on dirty dishes. It comes in the refreshing original scent and is non-concentrated. It’s made in the U.S. and contains no phosphates. It’ll leave your dishes clean and your hands soft.

Cons: This soap may require you to rinse your dishes longer to get all the residue off.

Bottom Line: The best part about this soap is that it requires just a small amount to get the cleaning done, unlike other dish soaps.

Dapple Baby Bottle and Dish Soap

Baby-friendly dish soap with a convenient pump-top dispenser.

$14.88$19.99 Save 26%

Pros: This three-pack of dish soap comes in a convenient pump-top dispenser for easy use. The soap effectively cleans baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, and breast pump components without harsh ingredients. It blasts odors and residues left behind with its baby-friendly, plant-based ingredients.

Cons: It’s possible the pumps on these soaps may clog or stop working.

Bottom Line: This dish soap is hypoallergenic, pediatrician- and dermatologist-tested, and never tested on animals. You can feel good when using this product to wash your baby’s bottles and pacifiers, as it’s formulated without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic dyes, fragrances, chlorine, formaldehyde, or alcohol.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Dishwashing Liquid

A plant-derived dish soap that cuts through grease and is lemon scented.

$12.51

Pros: Mrs. Meyer’s dishwashing liquid comes in a refreshing lemon verbena scent. It will cut through grease and keep dishes clean and bright. The dish soap is made with plant-derived cleaning ingredients and is cruelty-free and biodegradable.

Cons: Some find that it takes a lot of scrubbing to get the residue off dishes.

Bottom Line: This dish soap busts through grease yet is soft enough for hand washing dishes and cleaning around your home.

Seventh Generation Dish Soap Liquid

A plant-based dish soap that busts through grease, is septic-safe, and has no added fragrance.

$17.34

Pros: The Seventh Generation dish soap liquid fights grease and powers through tough, dried-on food. It’s safe enough for septic systems and is gentle on the hands. There is no fragrance in this product, and it’s a USDA-certified biobased product.

Cons: Some reviewers said this product does not lather easily.

Bottom Line: The formula is tested by dermatologists to be safe on sensitive skin. It’s an excellent value for the price and should work well for many people.

Final Thoughts

Having a bottle of dish soap on the side of your sink is essential for efficiently cleaning your dishes. These suggestions should work well in your home.