Popular dishwashing detergents are ranked from best to worst – after they’re put to the test on egg yolk, coffee and red wine stains
- CHOICE has ranked popular dishwashing detergents from best to worst
- The experts explained how detergents can make a huge difference to dishes
- The brands were tested against egg yolk, red wine, coffee and baked-on cheese
Australian consumer organisation CHOICE has ranked popular dishwashing detergents from best to worst.
The experts explained how detergents can make a huge difference between getting sparkling results in the first cycle or worse, having to rewash the dishes by hand.
‘It doesn’t matter how good your dishwasher is, you’ll never get sparkling results if the detergent you use performs poorly,’ CHOICE’S reviewer Ashley Iredale said.
‘Switch to a good quality detergent and you’ll notice better cleaning performance straight away.’
The supermarket tablets, capsules, gel and powder were rated based on value for money and cleaning performance against common stains such as egg yolk, red wine, coffee and baked-on cheese.
Australian consumer organisation CHOICE has put popular dishwashing detergents to the test
Of the 25 products tested, Earth Choice Dish Tablets ($16.20) and Finish Powerball Quantum Ultimate Pro Lemon Sparkle ($32) both achieved the highest score of 78 per cent.
The two products were able to tackle the dirtiest dishes, with Earth Choice, which costs just 39 cents per wash, removing egg yolk at 84 per cent, baked-on cheese at 93 per cent, red wine at 66 per cent and coffee at 67 per cent.
Finish Powerball, which costs $1 per wash, scored 85 per cent on egg yolk, 93 per cent on baked-on cheese, 86 per cent on mince meat, 62 per cent on red wine and 65 per cent on coffee.
EcoStore Dishwasher Tablets ($19 – 38 cents per wash) and Finish Powerball Quantum Ultimate Pro Baking Soda ($32 – $1 per wash) both landed on 77 per cent.
Koh Dishwashing Tablets ($29.99 – 60 cents per wash) earned 76 per cent, followed by Finish Powerball 0 Percent ($17 – 77 cents per wash) and Finish Powerball Quantum Ultimate Powerful Clean & Shine Lemon Sparkle ($23 – 46 cents per wash) at 75 per cent.
Despite being one of the most expensive brands on the market, Finish Powerball proved to be worth every cent as it claimed four spots out of the top seven.
Coles Ultra Dishwasher Powder Lemon Fresh 2x Concentrate ($4) scored the lowest points of just 43 per cent, followed by Simply Clean Lemon Myrtle Dishwasher Powder ($11.90) at 44 per cent.
Of the 25 products tested, Earth Choice Dish Tablets ($16.20) and Finish Powerball Quantum Ultimate Pro Lemon Sparkle ($32) both achieved the highest score of 78 per cent
Despite being one of the most expensive brands on the market, Finish Powerball proved to be worth every cent as it claimed four spots out of the top seven
The experts recommended the top seven detergents out of the 29 products tested.
‘We use a bank of four identical dishwashers and use pre-stained plates. Why do we use pre-stained plates? Because if you want to compare dishwasher detergent performance fairly, you have to use the same conditions for all of them, Mr Iredale said.
‘These stained plates are embedded with a specific amount of dirt, are identical and made up of a very specific formula.
‘These are used all over the world by large detergent makers, plus other consumer organisations and are considered a standard in testing detergents.
‘Using these is a means to minimise the amount of variables so you can see which detergent comes out best when comparing them.’