Citradish Automatic Dishwasher Detergent

Citradish (or "Citra-dish") is my newest experiment with dishwashing powders. I tend to have problems with my dishwasher leaving powdery bits inside my drinking cups, but the box claims that the product (Valencia Orange version) incorporates a rinse aid so I thought... hmmm maybe somehow it'll help rinse off the residue.[1] It also advertises itself as cruelty free, vegan, chlorine bleach free, and made with essential oils. (There's more on the side of the box, but I don't want you to doze on me.)

This is another case of "they must have updated their packaging but not their website". My box is a bright orange recycled paper number with a big juicy orange on the front, unlike the rather unaesthetic former packaging job they have on the www. (See image.)

As far as performance, I have no complaints at all. This stuff works perfectly, as well as my Biokleen powdered detergent. It leaves my dishes and cups shiny, and doesn't leave behind any sort of odor (I love scented products, as you know, but dishwasher detergent doesn't need to smell unless it's part of the functionality... I'm not going to stand around huffing my dishwasher cups.) The box claims you ought to fill both cups in your dishwasher, but I can actually get away with filling one cup only half and get the same results. Nothing stuck to my dishes, and everything came out with a nice shine. (The test is always the dog food bowls.)

The super test was the enchilada spatula and plates from last night. These products always brag that they can remove "baked-on food". Well, it actually did. I'd buy again, particularly if my local natural foods shop doesn't start stocking more varieties of dish detergent ;)

1. My logic, it is flawless!

Biokleen Automatic Dish Powder

Biokleen's "Automatic Dish Powder with Grapefruilt Seed & Orange Peel Extract" is my current favorite dishwasher soap, and it's on sale from drugstore.com right now (I sure wish I got kickbacks for these referrals ;) ) I love it because, as mentioned yesterday, I can get 64 dishwasher loads from it for generally around $5.50. (It's on sale often.) It also smells amazing, but if the citrus scent bothers you, it does come in a "free and clear" version.

My only annoyance with this product is that it does not include a scoop. I was lucky that I had a spare plastic scoop from another product that I could devote to the canister. It's not as though I'd want to leave my baking tablespoon sitting in the dishwasher powder all the time. The biokleen laundry powder includes a scoop, so I wish they'd port that feature to all of the other powdered products (I do understand it's more eco friendly not to include one, however.)

As mentioned yesterday, I don't do a particularly thorough job rinsing my dishes before putting them haphazardly into the dishwasher. I hate dishes, and I suppose I ask a lot from my dish washing soap. Biokleen delivers- I don't end up with streaks or spots, just clean and happy dishes. It works better than some toxic brands I've used in the past, and it definitely smells the best thanks to that grapefruit seed and orange peel extract. (The scent does not transfer to your dishes, fear not.)

I've run the gamut of powdered dishwasher soaps, so this is the first to impress me. (The Ecover cubes did too, but they're, um, cubes, not powder.) The canister is also a lot smaller than most boxes, so you'll have more room under your sink to store extra Casabella cute fish shaped biodegradable sponges.

Ecover Dishwasher Tablets

When I first saw these in the store, I thought "how inefficient." Individually wrapped dishwasher tablets? Silly. Somehow I decided to try them anyway, and I was really glad that I did. Like all of Ecover's products I've tried thus far, they do a fantastic job. My dishes come out of our crappy dishwasher sparkling clean. The individually wrapped plastic sleeves are recylable too (here in Chicago anyway. In Providence we could only recycle plastic 1-3 and these are a #4). I'm not the most thorough rinser of dishes, and often stuff the dishes into the washer rather haphazardly.

My only beef with these is that a box does only 25 dishwasher loads (25 tablets) for $5.79. The Biokleen dishwasher powder does 64 loads for $8.19 but it is usually on sale for less than the Ecover. Still, these are very convenient and effective