The 4 Best Dishwasher Detergents of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Andrea Barnes Andrea Barnes is a writer covering large cleaning appliances. Each year for testing, she runs over 120 dish cycles and washes 120 loads of laundry. After a new round of testing,

By Andrea Barnes

Andrea Barnes is a writer covering large cleaning appliances. Each year for testing, she runs over 120 dish cycles and washes 120 loads of laundry.

After a new round of testing, Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs are still our top pick, and Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs remain our runner-up pick.

A great dishwasher detergent can punch up the cleaning power of even the most mediocre dishwasher, pulverizing peanut butter, eliminating eggs, and tackling tomato sauce. We tested over 30 detergents—pods, powders, tablets, and liquids—on the grimiest loads, and we found that Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs came the closest to cleaning nearly every dish.

These convenient pods are the best at annihilating tough messes, and they neutralize odors with a mild lemon scent. But they don’t leave glassware as shiny as some other detergents.

These pods cleaned nearly as well as our top pick. But the dyes and stronger scent may be less appealing to some people.

This affordable and powerful powder detergent wipes away baked-on and greasy foods, but you may need to use multiple scoops to get the best results.

This powder detergent is free of dyes, allergenic fragrance, PVA/PVOH, and plastic packaging. It cleans very well, but it falls short on grease and glassware, and it’s the most expensive powder we tested.

We evaluated a variety of detergent types, including pods, powders, tablets, and liquids.

Our tests examined how each detergent cleaned an array of food soils, including baked-on egg, peanut butter, and dried oatmeal.

We considered convenience, such as the benefit of single-dose pods and being able to measure a powder.

We scrutinized each detergent’s scent, leaning toward those with mild fragrances or unscented versions.

These convenient pods are the best at annihilating tough messes, and they neutralize odors with a mild lemon scent. But they don’t leave glassware as shiny as some other detergents.

Of all the detergents we tried, Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs came the closest to cleaning every dish in our test loads. These pods were able to wipe away baked-on egg and peanut butter—two stains that challenge dishwashers and detergents. They also effectively cleaned glassware and stemware, though the pods didn’t leave our pieces as shiny as some other detergents did.

Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs combine powder detergent with a top layer of liquid detergent boosters, which release as the coating dissolves. This gives the pods an edge in cleaning power over powder-only or liquid-only formulas. They’re also convenient because you don’t need to measure or pour out detergent.

These pods have extra detergent boosters that help cut grease and enhance shine better than the other detergents we tried. And they forgo dyes and chlorine bleach, which some people prefer to avoid.

The mild lemon scent, made with essential oils, isn’t overpowering, and it did the best job of neutralizing dishwasher odors. This detergent typically costs about 32¢ per load.

These pods cleaned nearly as well as our top pick. But the dyes and stronger scent may be less appealing to some people.

In our testing, Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs cleaned some of our toughest stains with ease, including peanut butter and baked-on egg and cheese. Though these pods worked great on greasy dishes, they didn’t quite match the power of our top pick, missing pieces of egg yolk here and there and leaving tomato juice residue at times.

The liquid detergent boosters encapsulated in the top of each pod are designed to cut grease and enhance shine. But they contain dyes (our top pick does not), so these pods may be less appealing to those who avoid dyes due to sensitivities or preference.

Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs have a strong “fresh” scent, which is more intense and noticeable than the lemon fragrance of our pick. They’re also slightly more expensive than our pick, currently costing about 37¢ per load.

This affordable and powerful powder detergent wipes away baked-on and greasy foods, but you may need to use multiple scoops to get the best results.

In our testing, powder detergents generally didn’t clean as well as chambered pods. But if you prefer a powder, Cascade Complete Powder is a highly effective choice.

This detergent contains a powdered version of Dawn dish soap, to enhance grease removal and shine. Cascade Complete also contains blue granules of protease, a protein-busting enzyme that proved especially effective on meat sauce, egg yolk, and burnt milk in our testing. This detergent cleaned greasy spoons and tea- and coffee-stained mugs with ease, and it left glassware spot-free.

It’s also the cheapest of our picks, currently priced at about 5¢ per load. But keep in mind that for heavily soiled loads, you may need to use two scoops of detergent to get the best cleaning results.

If you prefer a dishwasher detergent that is free of dyes, allergenic fragrance, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH), and plastic packaging, Dirty Labs 2-in-1 Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent + Booster is the best of its type. Of the powder detergents we tested from boutique brands that purport to be sustainable, this one came the closest to performing as well as mainstream powder detergents.

Dirty Labs 2-in-1 pretty easily cleaned stubborn proteins and starches, including rice, beans, and oatmeal (which even our top pick struggled with at times). But it fell short when cleaning cooked-on grease, and it left some glassware spotty.

Dirty Labs 2-in-1 is the most expensive detergent we recommend; it currently costs about 42¢ to wash a lightly soiled load and 84¢ for a more heavily soiled load of unrinsed dishes.

I’m a staff writer on Wirecutter’s appliance team, where I cover large cleaning appliances, including dishwashers. I conduct our dishwasher testing, during which I’ve observed and assessed more than a dozen dishwashers and hundreds of dishwasher cycles. I’ve paid close attention to dishwasher detergent since my mother started buying Electrasol tabs in bulk in 1997.

For this guide:

If you typically open your dishwasher to find spattered plates, cloudy glasses, and dull cutlery, first consider using a new detergent. (This is especially true if you currently use a liquid detergent, which uniformly cleans worse than pods or powders.) A good detergent can significantly improve the cleaning performance of an average dishwasher and can even boost the power of an excellent machine.

If you prerinse your dishes, it might be time to stop (really!) so that a good detergent can do its job properly. Dishwasher detergents contain a combination of enzymes, buffers (to maintain pH balance), surfactants (to remove grease and other soils), and bleach or some other high-sodium base (to remove stains). The enzymes are designed to attack soils: If you rinse your dishes clean, you leave nothing for the enzymes to devour. The enzymes may even slowly eat away at the dishes themselves, causing frosting or etching.

You may need to experiment with a few different detergents to find the one that works best with your dishwasher and water supply. If you have hard water, note that many pods—particularly those with chambers that separate detergent boosters from the main detergent—now contain water softeners, too. (If you’re unsure, check your detergent’s label.)

Also check the expiration date of the detergent you have. We suggest using any dishwasher detergent within a year of purchase; the potency of enzymes can degrade over time and lose some cleaning power. If you’ve noticed your dishwasher detergent shows discoloration after a few months, don’t worry. This is normal and will not impact cleaning performance.

Dishwasher detergents come as pods, powders, tablets, or liquids. In addition to differing in how convenient they are to use, these assorted types of detergents vary in their cleaning features and strengths. Here’s an overview:

Dishwasher pods (also called packs) are single-dose detergents typically made of powder detergent encased in a water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH) film. Some pods, such as our top pick and runner-up pick, contain additional liquid cleaning agents (in separate chambers) that release when the PVA/PVOH film dissolves. This design keeps liquid and powder separate until they are dispensed, allowing detergent boosters (which operate best in liquid form) to combine with powder detergent during a dishwasher’s cycle, thereby enhancing their effectiveness.

Pods are also neat, convenient, and easy to use. Their PVA/PVOH film prevents direct contact with their detergents—a plus for those with sensitivities. But they’re typically more expensive than other detergent types.

Though powder detergents lack some of the advantages of pods with liquid detergent boosters, the granulated enzymes in powder detergent still provide plenty of cleaning power. Detergent in powder form also allows you to easily adjust how much product you use. This can be helpful if you have an older dishwasher that’s equipped with a prerinse drawer (where you could add more detergent) or a less-effective machine that’s not quite powerful enough to handle a stronger detergent (which might leave detergent residue on your dishes). Powders are typically the most economical option. But they often come in larger boxes, which can be heavy and hard to pour from precisely.

Compared with powders, layered, single-dose tablets of powder detergent dissolve more slowly, and this extends how long they can clean. We found that most tablets cleaned better than powders (but not as well as pods with liquid detergent boosters). Some tablets, such as the Finish tablets we like, are individually wrapped; this keeps them dry, but it isn’t ideal if you’re attempting to reduce waste. Others, like the Miele UltraTabs All in 1 (designed to be used with Miele dishwashers), have a water-soluble wrapping.

Often called gels, liquid detergents performed the worst in our tests and are generally not the best cleaners. Unlike with pods, powders, and tablets, with liquid detergent, a large portion washes away early on in a cycle. In addition, the cleaning agents are diluted during the process of manufacturing gel detergents, and key stain-removal components, such as bleach, often can’t be used with other ingredients in a liquid solution. (Liquid detergent formulas contain either bleach or enzymes, but not both, and that leads to much-less-effective cleaning.) If you use a liquid detergent, and you think you need a new dishwasher because its cleaning isn’t up to par, try a powder or a pod before you replace your machine.

If you simply prefer a gel detergent, despite the tradeoffs, we found little difference among brands. So we advise opting for the one with the best price you can find, the one that works best in your machine, or one with a scent you prefer.

Since 2023, we’ve tested over 30 detergents commonly found in grocery and big-box stores, as well as those from generic brands and newer boutique companies. I also mixed up a batch of DIY detergent (yes, it’s a thing) using washing soda, citric acid, boric acid, and kosher salt. (Spoiler: It didn’t work.)

Here’s how we evaluated the detergents:

To assess detergents, we used the most challenging soils we encountered during our dishwasher testing, including baked-on egg, peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate syrup, rice, and tomato sauce.

For each test load, we coated four dinner plates, four salad plates, and two bowls with a variety of foods, and then we microwaved them for five minutes to set the stains. We also replicated a burned-on pasta-and-cheese casserole, and we included lipstick-stained stemware, drinking glasses coated with tomato juice, coffee-stained mugs, and dirty utensils.

Using the same dishwasher (the Bosch SHX65CM5N in 2024 and the Miele G5006SCUSS in 2023) for consistency, we ran the dishes through two one-hour cycles with each detergent. Shorter dishwasher cycles are designed for fresher stains, not for baked-on foods; using such a cycle helped us gauge how much work the detergent did versus how much the dishwasher did.

We then tested the high performers in multiple express cycles (of around 60 minutes), using five other dishwashers, including the Maytag MDB8959SKZ (our forthcoming runner-up pick), the KitchenAid KDTF324PPA, and the Café CDT 888 (our pick for those who want a dishwasher with lots of customization and organization).

We evaluated the scent of each detergent, taking special note when a smell was too strong, odd, or outright unpleasant.

Some of the stronger-scented detergents left an acrid stench after a cycle was run. Conversely, some unscented detergents struggled to counteract the lingering odors of scummy dishwasher filters—though this is more likely due to less-effective formulations.

These convenient pods are the best at annihilating tough messes, and they neutralize odors with a mild lemon scent. But they don’t leave glassware as shiny as some other detergents.

Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs detergent was the most well-rounded one we tested. These pods are excellent at cleaning a variety of stains and substances, and they have a subtle scent and a dye-free formulation.

They’re excellent at cleaning. Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs came the closest to cleaning every dish in our test loads.

The pods contain liquid detergent boosters designed to cut through grease, and they worked effectively during our testing. In load after load, this was the only detergent in our test group that fully eliminated tricky stains and smears, including from avocado, tomato sauce, and peanut butter. With Cascade Free & Clear ActionPacs, most dishes emerged spotless, while other detergents left behind bits and blobs.

Notably, this detergent easily wiped out baked-on egg yolk—a stain that most dishwashers in our dishwasher testing struggled with. (Morgan Eberhard, a senior scientist at Procter & Gamble, the company that makes Cascade detergents, told us that Cascade contains a specific enzyme to combat egg protein.) The Free & Clear ActionPacs also did a good job of cleaning glassware and stemware, though they didn’t leave those pieces as shiny as some other detergents we like.

Free & Clear ActionPacs are conveniently premeasured and easy to use. These pods are encased in a water-soluble film made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH). Pods with a PVA/PVOH film are less messy to dispense than powders and liquids, and they ensure you’re using the correct amount of detergent.

The liquid detergent boosters in the top of each pod do not contain dyes or chlorine bleach. If you’re concerned about dyes due to sensitivities or preference, this detergent is a good option.

The pods have a pleasant, odor-neutralizing scent. Made of essential oils, the appealing lemon scent is milder than that of many other detergents we tested. It did the best job of neutralizing dishwasher odors without being overpowering.

Price per load: 32¢ (for a 62-count package) at the time of publication

It’s not easy to adjust the amount you use. All pods limit your ability to tweak doses. And this may be important to you, depending on a load’s soil level and a dishwasher’s cleaning abilities. (If this is a concern, try our powder pick.)

The pods are not fragrance-free, despite the “Free & Clear” in the name. Though the scent is pleasant, these pods have a fragrance, so they may not be for those who prefer an unscented detergent.

These pods cleaned nearly as well as our top pick. But the dyes and stronger scent may be less appealing to some people.

If you can’t find our top pick, and you want a pod, Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs detergent is a good second choice.

The pods clean well. Like our top pick, these pods contain liquid detergent boosters that help to cut grease. In our tests, the Platinum Plus ActionPacs even effectively handled peanut butter and baked-on egg—though not quite as thoroughly as our top pick did. Pyrex casserole dishes, glassware, and stemware dried spot-free.

The liquid detergent boosters on the tops of the pods contain dyes. The dyes don’t affect performance, but if you want to avoid dyes, our top pick is a better choice.

Price per load: 37¢ (for a 62-count package) at the time of publication

The scent can be intense. Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs have a strong “fresh” scent that’s harsher than the lemon fragrance of our top pick and not quite as pleasant. But in our tests, it effectively neutralized odors.

The amount you use can’t be easily adjusted. Like our top pick (and all pods), Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs are encased in a water-soluble film made of PVA/PVOH. Though it ensures you use the right amount, you can’t modify the dose, as you can with a powder detergent.

This affordable and powerful powder detergent wipes away baked-on and greasy foods, but you may need to use multiple scoops to get the best results.

Although they’re economical, powder detergents typically aren’t as powerful at cleaning or as convenient to use as pods. Of the 10 powder detergents we tested, however, the highly effective and affordable Cascade Complete Powder detergent rose to the top, delivering the best combination of cleaning power and value.

It’s an impressive cleaner. While it did not quite reach the level of our pod picks, Cascade Complete Powder handled all types of soils well, especially grease and protein. This detergent includes a powdered formulation of Dawn dish soap that boosts grease removal and shine. (Don’t worry: Dawn’s surfactants have been adjusted to prevent the sudsing associated with using dish soap in the dishwasher—which you shouldn’t do!) The detergent’s blend of enzymes helped it to scrub away tough proteins, like egg yolk and burnt milk, as well as greasy meat sauce, pudding, peanut butter, and avocado.

You can easily adjust how much you use. For people with quirky dishwashers that have a prerinse drawer (where you can add more detergent), or for those who own older dishwashers with simpler wash systems that cannot easily dissolve a pod, this powder detergent is a great choice.

It comes in a cardboard box. If you are looking to reduce the amount of plastic you purchase, this detergent is a great option.

Its price cannot be beat. Cascade Complete is the least expensive of our picks. A medium-soiled load, using about a tablespoon of detergent (about ½ an ounce), costs around 5¢ to clean.

Price per load: 5¢ to 10¢ (for a 75-ounce box) at the time of publication

You may need to use an extra scoop for tough jobs. We found that loads of especially dirty dishes came out the best when we added two scoops (about 1 ounce) of Cascade Complete Powder.

There is no scent-free version. Though Cascade Complete’s scent is mild (similar to that of dish soap), it may be too much for those who are sensitive to fragrance or those who simply avoid it.

The box can feel heavy when dispensing the detergent. Almost every box of this detergent that we’ve encountered weighs 4.5 pounds when full—just heavy enough that it can be a pain to lift when pouring. (If you’d prefer a lighter load, consider our other powder pick.)

If you don’t want a pod, and you’d prefer a detergent that’s free of dyes, synthetic fragrances, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH), and plastic packaging, consider Dirty Labs 2-in-1 Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent and Booster. From a boutique brand, this powder detergent is a strong, dependable cleaner.

It’s the best-performing “sustainable,” minimal-ingredient powder detergent we’ve tested. Of the multiple dishwasher detergents we tested from boutique brands that purport to be more sustainable than traditional detergents, Dirty Labs cleaned the best by a noticeable margin. It scrubbed tomato sauce off cutlery and pans, and it made short work of oatmeal, meat sauce, beans, rice, cheese, and other messy soils—even in quick-wash cycles.

It’s free of dyes and contains fewer ingredients than other powder detergents. Dirty Labs has a pared-down formula that incorporates no dyes and has fewer ingredients than other powder detergents typically do. The strong cleaning performance can largely be attributed to its proprietary Phytolase technology.

It comes with a sophisticated scent or in a fragrance-free version. If you like complex scents, this dishwasher detergent’s Aestival fragrance (yuzu, geranium, lemon balm) smells closer to something you’d find at Scent Lab than in the cleaning-supply aisle. If you’d prefer something without scent, there’s also a fragrance-free option.

It comes in a cardboard container, with a wooden spoon for dispensing. This detergent comes in a recyclable cylindrical cardboard container and has a wooden spoon for dispensing (which is a nice alternative to pouring from a metal spout).

The container is lightweight. The entire package weighs about a pound, so it’s less than half the weight of the smallest box (2.5 pounds) of our other powder pick.

Price per load: 42¢ to 84¢ (for a 16.8-ounce package) at the time of publication

It’s less effective on greasy stains. In our testing, this detergent fell short on some grease-removal tests when compared with similar brands (and our other powder pick).

It can be a pain to open (and close). The cardboard container has a metal seal, which can be frustrating to open—and the container is nearly impossible to open with one hand. Also, the accompanying wooden spoon won’t fit inside the container until you use a few loads’ worth of detergent.

It is not the best option for glassware. Many of the additives that help a detergent rinse glassware are harder to include in a uniform, all-powder formula. (Plenty of people hand-wash glassware, though, so this won’t be a dealbreaker for everyone.)

It’s expensive, especially for a powder detergent. One scoop is about 42¢ (at the time of publication). If you don’t rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, or if you have hard water, you’ll likely need two scoops to get results rivaling those from our picks; doing this will cost about 84¢. This is more than eight times the price of two scoops of our other powder detergent pick, but without more than eight times the cleaning advantage. One reason for the higher price may come down to the enzymes, which are expensive—and niche brands, such as Dirty Labs, don’t buy them in large quantities.

If you’d prefer a pod but our picks are not available: The entire suite of Cascade pod dishwasher detergents cleaned well in our tests. Cascade Original ActionPacs and Cascade Platinum ActionPacs had strong showings, as did Cascade Complete Pods. If you come across any Cascade dishwasher detergent at the store, it’s worth trying.

If you want a single-dose detergent without a PVA/PVOH film: You might like Finish Powerball Deep Clean tablets, the highest-performing PVA/PVOH-free tablets in our testing. This detergent cleaned tough baked-on egg stains pretty well—though not completely. It left glassware consistently shiny and spotless, as many Finish detergents do. Because these tabs don’t have a PVA/PVOH film, like our pod picks do, you don’t have to worry about them sticking in the dispenser. But they are individually wrapped in plastic, which adds an extra step and produces waste.

If you want an effective, lemon-scented powder detergent: Finish Powder Advanced, our former powder pick, has been discontinued, but we’ve spied some boxes floating around in stores. If you prefer powder dishwasher detergent and happen to see this out in the wild, it’s worth considering.

If you want a pod that is especially good on glassware: Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus Infinity Shine Tabs might fit your needs. Despite not quite reaching the cleaning power of our picks, this newer formulation cleaned well overall. And similar to other Finish detergents we like, these pods are especially effective on glass.

If you want a simple, fragrance-free powder detergent: Truly Free Dishwasher Soap surprised us with its above-average cleaning. Of the fragrance-free powders we tested, only our Dirty Labs 2-in-1 Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent and Booster pick did better.

If you want an effective tablet from a boutique brand: Cleancult Dishwasher Ultra Power Tablets did great in our testing. But these hard, layered tablets come with a loose PVA/PVOH wrapping that seems meant to be removed (though it isn’t). We don’t mind when PVA/PVOH serves to enhance a detergent’s formula, but these tabs really don’t need it. That said, if you’d prefer not to buy a mainstream brand, Cleancult is a good choice.

Basically Dishwasher Pacs, available on GoPuff, were a disappointment. Despite using chambered technology, they struggled with basic soils like tomato sauce and ice cream.

Clorox Triple Action Ultra Dishwasher Packs cleaned better than a lower-quality powder alone, but otherwise their performance didn’t impress us that much.

Dropps Ultrawash Dishwasher Detergent pods did well in our testing, but they lack the detergent boosters that give our picks an edge.

We tested several Finish detergents. Finish Powerball Quantum Tabs, which are actually pods, did not clean as well as our chambered pod picks. Finish Powerball Quantum Infinity Shine Tabs were also disappointing. And Finish Gelpacs, which struggled with basic soils, ranked toward the bottom of all the detergents we tested.

We tested Costco’s Kirkland Signature Platinum Performance UltraShine Dishwasher Detergent Pacs. The price is one of the lowest among the prices of pod detergents we tried. But this formula wasn’t a top performer in our testing.

Molly’s Suds Dishwasher Pods performed the worst in our cleaning tests. (The company’s laundry detergent fared similarly.) They smelled nice, though.

Puracy Dishwasher Detergent Pacs were mediocre, and there are better, comparably simple detergents on the market.

Although Seventh Generation’s Dishwasher Detergent Packs were good cleaners, they had a hard time neutralizing odors.

Of all the pods we tested, Smartly Dishwasher Packs and Method Dishwasher Packs were the weakest cleaners, struggling with burned-on cheese and oatmeal in particular.

Though Ecover Dishwasher Powder would be fine for lightly soiled dishes, it struggled on more-challenging messes.

The bargain-priced Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder failed to clean well and left a gritty film on glasses.

Nellie’s Dishwasher Powder has an enthusiastic following, but it was only an average cleaner in our testing.

Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Powder was a middle-of-the-road cleaner compared with the other powders we tested. In our soak tests against our front-runner powder detergents, it came in last place.

The DIY powder detergent that I mixed up for this guide wasn’t worth the time. After sourcing the ingredients (washing soda, citric acid, boric acid, kosher salt) and mixing the finished product, I ended up with a mediocre detergent that made me sneeze while I mixed it. Ultimately, it was also more expensive than our powder detergent pick.

Blueland Dishwasher Detergent Tablets come with a stylish reusable metal tin. But the tabs are softer than those of competitors, and pieces broke off when we handled them. These tabs were also worse cleaners than others we tested.

Miele UltraTabs All in 1 detergent is a fantastic cleaner, but it’s hard to find and was more than 50¢ per load at the time of publication.

Cascade Complete Gel, Finish Advanced Gel, and Smartly Lemon Scent Dishwasher Gel all performed similarly poorly in our testing, leaving behind large streaks and globs of food—including at the bottom of the dishwasher.

Rinse aid helps dishwashers dry better, and we added it to each machine at the beginning of our dishwasher testing. Dishwashers are designed to be used with rinse aid (which is why most machines arrive with a sample bottle of the stuff, and it’s why dishwasher manuals emphasize its use). Adding rinse aid to your dishwashing routine yields drier, sparklier glassware and dishes.

Any rinse aid is likely to be adequate for the job. During our dishwasher testing, we used rinse aid from Cascade, Finish, Miele, Seventh Generation, Ecos, and Ecover, and we did not see a significant difference in performance.

Most dishwasher pods are covered in a film made of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA/PVOH), a synthetic, water-soluble polymer. The majority of PVA/PVOH on the market is petroleum-based, though some companies are making an effort to produce biobased PVA/PVOH.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes PVA/PVOH on its Safer Chemical Ingredients List, and it has passed strident consumer safety testing in both Canada and the European Union, but some people are wary of its environmental impact. PVA/PVOH is technically biodegradable, but extensive research has not been done on how long it takes to biodegrade. The EPA continues to keep it on its Safer Choice list, even after reevaluating its eligibility in 2023. Dissolved PVA/PVOH is sometimes referred to as a microplastic, though this is debated in the detergent community. The polymer scientists we interviewed emphasize that there is no agreed-upon technical definition of what constitutes a microplastic.

PVA/PVOH, which is approved for human ingestion and is classified by the FDA as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), is a common additive in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and even some foods. Items that contain PVA/PVOH include extended-release pill capsules, eye drops, cosmetic face masks, sutures, bandages, and mascara. (It’s also a common ingredient in glue, including school glue.)

PVA/PVOH residue on dishes from using pods is highly unlikely—according to our sources, any PVA/PVOH should be washed away by the final rinse, if not sooner. (If you’re finding residue on your dishes, it’s most likely mineral deposits, and you may need a detergent with a water softener.) If a microscopic amount of PVA/PVOH were to remain on a dish, PVA/PVOH has been shown in studies to have a half-life of less than a day, and there is no evidence at this time of PVA/PVOH bioaccumulation in the blood.

We conducted a preliminary round of testing on Dropps UltraWash Plus pods, which the company claims are the first biobased chambered dishwasher detergent pods. We’ll update this guide fully with the results soon.

This article was edited by Ingrid Skjong and Courtney Schley.

Tre Wright, chemical engineer, phone interview, May 4, 2023

Philip Voglewede, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Marquette University, video interview, January 23, 2023

Pete He, co-founder and chief scientist, Soyoung Park, CMO, and Troy Graham, product developer at Dirty Labs, video interview, August 14, 2024

Jillian Sheridan, product manager at Reckitt, manufacturers of Finish detergent, video interview, August 21, 2024

Morgan Eberhard, senior scientist at Cascade Detergents, video interview, August 23, 2024

Andrea Barnes

Andrea Barnes is a staff writer reporting on large cleaning appliances for Wirecutter. Previously she was content director at FXcompared, a financial-product review site, and more recently she worked as a research analyst. Her grandfather owned a TV and appliance repair store in Arlington, Virginia, and she still fixes her own appliances when she can.

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They’re excellent at cleaning.Free & Clear ActionPacs are conveniently premeasured and easy to use.The liquid detergent boosters in the top of each pod do not contain dyes or chlorine bleach.The pods have a pleasant, odor-neutralizing scent.Price per load:It’s not easy to adjust the amount you use.The pods are not fragrance-free, despite the “Free & Clear” in the name.The pods clean well.The liquid detergent boosters on the tops of the pods contain dyes.Price per load:The scent can be intense.The amount you use can’t be easily adjusted.It’s an impressive cleaner.You can easily adjust how much you use.It comes in a cardboard box.Its price cannot be beat.Price per load:You may need to use an extra scoop for tough jobs.There is no scent-free version.The box can feel heavy when dispensing the detergent.It’s the best-performing “sustainable,” minimal-ingredient powder detergent we’ve tested.It’s free of dyes and contains fewer ingredients than other powder detergents.It comes with a sophisticated scent or in a fragrance-free version.It comes in a cardboard container, with a wooden spoon for dispensing.The container is lightweight.Price per load:It’s less effective on greasy stains.It can be a pain to open (and close).It is not the best option for glassware.It’s expensive, especially for a powder detergent.If you’d prefer a pod but our picks are not available:If you want a single-dose detergent without a PVA/PVOH film:If you want an effective, lemon-scented powder detergent:If you want a pod that is especially good on glassware:If you want a simple, fragrance-free powder detergent:If you want an effective tablet from a boutique brand:

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The 4 Best Dishwasher Detergents of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter