Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid

Between breakfast, lunch and dinner (plus snacks!), dishes can really pile up fast. Dishwashers are a sanity-saver, but for items you have to wash by hand, you want a good dishwashing liquid that cuts grease and sticky messes with as little elbow grease as possible. We tested more than 40 dish soaps to find out which ones had us bubbling with enthusiasm, and both our editors and parent testers were impressed with the cleaning power of Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid. This affordable dish soap effectively cuts through grease, caked-on food and sticky messes, and both our editors and parent testers found the mountain-fresh-like scent pleasant without being overwhelming.

CLEANING DISHES

To determine just how tough Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid is, our editors performed a soak and wash test. We dirtied several items (including bowls, spoons, forks and plastic plates) with Kraft Dinner, peanut butter and spaghetti sauce, letting them sit overnight so food really dried on. The next day, we soaked the dishes in a sink full of water with one teaspoon of Dawn Ultra, and after five minutes, the dishes and cutlery were considerably cleaner simply from soaking in soapy water—it even removed some of the peanut butter, which most of the other dishwashing soaps failed to do. Next, we washed each item, and our editors were impressed with how quickly and easily the dishes washed up. The soap also worked effectively to cut through grease on an oily plate that had been submerged in the sink, but not scrubbed.

Parent testers agreed that this product was great for cleaning crusted-on food from plates and pots and pans, and leftover pulp in drinking glasses, and they said cutlery and other kitchen tools, like spatulas, potato mashers and wooden spoons, were also a breeze to wash. Rinsing off the suds takes no extra time and dishes are left sans streaks. Plus, most testers said Dawn Ultra was gentle on their hands. Another plus? A little goes a long way with the dish soap.

EASE OF USE

A dish soap bottle designed for one-handed dispensing is always a plus, and Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid’s flip-top lid makes it easy to do just that. The lid is secure but opens and closes with just the flick of a finger or thumb. The curving contours of the bottle offer a natural place for your hand to grip the bottle as you pour, and even when wet, the bottle isn't slippery. Plus, the opening of the bottle is small and the liquid doesn’t come flying out, allowing you to dispense exactly how much you need with a gentle squeeze. 

FINAL WORD 

With its budget-friendly price tag and ability to tackle grease and crusted-on food, Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid is a powerhouse in the kitchen. Today's Parent Approved editors were impressed with how well it started cutting through messes in a five-minute soak, before any scrubbing even began. Meanwhile, parents who tried the dish soap at home were nearly unanimous in giving it very good ratings across the board for quality, ease of use and value for money, and they'd all recommend it to other moms and dads. Obviously dish duty is never fun, but Dawn Ultra makes the dirty job much easier.