TL/DR: 8/10, would recommend. Read on to find out why.
Introduction
Always on the hunt to attempt to have as little impact on the planet as possible, I switched to dishwasher tablets that are a bit less harsh. There are a plethora of toxic chemicals in regular dishwasher detergents, plus all the hydrocarbons in the cleaner itself as well as the packaging. So the next most common thing I use in the “automated cleaning so I don’t have to go down to the river and beat my clothes against a rock” milieu is pods in the dishwasher. Here is my review for Ecover Dishwasher Tablets.
Dishwasher Tablets. In another post, I reviewed an Ecover product, but I couldn’t really recommend Ecover’s Liquid Laundry Detergent. It had way too much oily buildup on our clothes. “Fresh and Earthy” described my clothes at the beginning, but “thick and waxy” was more accurate at the end. But I decided to stick with the brand for a bit and see what else I could find.
Whilst perusing for dishwasher pods near me, I hit up the local Whole Foods with my wife, and decided to pick up a box of tablets and give it a try. The box comes with 45 dishwasher tablets, so if I didn’t like it, I’d really be stuck with a lot of extra tablets lying around, so with some trepidation, I threw it into my cart.
Dishwasher Tablets: Don’t Eat These!
The Ecover tablets come in a 95% recycled cardboard box (although at the moment I don’t remember how much of that was post-consumer) and the tablets come with minimal individual packaging. Each tablet comes wrapped in a plastic film identified with a #5. Which my recycling company does not take. Since we know that in the end plastic recycling was just a scam anyway, I don’t feel misled by the identifier. I know that they chose this form because it is impermeable to gas, and that prevents the tablet from oxidizing and becoming useless. Still, I couldn’t help but think “Drat, so close.” Maybe aluminum foil? I know it’s slightly fragile, but it’s impermeable too and is recyclable. I guess I’ll get out my little crayon and write them a letter.
The Test
Okay so, a full load of dishes in my LG dishwasher, and I take the box out. I open the container, pull out a tablet, pop it out of its Polypropylene sarcophagus and toss it in. With a quick prayer for good luck, I started the cycle. I started daydreaming of a world where climate change was as irrelevant as Y2K, and iPhones didn’t cost $1200 USD. Forty minutes or so later, the washing was done, and opened it up. After flinging the 1st dish onto the counter and cursing up a storm (I forgot that the dishes finish at 160 degrees) I realized that the plate felt clean, very clean. I grabbed a tea saucer (waved it in the air to cool to handle it) and did the old Dawn test.
The Results
Rubbing my thumb along the side, it squeaked! It was so grease-free! Elated, I grabbed another plate and flung that onto the counter. Once I finished cursing, I picked that up and tested again, it squeaked too! Again and again, an orgy of squeaking ensued, moving down from bowls to flatware. (No, my wife was not home, so I was free to play without fear of ridicule.) I can safely say that the dishes were the cleanest I have ever felt. No grease, no dried up “What was that anyway?” chunky bits clinging to the flatware, nada. Just the glorious stink of clean. Not only was this better than I had expected, but it was also cleaner than my usual Cascade, which always got the dishes clean, but didn’t always pass the Dawn test, and is more plastic in plastic.
Caveats to this Dishwasher Tablets Review
As stated before, the box comes in packets of 45, and I am about 1/2 way through. I tend to wash a full load about 2x per week. I’m on city water in Suburbia, so it’s neither very hard nor soft. It does have excessive amounts of chlorine sometimes. I don’t know how those variables will affect other municipalities, or whether the pH will be modified if you run well water or collect rainwater. All I know is that it works extremely well. Ecover’s website mentions that for best results you should use their rinse aid, but to be honest, I can’t see a reason why. I completely recommend this product. The tablets run about $10 for a box of 45 and can be purchased at Whole Foods, online, or other green-leaning retailers.
8/10 would recommend. Two points were knocked off for the plastic packaging of the individual tables.
Have you used these? What do you think? Leave a comment!