When you’re faced with a mountain of dirty dishes, the last thing you need is a wimpy dish washing detergent that isn’t up to the challenge at hand. While it’s true that many people have automatic dishwashers these days, if you’re someone who doesn’t, then a good all purpose dish washing liquid is most likely of paramount importance to you. But dishwasher or no, almost everyone has need of a good detergent at times for scrubbing pans that are coated with tough baked on food particles. So what makes a good detergent anyway? Why is one brand more effective than another?
Without further adieu, let’s compare a couple of popular brands: Dawn Ultra Original Scent & Palmolive Antibacterial with Orange Extracts.
Dawn
Dawn is one of those well known brands that is easily recognizable by it’s brilliant aquamarine color. It comes in a 12.6 fl. oz. bottle and is well known for it’s excellent grease-cutting capabilities, illustrated beautifully by the fact that Dawn’s environmentally friendly formula has been used for many years to assist in the cleanup of wildlife after oil spills like the Exxon Valdez. Since it’s an ultra formula, you can easily get by with using nearly one third less than a regular non-ultra brand. Dawn is available anywhere detergents are sold and retails for about $1.99 per bottle. Dawn not only does an excellent job on tough grimy kitchen utensils, but it’s also an excellent spot remover for grease stains on fabrics. It sudses very well and those suds are long lasting allowing you to use less of the product each time, which adds up to potential savings. It has a pleasant scent that isn’t overpowering, and in my experience lives up to all of its claims. It’s a great product at a reasonable price.
When the Palmolive brand is mentioned, most people tend to remember the tall green bottle of liquid solution that Madge the beautician used for giving manicures in the old Palmolive commercials.This particular Palmolive formula, however, isn’t that traditional green but a very vibrant orange and it comes in a generous 28.7 fl. oz. bottle. While it’s not a true ultra formula, I have found that you can get by with using much less than the manufacturer suggests. It has a very, clean, pleasant citrus scent which smells (surprise!) …like oranges! This one also has the added advantage of being an antibacterial soap, so it can actually do double duty in a pinch and it’s gentle enough to be used as liquid hand soap as well. It’s easy to find almost anywhere and also retails for about $1.99 per bottle.
Bottom Line
Both Dawn and Palmolive are excellent products and either one would be an excellent choice for all of your dish washing needs. They’re both economical and easy to find. Personally, I like to keep a bottle of each on hand although I use the Dawn more for my laundry needs since it seems like I’m constantly doing battle with greasy stains on my family’s clothing. Just a small amount worked into greasy stains is all it takes and you’re good to go. What I like best about the Palmolive brand is its refreshing citrus scent, the larger bottle and its versatility. It can be used for many jobs around the house and as an antibacterial hand soap to boot.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with either of these products and at a mere $1.99 each you can afford to keep both of them around which may actually allow you to eliminate some of your other cleaning purchases and really ‘clean up’ in the savings department!
