Whether you’re tackling a sink full of dishes or washing your chef’s knife, a squirt of dish soap is likely part of your daily routine. You want a product that not only works effectively but also smells pleasant (or at least doesn’t have an awful scent).
After over 65 hours of research, we named Seventh Generation’s Dish Soap our top pick in 2016. Since then, it has become a staple in the Walletrays test kitchen and our own homes. Seventh Generation’s Dish Soap continues to be the best choice for hand-washing dishes. Among the 28 dishwashing detergents we tested, it offers the best combination of cleaning power, safety, affordability, and social responsibility. This makes it an excellent addition to your kitchen essentials, whether you’re preparing for a home dinner or an outdoor gathering.
Seventh Generation Dish Soap
Best dish soap
You can’t beat the cleaning power of Seventh Generation. Bonus: It’s cheap, it skips the synthetic fragrances, and it isn’t tested on animals.
The research
Why we love Seventh Generation Dish Soap
How we picked
How we tested
A note on potential ingredients of concern
Why we love Seventh Generation Dish Soap
Seventh Generation’s Dish Soap excels at rinsing clean from sponges and cutting through grease more effectively than many soaps we’ve tested. In Walletray’s test kitchen, we prefer the unscented version, but it’s also available in a range of plant-based scents. The clementine zest and lemongrass varieties are light and refreshing without being overpowering. Additionally, the clear formula is perfect for quick clean-ups, even on your shirt if you spill food.
Seventh Generation Dish Soap ranked among the top performers in our tests, alongside Dawn’s Original Dishwashing Liquid. However, it outshined the competition by being free of dyes and synthetic fragrances, which often contain questionable ingredients. Additionally, while Dawn’s soap can leave sponges with a strong, mildewy smell over time, even with thorough rinsing and wringing, we’ve never experienced that problem with Seventh Generation’s formula. Its cleaner, more natural composition ensures a fresher, long-lasting sponge!
Many other detergents we tested also performed exceptionally well, including dye-free Dawn, Joy, Planet, Citra Solv, Kirkland Signature, and Palmolive. With most name-brand dish detergents, you’re likely to get reliable results. However, Seventh Generation stands out for us, hitting all the right marks with its effective cleaning power, lack of dyes or synthetic fragrances, and plant-based options, making it our top choice!
How we picked
The main purpose of dish detergent is to effectively remove oil and grease from your dishes, and most dish liquids accomplish this to varying degrees—it’s the level of performance that makes the difference. You may also want a detergent that minimizes harmful ingredients and aligns with eco-conscious values, offering a safer choice for both your home and the environment.
The previous version of this guide, authored by Leigh Krietsch Boerner, who holds a chemistry PhD, was thoroughly researched. She reviewed dish soap evaluations from major publications and ingredient analysis from sources like the Environmental Working Group. Additionally, she consulted experts including Professor Brian Grady, a surfactant specialist and director of the Institute for Applied Surfactant Research at the University of Oklahoma; Professor Jennifer Field, an environmental and molecular toxicologist at Oregon State University; and Cara Bondi, a research and development manager at Seventh Generation.
We tested 28 widely available dish detergents but excluded those labeled as antibacterial. In 2017, the FDA banned several antibacterial ingredients in certain soaps due to concerns about their potential long-term health risks. While some manufacturers have since removed these chemicals, the FDA didn’t mandate their removal. Moreover, there isn’t enough evidence to suggest that antibacterial soaps outperform plain soap and water. Boerner also skipped testing different fragrances within the same detergent line, assuming they share the same formula, as fragrances don’t impact the cleaning chemistry.
How we tested
When developing our testing method, we encountered two significant challenges. First, applying a consistent amount of grease to a dish or pan is quite difficult. Second, achieving the same pressure and number of strokes during washing is nearly impossible without a specialized scrubbing robot. This makes the straightforward approach of simply washing dirty dishes ineffective for our evaluation. To address these issues, we consulted surfactant expert Brian Grady for insights.
We mixed vegetable oil with oil-soluble food coloring and brushed a thin layer onto a plate, allowing it to sit for 5 minutes. Next, we placed two oil-coated dishes in a tub containing 5 milliliters of detergent mixed with 10 liters of approximately 70 °F water, ensuring to add the detergent after filling the tub and mixing gently to minimize foaming. We agitated the mixture using a handheld egg beater for 2 minutes to activate the surfactants in the detergent. Surfactants, or surface-active agents, are the soap-like molecules in cleaning products that effectively bind oil and water, allowing them to be washed away. After agitation, we removed the dish, laid it flat, and visually assessed the remaining oil on the plates. We then compared the cleaner plate—typically very similar to the other—with a control plate. The less oil left on the plate indicates better cleaning performance of the detergent.
Brushing the oil and food coloring mixture onto the plate. Purple gave the best contrast.
This method is effective for several reasons. It evaluates how well the detergent alone can remove oil, which is the primary function of dish detergents. By excluding the scrubbing factor, we avoid misleading impressions that might suggest a detergent is more effective than it truly is. In reality, any detergent can clean a dish if enough scrubbing is applied. Since we visually assessed the remaining oil rather than using a machine to quantify the food coloring left, we categorized the detergents into relative performance levels: excellent (5% to 10% oil remaining), very, very good (10% to 15% oil left), very good (15%), good (20%), okay (25%), and poor (35%). For reference, the control plate had approximately 40% of the oil remaining. In our tests, only two soaps—Seventh Generation and Dawn—were classified as excellent, while many others were rated as very, very good.
A note on potential ingredients of concern
Most companies incorporate two primary surfactants in their dish liquids: sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES). According to surfactant expert Brian Grady, SLES is a modified form of SLS that offers the advantage of producing less soap scum. While these surfactants are not inherently problematic, the process of creating SLES from SLS generates a small amount of a compound called 1,4-dioxane, which can be hazardous in high doses. Manufacturers can eliminate this contaminant from surfactants using a technique called vacuum stripping; however, some may still end up in the final bottle of detergent. Since it’s a contaminant rather than a listed ingredient, detergent companies are not required to disclose it on their labels.
1,4-dioxane has raised enough concern that New York recently prohibited cleaning and personal care products containing more than trace amounts of the compound. Additionally, several states have programs requiring manufacturers to report if children’s products contain the chemical above certain limits. However, a risk evaluation conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 found “no unreasonable risks to consumers” associated with dish soaps that contain 1,4-dioxane as a by-product. This may be due to the fact that dish soap is best used in small amounts and diluted with water. If you’re still concerned, wearing dish gloves can provide a protective barrier between your skin and the soap. We recommend the Glam-Gloves Dishwashing Gloves and the latex-free Clorox Ultra Comfort Gloves for added safety.
Phthalates—a group of chemicals commonly known as plasticizers—enhance the flexibility of hard plastics, making them more durable and less prone to breaking. These chemicals are present in hundreds of products, and CDC researchers have detected phthalates (or their metabolites) in many individuals, indicating that exposure is “widespread.” In dish detergent, phthalates are typically included in the fragrance mixtures, raising concerns about potential exposure through everyday cleaning products.
The CDC’s fact sheet on phthalates states, “Human health effects from exposure to low levels of phthalates are not as clear. More research is needed to assess the human health effects of exposure to phthalates.” The FDA says indicated that phthalates do not pose a safety risk based on their current use in cosmetics but continues to monitor the situation. You won’t find any explicit mention of phthalates on the exterior of a dish detergent bottle—per FDA regulations, companies are not required to disclose fragrance ingredients. However, opting for fragrance-free dish detergents is a straightforward way to avoid potential exposure. Many brands, like Seventh Generation, specifically avoid using phthalates and proudly advertise this on their labels, providing a safer choice for conscientious consumers.
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