Review: Ultra Dishmate Natural Grapefruit dishwashing cleaner

I've been having dishwasher issues lately, so I've been doing all my dishes by hand. It's been strangely calming and I have (don't tell anyone) enjoyed doing it, which is in stark contrast to other times when the dishwasher has had mechanical problems and I have rushed to have it fixed before doing anything else.

Dishmate is made by Earth Friendly Products, and it's about $3.99 online for 25 oz, though I can't remember what I paid for it - I bought it when it was on special offer. I like that the cleaner itself is more or less transparent - it has a very slight yellowy/peachy tinge to it. I much prefer when manufacturers don't waste chemicals just coloring up something to make it look "prettier." The scent is a nice mild grapefruit - it is quite true to life, and is mildly uplifting and not at all overpowering.

However, despite the label's claims that the cleaner is very concentrated and that a little goes a long way, I have found myself using quite a lot of it. It seems to lose steam quite quickly and gives up the ghost with pretty much any sautee pan with a small amount of grease on it. So I end up using more and more in order to try to get the pan clean. It seems fine for dishes at the beginning of the wash, but the bubbles don't last a terribly long time. Call me a bubble freak if you will, but having done a dishwashing job in the dim and distant past while at school, I know that once the bubbles have gone, the grease fighting ability goes fairly quickly afterwards.

One nice thing is that it doesn't seem to leave a residue on the dishes, and even glasses can be done without rinsing them afterwards but just letting them drip dry - they still seem to sparkle. As it's a saving on water if you don't rinse, that's a good thing in my book.

Comparing it to my last dishwashing detergent, which was Mrs. Meyers - green but definitely not budget, I'd say that the Mrs. Meyers has Dishmate beat very slightly on effectiveness. I used slightly less Mrs. Meyers to do the same job. But all-in-all, this is a good product, and what with the dark color of the Mrs. Meyers and the increased price, I think I'll stick with the Dishmate. I expect that using a tad more of Dishmate which doesn't contain color chemicals vs. a tad less of the Mrs. Meyers which does, it's probably a wash (pun, geddit?) as to how many chemicals in total go down the drain.

3 stars.