apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Whatever not-generic brand is on sale, and whatever fragrance I can stand. I have also succumbed a couple of times to the fancy ones at Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma, which really smell good.

I use Mrs. Meyer's lemon verbena soap. I love the way it smells -- clean and fresh and not a floral smell that would be weird with dishes. It works well, and the ingredients are all recognizable. I stay away from anti-bacterial soaps, since they don't reduce bacteria any more than usual soap and can make those buggers more drug-resistant.

I use Trader Joe's mandarin orange. If I get up to the Williams-Sonoma outlet at the right time, I'll pick up a bottle of their Chestnut soap that comes out at Christmastime. I use my dishwasher more than anything, and for that I use Cascade that I buy at Costco. It takes me ages to use a whole bottle of dish soap, because of the dishwasher (which I run once a week or so and it's rarely full; I just feel that dishes should only sit dirty in a box for so long) and the fact that I'm a single woman who leaves the house at 8:30 AM and comes home around 11 PM.

dr bronner's sal suds.

I really like having lots of bubbles while I am cleaning dishes. My husband used to complain about how fast I would go through a bottle of dish soap. Now I have been using the Dawn foaming soap which last forever and when I do need to refill it, I can buy the refill bottle instead of another soap bottle.

I love Dawn foaming soap. It's so much better than using a drop concentrated dish soap every time I wash pots and pans. I can not stand all those weird floral and berry scents... they just seem out of place in a kitchen. I like a pleasant soap smell or maybe citrus scents.

I've liked using all of the various Method dish soaps, but I wish the bottle was easier to handle when wet and slippery (I think it was designed by Karim Rashid, but it's just not entirely practical). I do wish I had a soap dispenser on the sink, though, because then there would be one less peice of clutter in my little kitchen. I used to work at Target and was in charge of the cleaning supply dept., and I think I tried about every major brand that was out there then...but I'm sticking with Method for now.

Sunlight. I got a huge jug at Costco at least 8 years ago and I'm only about two-thirds of the way through it.

I use whatever natural brand is on sale at whole foods, generally. Currently using one from Ecover. I do admit I like the foaming one though, because it's fun and the suds do last forever in the sponge with one little squirt.. used that at a clients house.

I use a dash of Dawn, a quick rinse, and then the dishwasher.

God help me when I move into a home without a dishwasher!

Same as Jim of Chewonthat (is it a small town or something?) I wash dishes everyday, but I really only use the dish soap to wash my hands and the very few pots that are too big for the dishwasher. After I lost the method giveaway I started to remind myself... I'm not having any kids, so I don't care how much I mess up the environment since all it does is bring hurricanes, tornados and crazy crap like that anyway. GREEN THIS!

Cal-Ban Natural Soap (shipped from SF, but we order a year at a time with our laundry and bar soap) it's detergent free, so when I have greasy stuff I turn to Dawn.

I use Seventh Generation because they don't use perfumes or dyes. They also don't use the chemicals needed to create that long-lasting sudsing action. As long as it cleans, I'm happy.

I bought Joy once, and it was terrible. I had to use twice as much (compared to Palmolive) to get any lather, and the lather didn't last as long.

I'm a big fan of Method's cucumber soap (dish soap and hand soap) for the kitchen. I have eczema and it is very gentle on my hands, but it does a great job of getting things clean - plus, I love the light, fresh scent.

I will say that I'm not a huge fan of the redesigned bottles, but that's a minor complaint.

Dawn. I like the scent, and it sudses up well. I'm rather proud to say the bottle I bought when I moved into my apartment this time last year is the same one I'm using today. I have a bottle of all-natural, environmentally friendly stuff waiting under the sink. It's Lavender scented, which I love the scent of lavender, but I'm not sure if I'll like it for the dishes. Dawn has such a lovely, soapy smell.

My favorite is from Trader Joe's because using it was the only way I could get my sponge to stop smelling. But since I moved, no more Trader Joe's, so I've been using Palmolive (and more sponges) because it's what the boy grabbed at the store. I just found a little co-op here that sells Seventh Generation products so I'll probably give that a try when we need to restock.

I just wanted to send a shout out to the Caldrea line of products. I just recently discovered them and love all of them. I'm not afraid of them having chemicals that might get in to my food or on my counter top or even in my clothes.

I strongly suggest that if you haven't given them a try, do.

Good stuff.

I was using the Williams-Sonoma, but have since switched to Method.

Right now I'm doing the olive oil bottle with soap cut about 50% with water and I don't have any problems with getting things clean. Plus I like the pretty bottle on the sink!

I love Seventh generation's orange citrus dish soap. I like that it's colorless since I decant into a clear glass bottle I keep in view next to the sink. Strangely, I do love the smell of the green Palmolive liquid soap- it reminds me of when we used to fill up buckets of soapy water in the driveway every summer to wash the car when I was little.

jenblossom - I'm with you, I love the Method cucumber scent. So much so that I bought the wipes, cleaner and hand soap. However, my boyfriend complained about the smell.

I generally buy whatever is on sale, usually Dawn.

I would like to find a good verbena-scented dish soap, so I may have to give some of the above recommended soaps a try.

I like Dawn also. If it's good enough for wild life then I'm thinking it's ok for my dishes. Plus I like the traditional soap smell and suds.

We use Trader Joe's soap in Lavender. It's not the best sudsing soap, but it smells good, is cheap and seems to do the trick.

I'm with Chad - Once I started using Caldrea, I stopped experimenting with other brands. I'm all about their "White Tea" dish soap.

Earth Friendly Dishmate (pear!) that we pick up at Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers. It smells heavenly and is kind to our hands and the environment.

There's a biodegradable plant based soap from Target called Cleannotes in mandarin orange that smells so good. I've been using it for about a year. I usually dilute it with some water and it lasts for ages.

I use Trader Joe's lavender also. It's ok. Was thinking of trying out Method next time.
Abigalim, Dr. Bronnor's? Really? I use their peppermint one as body wash, but was leary of using it on dishes. Would be nice if I could just put some of that in my kitchen soap dispenser and save storing another bottle in my tiny kitchen!

I like Method usually, but Mrs. Meyers Geranium scent seduced me enough to switch for a while, but even worse, I found Caldrea. Their Ginger Pomelo scent makes me excited to do dishes (I know, it's sick).

I pick something eco-friendly, and then decide based on scent. It's purely why I'm not loving Seventh Generation; the lavender scent makes me want to barf.

Palmolive makes a Lavender and Ylang-ylang soap that I started using after my store stopped carrying the Method line. The Palmolive smells better than Method, and its deep purple color looks attractive in the pump by my sink. I could probably get something a little eco-friendlier, but I use so little--I've only used two bottles in the last few years--that it's not at the top of my list.

ecover - one botle lasts a really long time

Oh My GOD!

I'm a total modernist/minimalist/MCM-ist and my dish soap totally wears an APRON!

It's one of the most cherished items from my grandma's house.

She always called it the "dish dolly." I LOVE it!

I buy the enviro-friendly dish soap sold at Frenco's (Montreal) called Fir Needle Natural Dish Soap. It smells deliciously of pine and does a very good job of cleaninig dishes. The bottle is refillable at the store.

Ecover

I prefer Dawn for its cleaning power. I really like the Olive oil dish soap by Fruits & Passion - but I do not use it regularly because it is too expansive.

A year ago, I bought a 10-liter container of Sunlight at Costco. I figured out that I will be throwing away less waste. I just refill a small bottle that nicely sits next to my sink.

Ecover! I love all their soap products. I do feel guilty though that they're from Belgium, and would rather have something a little more local. And I've been dying to find compostable sponges.