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CHOICE testing reveals best and worst dishwasher detergents

Aldi tablets score first place.

New CHOICE testing has revealed which dishwashing detergents you should add to your grocery list, and which ones you should avoid. 

"CHOICE's experts have over 30 years of experience in dishwashers, so we know exactly what to test for when it comes to finding the best dishwasher detergent for you," says CHOICE expert Ashley Iredale. 

CHOICE tested 26 dishwasher detergents to see how they performed at removing food stains including egg yolk, rice starch, baked on cheese, mince meat, red wine, and coffee. 

Aldi's Logix Platinum 18 In 1 Dishwashing Tablets Lemon received first place in our reviews, with a score of 78%. 

"The Aldi tablets that received first place were actually one of the cheapest detergents in our review, at just 19 cents per wash. This goes to show that price is no indicator of performance, and you don't always have to spend a lot of money to get a good result," says Iredale. 

"The Aldi tablets that came in first even outperformed all of the market leading Finish Powerball tabs that we tested, which cost from 32 cents to $1.13 per wash," says Iredale.

"However, one of the Aldi powders that we tested received a place in the bottom three, so make sure you don't grab the wrong one at the supermarket," says Iredale. 

These were the top three dishwasher detergents in our testing: 

Aldi Logix Platinum 18 In 1 Dishwashing Tablets Lemon

Overall score: 78% 

Powerball Quantum Ultimate Pro 0% Tabs

Overall score: 76%

Powerball Quantum Ultimate Pro Tabs Lemon Sparkle

Overall score: 76% 

The three dishwasher detergents that scored lowest were: 

Earth Choice Dishwasher Powder Lemon Fresh

CHOICE score: 46% 

Woolworths Shine Dishwasher Powder Concentrate Lemon

CHOICE score: 47% 

Aldi Logix 2X Concentrate Powder Lemon

CHOICE score: 49% 

Read the full details here: https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/kitchen/dishwasher-detergent/articles/best-and-worst-dishwasher-detergents

See the reviews here: https://www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/kitchen/dishwasher-detergent/review-and-compare/dishwasher-detergent

Images available here: https://sites.google.com/choice.com.au/dishwasherdetergents

Media contact: Katelyn Cameron, 0430 172 669, [email protected]

Editor's notes: 

How we test: 

We use a bank of four identical dishwashers and use pre-stained plates. These plates include stains that you tell us are the most common in your households: egg yolk, rice starch, baked on cheese, red wine, coffee, and minced meat.

These stained plates are embedded with a specific amount of soiling, are identical and made up of a very specific formula. These are used all over the world by large detergent makers, plus other consumer organisations and are considered a standard in testing detergents. Using these is a means to minimise the amount of variables so you can see which detergent comes out best when comparing them.

After we put the recommended dose of detergent in the dishwashers, we use a standard program (Main wash: 60°C, Post rinse: 70°C) to get our main score. We test each detergent four times, and then use a spectrophotometer to compare how clean our test plates are compared to how dirty they were pre-wash.