Can you taste dish soap on your dishes?

[AnneInMpls]

I have trouble finding a dish soap that I can tolerate. Most are so strongly perfumed that the taste never comes off the dishes - especially water glasses.

Can you taste dish soap, too? If so, please help me find a dishwasher detergent that isn't perfumed. I'm about to get a dishwasher (never had one before), and I'm dreading the search for a non-perfumed detergent.

I'm still cringing from when I tried Dawn's "new scent" dish soap. I swear I could still taste it on my water glasses months later. (I exaggerate - luckily, I've learned that vinegar helps to remove the scent.) I now use Seventh Generation dish soap, which is truely unscented.

Does Seventh Generation make a dishwasher detergent? Is it unperfumed? Does it lkinda work? I'm less picky about cleaning power than I am about obnoxious perfumes....

Help me, please!

Anne

[lisa young]

I have never owned a dishwasher and I never will, before you load the dishes in the dishwasher, you have to ususally rinse the dishes first anyway, by the time you load the dish washer, you could have a sink full of dishes washed already.

My dish washer is my hands

[lisa young]

I once read that you should rinse your dishes in cold water, can you imagine rinsing pots and pans in cold water? eck!!!!

[Goomba]

You shouldn't ever have to wash a dish before placing in the dishwasher. You don't want to put food chunks in there that you can scrape off beforehand, of course, but you don't need to do a lot of prep work....assuming your dishwasher is working properly.
It is a waste of water, time and energy to prewash dishes before putting in to a dishwasher.

[The Dairy Queen]

For modern dishwashers, you're not supposed to pre-rinse the dishes as it confuses the sensor into thinking your dishes are "clean" when they're not.

~TDQ

[Jitterbug]

I agree - I never pre-rinse a dish and my dishes come out very clean.

I heard that the dishsoap grabs on to the food particles and foams up - so that is why you don't want to rinse all the food off the dishes.

I also use vinegar in the rinse-aid compartment.

[CrazyOne]

I don't know why the 2-year-old thread was bumped ;-) but yes, while perhaps dishwashers of a couple decades or more ago may not have done the job, you do not have to rinse dishes first in a dishwasher that's working properly. In fact, it's been pretty well proven that if you do it right, a dishwasher is MORE efficient than hand washing, even counting the electricity used. It uses much less water overall. It is slower in overall time, but it's not time you have to spend working on it.

[The Dairy Queen]

I wouldn't have believed that dishwasher (an Energy Star-rated one) is more energy and water efficient overall than hand-washing, but the Union of Concerned Scientists say it is... Of course, technically, to determine the overall energy impact on the planet, you have to take into account the manufacture, transport, and ultimate disposal of the dishwasher...

Also, it's important to run the dishwasher only when it's full. Finally, when I had a home energy audit, the guy strongly encouraged buying the dishwasher that heats the water for you. He says that feature enables you to turn down your water heater in order to conserve energy. You'd have to find a clothing washer that does that for whites, too, I guess.

P.S. I still find this conversation interesting, even though it's two years old.

~TDQ

[al b. darned]

A dishwasher is also "healthier." Since it uses hotter water and nastier detergent than your hands could tolerate, it not only cleans but sanitizes your dishes. My mom first got a dishwasher in the mid 60's and she swore she noticed colds didn't spread as much and lasted shorter times since she started using it. (There were six of us in the family.)

[KaimukiMan]

yep, and that is largely why you don't smell or taste detergent residue. if you could stand to rinse dishes by hand at that temperature, there would be a lot less residue for hand washed dishes as well.

[OCEllen]

My mil used Dawn - hate it, smell and all! I use Joy and dilute it in the bottle by 2/3's. All liquid dish detergents now seem to be WAAAAY too concentrated.

[RGC1982]

Liquid dish detergent is usually very concentrated and takes lots of hot water to rinse off, especially if squeezed on your dishes during handwashing (never put in dishwasher). Try filling a large pot or plastic tub in the sink and dissolving the soap in that water rather than squeezing directly on the dish or glass. That's how people used to wash dishes long before dishwashers. If you squeeze soap on a sponge, dilute with water before scrubbing the dish. If none of these work, you are just using too much soap and not enough hot water to wash and rinse. You might give the foamy soap cleaners a try, as they dissolve faster.

[robbie1001]

hi, with regards to your dishwasher i have just found out something about mine, i have, like most people have had a dishwasher for many years and found it to be the best thing i could of spent my money on. but last october i started to feel ill for no reason, dizzy feeling sick, i went the hospital and over the past 10 months i have had evry test under the sun and they have found nothing wrong with me. tonight i was just thinking that while i was away on holiday for a week i was fine and healthy and i think that is because i was washing dishes by hand. i have notice only this week after looking more closely at the glasses and dishes etc there is a white residue on them, i have a top named ddishwasher and i only use the best powder and rinse aid and i believe that the machine is leaving residue on my cups and plates and i am getting this into my body through using the plates etc so now i am going back to handwashing. if i am ok the machine will be binned even though i paid £395 for it last year,

[AnneInMpls]

Wow - this is really scary. I hope you're continuing to feel better. I've heard that some people make their own soap for dishwashers - perhaps this would save your £395 investment.

Sorry, I don't have a recipe, but try googling "make your own dishwasher detergent".

Anne

[chelleyd01]

well, Im obviously in a whole different catergory than everyone else. I keep a bottle of original blue Dawn in my laundry room. It goes on every single grease, grass, sauce, wine, whatever stain that I have. I have never lost an article of clothing yet from the Dawn pre-treat. I rarely ever wash dishes...never ever silverware. If and when I wash a pot or large pyrex bowl, I use Dawn with Odor Remover. My dishwasher is linked directly to my garbage disposal (ahahahahaha!) so I don't have to wash dishes before I put them in a dishwasher. I use the Jet-Dry powerball tabs and if I really have alot of crap stuffed in there, I toss in 2 just for kicks. My hot water heater is pretty much set on "scald" and I use heavy duty rubber gloves and straight hot water when I am reduced to washing dishes.

[AnneInMpls]

I use Dawn blue dish soap on my clothes, too. It's great! I still hate the smell, but at least it's not in my mouth.

In the new dishwasher, I'm using Seventh Generation dishwasher powder. I occasionally notice a smell on the clean dishes, but I can't taste anything, so it's better than handwashing with Dawn. (The smell could be caused by our yucky city water, which alternates between smelling like a swimming pool and a stagnant pond.)

I want to learn how to make my own dishwasher soap...

Anne

[A.M.Miller]

Using any dishwasher detergent is not good, so I understand. Even if it can't be tasted, the way they are made nowadays makes it nearly impossible to remove completely, even after multiple rinsing. What I do is make a 1/2 & 1/2 dry mix of borax and baking soda. In the machine, I put in this mix but not more than 1/2 way filled. I then add a bit of dishwashing soap mixed with water and spray it on the dishes & silverware. This seems to work very well - the dishes are clean with NO residue from chemicals. Keeping a container on hand with the dry mix helps and a spray bottle with the watered-down soap is easy. I hope this works for you. And thanks for the tip on Seventh Generation!

[Kajikit]

I don't have a dishwasher... I wash the dishes in the 'extra-gentle' palmolive because most detergents break me out in a rash, and I rinse the dishes under running water to make sure that they don't have any orangey residue on them.

[diane419]

I read recently that you should never use lemon scented dishsoap. It keeps the lemony smell on the clean dishes.
I use Jet Dry, but I still have that smell.
Do all of you have BOSCH dishwashers, I got mine about a yr ago. I never had this with my 2 previous GE dishwashers.

[troutpoint]

No, I have a maytag.

[jfcr]

I have a Bosch, and this problem.

[ML8000]

Do you guys think the rinsing aids like Jet Dry help?

[njtransplant]

Absolutely. I can't say that I keep visual track on the dispenser of when it needs to be filled but I can always tell that the cultery items begin to spot when the rinse agent is low. That's my cue to refill, even though my dispenser has a visual cue.

[puppymomma]

I stopped using ceramic coffee mugs because something always tastes bad, no matter who they belong to. I smell it when my nose is in the cup.

So I use plastic and metal starbuck's thermos-mugs, and disposable stirofoam ones (I'm sorry to the environment).

I don't know what it is about the ceramic mugs. Go figure!

[MakingSense]

Do you store your glassware bowl up or bowl down in your cupboard?
Any gases or odors will settle onto the glass surface if you store them bowl down.
Let them breathe.

[The Dairy Queen]

In Anne's original question, and a lot of the replies including my own, people are referring to the taste of dishwashing soap from dishes that have been handwashed. But, I don't see that anyone has had a problem with tasting the soap from dishes washed in the dishwasher. Is there anyone who has a dishwasher--especially a modern, new one--who has an issue with the soap taste?

~TDQ

[AnneInMpls]

Yup, that's what I wanted to ask. Thanks! To restate: For those of you who can taste the soap in hand-washed dishes, do you ever taste automatic dishwasher soap?

If not, then all I have to worry about is the effect on the environment - as opposed to the effect on me!

Thanks
Anne

[orangewasabi]

just to be clear -- I do not taste dishwasher soap on my dishwasher washed dishes, using the Cascade actionpaks. I _do_ sometimes, though not always, taste soap on hand washed dishes.

[troutpoint]

I don't taste soap on dishes washed in my dishwasher. I have tasted soap when washed by hand. I use the electrosol powerball tablets.

[Coyote_Meg]

I didn't taste dishwashing soap when my roommate (who is in charge of running the dishwasher and things pertaining thereto) used... I think it was an 'everyday value' lemon scented detergent. But about a week ago she switched to the cascade actionpacs, and now I think I might have to give up drinking water that isn't out of bottles unless I can convince her to switch back. It's definitely only on dishes coming out of the dishwasher that I taste the soap... and it's pretty nasty.

[jfcr]

This is our problem, and I found this discussion by searching about the problem. We are also using the cascade actionpacs and yuck! is all I can say about everything plastic in our kitchen.

[MisaOutandAbout]

So, I'm *not* crazy! At least not for this, anyway. I've been using Cascade "ExtraAction" ActionPacs. They're pink. They're HORRIBLE. All of our plastic water cups taste, nay... REEK of soap. To get rid of it, I need to rinse each under scalding hot water. I need to buy some new detergent.

[jfcr]

i just began using Seventh Generation unscented "action pacs" They clean well (I was surprised) and have no scent. Soooo much better.

[HLing]

I'm glad you post about this. I'm not sure if the industry has just been bad about using certain chemicals in the last 10 years, or if I've just become more sensitive to it over the years, but now stuff like Ivory, Palm Olive, Joy...all make my stomach turn by smelling it. Never mind about washing it off of the dishes, or my hands. I remember when they had "Ocean Breeze" scented Joy dishwashing detergent....That was my last bottle of Joy, ever - unused. None of the other brands were any better off.

Very bad for fine tea tasting. "..Would you like that delicate High Mountain Tea with Ivory scent or Palm Olive? .." No thanks.

Some of the better brands are lightly scented, but they wash off easily: Seventh Generation, Trader Joes, Ecover ...etc. It's not just whether it's scented or not, but also whether it's petroleum-based surfacant or not. The ones that don't leave a residue,...they don't cost that much more. I find I can do dishes much more quickly because they rinse off quickly. Most of all I can taste my drinks and my food as they are.

Definitely, you WERE tasting soap. And you shouldn't have to.

[dawnfawn]

oh my god I taste soap all the time in restaurants. Especially on wine glasses, I was beginning to think I was crazy.

[MMRuth]

I was recently in a restaurant where they swish a tiny bit of wine around in each glass before serving the wine - to avoid exactly this issue. There's a word for it, but I don't remember what it is.

[cookie monster]

Me too! Recently I was at a catered party where, tragically, I had to sacrifice a glass of very nice champagne because it tasted so strongly of soap.

[AnneInMpls]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one! My mom thinks I'm completely nuts. She uses Dawn "extra concentrated original scent", and I have to bring my own water glass when I go to her house.

Anne

[MplsM ary]

You are most definitely not the only one. there's a weird almost soapy cherry smelling thing I get from glasses at some restaurants, especially wine and cocktail glassware. I so frustrated one poor bartender I thought I was going to make her cry before I gave up, my drink barely touched but staff well compensated. It just sucked for all involved.

Less detergent in the dishwasher is key and you will no doubt fall in love with the magick cleaning box.

[JMF]

You may also be using too much soap. The new dishwasher detergents are so strong that you need much less than the dispenser cup in the dishwasher says. Try using 1/3 less, or even 1/2 and see if your dishes are clean and they don't have the scent.

Also newer dishwashers are much more efficient than ones more than 10 years old and they clean without needing as much soap.

If you have a very old one, let's say 15-20, it may not be working all that well, even if the dishes are clean looking, and it may not be rinsing off the soap.

Personally I have never smelled dishwasher soap on my glasses and dishes. Maybe your rinse cycle doesn't work properly. How old is your dishwasher?

[AnneInMpls]

I don't have the dishwasher yet - it arrives in 3 days - so I have a lot to learn. Thanks for the tip about cutting back on the amount of detergent! I'll definitely try this.

Anne

[cooknKate]

Definitely use less soap than what the dispenser holds. I barely fill mine half full and I still think it's too much, so play around, try different amounts and see what happens.

[jchacin]

well i too am having a problem with tasting something I think is soap, so I'm going to try to use half of the recommended. But if this is my problem then why would the manufacture tell plp to use that much if it makes the dishes turn out to be so bad.

[coll]

Because you'll use it up twice as fast and buy more. I always use half of everything the cleaning product companies tell me to. Especially the scented stuff.

[cinnamon girl]

Yes so you'll use it twice as fast . . . just as shampoo twice was a scheme invented by an ad agency.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

Yeah, newer dishwashers require less soap, even my bargain basement portable d/w requires less soap than my friend's 10 yr old state of the art then model. I learned this one night when I was down to the last dregs of d/w soap. I ran it on the hi temp heavy duty cycle just in case. Everything came out squeaky clean. I have used a smaller amount on the normal cycle with good results as well. I find I can get by with less soap but I can't cut back on the rinse product due to hard water.

[orangewasabi]

can't say I have ever tasted dishwasher soap on my dishes.
You might want to try running the dishwasher without any soap - I always rinse / wash before it goes in the dishwasher -- old habit.
Dunno if it would be enough, but the water is darn hot.
Also, once the wash is done, open it up to let everything dry before putting it away.

ps- I know a bit of what you mean about the taste of soap though, I never use it to soak my Reidel as I swear it does get absorbed in those glasses.

[troutpoint]

I have a dirty little secret. I put my Reidel in the dishwasher. I have a crystal/china setting and I buy these diamond shaped things that snap onto the racks of the dishwasher. They are endorsed by Reidel, Villeroy and Bosh (sp?) and a couple of other higher end dish/glassware brands.
I can't think of the name of them right off hand, but they say that they will reduce the "pitting etc" that can be caused by dishwashers. I just checked-there's no brand name on them. Sorry.
They are in the same area as the rinse agents.

[orangewasabi]

I've seen those -- they really work, eh?

Are you using them on the Sommiliers or the Vinums? I can't even bear to put my Ovums in the dishwasher.

(my little dirty secret is that my husband must check the dishwasher before it runs because I am a somehow stacking inept and put things in the wrong places)

[troutpoint]

I use it on both my Vinum's and O's...I've even (when we've had too much wine and I know that it is safer for them to be in the dishwasher than me wash them by hand) put my waterford in...
But, seriously, we got a new dishwasher about 2 years ago, and I have been putting them in ever since. And no problems so far. Knock wood.

[MMRuth]

I put my Vinum water glasses in the dishwasher, b/c they have short stems - haven't heard of this gadget. I would never put Sommeliers in the dishwasher.

[AnneInMpls]

That diamond-shaped device sounds brilliant! I just have Riedel's Target line (Vivant) so I was planning to put them in the dishwasher if I could figure out a way to keep them from rolling around.

Does the clip have four arms and a stem, as shown in this link?
http://www.wineenthusiast.com//E/details.asp?Ep=An/0//A/16283&uid=0317EF0F-6DDC-48C6-AEB8-15FFBED4A9A4&AfID=TRFL

Or in this link?
http://www.amazon.com/Dishwasher-Wine...

If it's different than these two, I'd love to know where to find one for myself.

Thanks,
Anne

[orangewasabi]

there's also this style . . .
http://www.wineglassguys.com/index.ph...

I have heard good things about both the arm style and the stand style. Don't have the balls to try either though.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

Wow these all sound like great items. I've seen them in nicer diswashers but didn't know you could buy them seperately. I have a bottom of the line portable D/W that does a superior job of cleaning wine glasses even with the hard water. This is great news, because I'd like to invest in better wine glasses. Gotta love all the tips and treasures learned through CH!

[coll]

I would be worried that there was still soap residue on the dishes, more than just the smell. I do like to get lemon scented, at least it smells like food! But I only have that problem when handwashing, mainly tall glasses that I don't get down to the bottom, and I've been using a long handled sponge to solve that problem.

[The Dairy Queen]

I recently bought a dishwasher--my first ever, too--and, first of all, I have to say, it's practically life-changing. I love having one. It's wonderful to be able to keep the dirty dishes out of sight until you're ready to wash them, which no longer needs to be immediately. I have one of the roll-away dishwashers since my kitchen isn't set up for a built-in. This actually adds surface/counter space to my kitchen, whereas a dish drainrack used surface space. It does, of course, take additional floor space, which can be at a premium in a small kitchen--our dishwasher is a little less than full-sized, which is adequate if you don't have a big family.

I have never had a problem tasting the dishsoap on my dishes after a round in this dishwasher, although, I do remember having that problem in the past with dishes I washed by hand, even when I swore I'd rinsed them thoroughly. My dishwasher has two propellers (I don't know what the part is actually called) to move the water, which I think ensures that all the dishes get thoroughly rinsed. Some dishwashers have only one. It also has several settings, e.g. "quick rinse" to "pots and pans," which I think helps ensure the dishes get the proper amount of rinsing. (I've never used the pots and pans setting--I still wash those by hand.)

Finally, when I had the local power company do a home energy audit, he applauded us for keeping our water heater at a relatively low temperature (we thank the former occupants for the earth-friendly water temp setting.) However, he did say, "This is not hot enough to wash your dishes" and he suggested that we turn on the "hi temp wash" setting on our dishwasher to make sure our dishes really get clean. I've noticed a definite difference in the cleanliness of my dishes when I use the "hi temp wash."

We've never bought any special kind of detergent--just Cascade--and every couple of weeks or so, we refill the "rinse" solution the manufacturer recommends. I don't know what that rinse solution does, but since everything seems to be working fine (and I can't taste it), I'm sticking with it.

On their website, Seventh Generation features an "automatic" dishwashing detergent (powder.) I cannot personally recommend it, but it sounds intriguing. if you want to try it, you should make sure the manufacturer of your dishwasher doesn't recommend liquid or gel detergents only.

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/our_...

~TDQ

[bigjimbray]

I wash all my dishes by hand and I find that the green palmolive works best for me.
it has more suds and i rinse all my dishes with hot water. and they come out fine.

[Snackish]

To me, green Palmolive's smell is so strong that it gags me. It may work well, but I don't think sensitive people would like it.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Seventh Generation also makes a liquid dishwasher detergent.

[The Dairy Queen]

I see "free and clear dishwashing liquid", but it doesn't specifically say it's for "automatic" dishwashers the way the powder one does, so it would imply that it's only for handwashing. Is the "free and clear dishwashing liquid" the same product you're referring to? Is it suitable for use in dishwashing machines? Or do they have another product I'm overlooking?

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/our_...

~TDQ

[AnneInMpls]

The link and Caitlin's info was helpful - thanks! Seventh Generation has a dishwasher detergent for me to try.

I currently use the Seventh Generation free & clear dishwashing liquid for my handwashed dishes. And I use Dawn original scent for really greasy stuff - I can just barely tolerate the smell and it seems to rinse away pretty well. (But my hands stink for a while after I've been washing dishes. Sigh.)

I never looked at the label of liquid dish soap to see if it could go in a dishwasher - I guess I just assumed that all dishwasher detergent was powdered. I'll bet I have a lot to learn... (The dishwasher arrives on Friday - I'm so excited!)

Thanks,
Anne

[Bite Me]

I hand wash all my dishes as i load them into the dishwasher so i use a very small amount of dishwashing soap. My theory is that i don't need much soap and by using a small amount the dishes will be more easily rinses during the rinse cycle. I am also someone very sensitive to perfumes and i have never tasted soap on the dishes -- i use cascade.

[njtransplant]

Never, ever, put dishwashing liquid in a dishwasher. You will have an incredible mess to clean up, let alone the possibility of harming your machine. These soaps sud up too much and will ooze out of your machine. (I speak from experience.) We use Cascade Complete with the silver cap. I think the fact that these detergents are made for a machine has removed the manufacturer's need to assalt your senses the way they do for hand washing liquids.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Seventh Generation makes a gel detergent for dishwashers in green apple or lemon scent, but not unscented, which is why it's not in the "free and clear" section.

You definitely CAN NOT use regular liquid dish soap, the sort you use for hand washing dishes, in a dishwasher. There are bottled detergents available nowadays as well as powders, just as for washing machines.

[The Dairy Queen]

Caitlin, thank you so much for the clarification. I swear I looked all over their website in the "dishwashing products" section, but I did not see the green apple and lemon automatic dishwashing gels at first. But, that's what I get for posting while having insomnia. With a little more clicking around, I found them. I definitely want to try these gel detergents out. Here's a better link for Anne and those of you who might be following along (scroll to the bottom of the page to see the links to the apple and lemon gel detergents):

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/our_...

Great suggestions!

~TDQ