Eco-friendly household products aren’t just good for you and your family; they also benefit the environment. We put five eco-friendly dishwashing liquids through the grease test, and tells you where to buy them.
(L-R): Bio-home dishwash liquid, Eco store plant based dishwash liquid, Green cleaners dishwashing cleaner, Earth Choice Dishwash Liquid and Earth Friendly Products dishmate. Photography: Darren Chang
The following five detergents were used on three types of tableware – plastic, glass and aluminium.
1. ECO STORE PLANT BASED DISHWASH LIQUID, $12.95
SPARKLE SCORE: 8.5/10
No hard scrubbing was needed, but there was still a faint trace of grease on glass and plastic. After a second washing, glass was given the all clear but plastic was still a bit greasy – plastic attracts oil particles and therefore takes more detergent and washing to get it grease-free.
Buy this product at SuperNature: 21 Orchard Boulevard, #01-21/23 & 27 Park House, Singapore 248645, Tel: 6304 1336; opening hours: 10am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturday, 10am – 6pm on Sundays and 10am-5pm on public holidays.
2. BIO-HOME DISHWASH LIQUID, $3.95
SPARKLE SCORE: 8/10
Glass and plastic aced the test, but metal had a bit of greasy residue that was washed away with a second round of scrubbing. The clear liquid comes in a recyclable pump bottle.
Buy this eco-friendly detergent at Isetan Scotts supermarket, 350 Orchard Road, Shaw House, (S) 238868, Tel: 6733 1111; operating hours 10.00am to 9.30pm daily.
3. EARTH FRIENDLY PRODUCTS DISHMATE, $10.95
SPARKLE SCORE: 8.5/10
Made of natural coconut oil and certified organic grapefruit essential oil, this dishwashing liquid is definitely no lightweight; it cut through grease on glass and metal easily, but stubborn plastic required a second wash.
This dishwashing liquid can be purchased at SuperNature: 21 Orchard Boulevard, #01-21/23 & 27 Park House, Singapore 248645, Tel: 6304 1336; opening hours: 10am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturday, 10am – 6pm on Sundays and 10am-5pm on public holidays.
4. GREEN CLEANERS DISHWASHING CLEANER, $20
Sparkle score: 9/10.
This dishwashing cleaner comes in a concentrated formula, which you can dilute to make more than 20 litres of dishwashing liquid.
We used one 20-cent dollop for our test, and found it to be most effective on glass and metal. As usual, plastic had a bit of greasy residue but it was nothing a second wash couldn’t handle.
Buy this product at Greencleaners, Singapore. Website: www.greencleaners.asia, Tel: 8306 6263; hotline hours: Mondays to Fridays, from 8.30am to 5.30pm after hours and weekends.
5. EARTH CHOICE DISHWASH LIQUID, $2.95
SPARKLE SCORE: 8/10
After one round of light scrubbing, there was no greasy residue on glass and metal, but plastic still had faint traces. However, all it needed was another round of scrubbing.
FairPrice Finest is located at Bukit Timah Plaza, 1 Jin Anak Bukit, #B1-01 & #B2-01, (S) 588996, operating hours 9am-11pm daily; The Clementi Mall, 3155 Commonwealth Avenue West, #B1-12/13/14, (S) 129588, operating hours 8am-11pm daily; 6 Marine Parade Central, (S) 449411, operating hours 8am-11pm daily; Triple One Somerset, 111 Somerset Road, #01-04/04A/05 to 09, (S) 238164, operating hours 8am-11pm daily; Serangoon Garden Village, 1 Maju Avenue, # B1-11 to 14, # B1-K09, (S) 556679, operating hours 8am-10pm daily; Century Square, 2 Tampines Central 5 , #B1/07/08/17,(S) 529509, operating hours 9am-10pm; Thomson Plaza, Upper Thomson , #03-37/38, (S) 574408; operating hours 8am-10pm daily.
All product and pricing information was correct at the time of the magazine’s publication. We advise readers to check with the store for the latest availability and pricing information.
This article was originally published in SimplyHer January 2011.
