Frankie Valli Has His Dawn & I’ve Got Mine
Written: May 26 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cuts through grease, caked on foods, shortening yet doesn’t dry out your hands.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: Looking for a strong grease cutting dish detergent that won’t leave your hands looking like they’ve been though the meat grinder? Give Dawn a try!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent |
If you have read any of my recent reviews in the Home & Garden section you may have seen me comment that I do a lot of baking and cooking. Along with all the tasty treats comes the clean up – and that usually means scrubbing, scraping and a plethora of colorful words streaming from my mouth. I had used Dawn in the past and never really thought much about it – I mean, it is a dish detergent after all. It either works or it doesn’t work. I was at Smart & Final about a month ago when I was looking for something that would take off the accumulated burnt grease marks from my industrial cookie baking sheets. A kind lady suggested that I give Dawn a try because it works the best, rinses easily and won’t leave your hands dry. Spotting the industrial size on the shelf [50 ounces] for $3.29 I was sold and into the cart it went. I was really curious to see if it would work on the baking sheets and if it didn’t it wouldn’t be a huge loss since I could use it for dishes, glass baking pans or as a last resort, a bubbly and colorful toilet cleaner.
As I said, I have used this in the past and never really took notice of how well it worked. I try to stick with Ajax because it seems to be the only brand that doesn’t have a heavy scent or dry my hands out. Since I don’t use my dishwasher I do about five to ten sink-fulls of dishes a day so my hands are exposed to the dishwashing liquid on more than a regular basis. So far my hands are no worse for wear and my cookie sheets have never been so clean! I use this on everything from Pyrex mixing bowls to everyday dishes and plates. One of my biggest concerns was how this would work on a daily basis with the hard water we have in Southern California. Spotting on glasses is something that I don’t take kindly to and since I have switched to Dawn, the spots have been almost eliminated. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t the occasional rogue water spot but for the most part they virtually been eliminated.
Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent
Manufactured by Proctor & Gamble, this dish washing liquid contains no phosphates and is considered safe for the environment since the surfactants / wetting agents are biodegradable. This is a real plus for those that are concerned with the environment and don’t want something that is so strong and powerful that you need to wear gloves when using it. As I mentioned, I do a lot of dishes throughout the day so my hands are exposed to the detergent more than most people. One of my biggest concerns when picking out a dish soap is the scent. Since I care for a lot of animals whose health range from perfect to in guarded condition, I need something that will not leave a scent. Dawn does have a mild scent to it but it does rinse away. The foam is moderate and lasts about twenty minutes so if you need to soak things, you won’t leave the kitchen with a sink full of bubbles and return ten minutes later to dirty water and a layer of floating grease. For me this is a real plus since I can leave the pie pans and muffin tins soak for a while without having to swish the water around to keep the bubbles active. How does it work on grease? Well, I’m glad you asked. I make lasagna two or three times a month, not just a tray or two but usually five or six. It never fails that when I make lasagna “people” stop by out of the blue. I’d rather spend six hours making it every week and a half and have tons of it on hand [as well as tossing one in the freezer for emergencies] but that means a mountain of trays, bowls and pots so I need to have a dishwashing liquid that will work on a variety of surfaces [steal, non-stick, glass, aluminum etc]. One of the beasts that I dread cleaning is a large rectangular Corning Ware pan [roaster size P-21] that doesn’t fit completely in the sink. If I soak it about 75% of the pan is immersed in water and the remaining 25% is left exposed – and I swear I can almost hear the sauce and cheese laughing at me as it clings to the pan.
You don’t need to use a lot of this to get good foaming action, just the usual amount – about two tablespoons for a medium sized load. For those who are kitchen virgins, this should never be used in a dishwasher unless you want to spend a few hours cleaning up the bubbles. And it won’t just be from one load, you will have to run the dishwasher several times to get rid of the dish soap so please, heed my warning and don’t use this “in a pinch” because you will regret it. You can use this on almost any type of pot, pan, dish, glass or piece of bakeware but you also have to keep in mind that the type of sponge or scrubber you use determines how clean your items get. You can’t use steel wool to clean a non-stick pan without gruesome results; likewise, you can’t use a regular foam sponge to try and clean a cast iron pan. Dawn will work to break up grease, baked on foods, melted or burnt cheese and other assorted oddities and so far it’s handled anything and everything I’ve thrown at it. This isn’t a miracle product that will do the dishes for you but it will help cut down on most of the manual labor when it comes to cleaning those tough foods off surfaces.
The Bottom Line
For the price, I got one massive size bottle of dish detergent that worked out a lot better than I expected on the tougher brunt on foods. Like I said, this won’t do the dishes, pots and pans for you but it takes care of a majority of it if you give it a while to soak and break up the grease and oil. Unlike some dish detergents you don’t need to change your soak water if you do pots and pens then glassware, the soap sort of defuses the gunk and keeps it from reattaching to other items. There are a lot of choices on the market when it comes to dish cleaners – scented antibacterial, environmentally safe .. the list goes on. The bottom line is this – I want clean dishes. I don’t want to have to drain the sink and refill it to soak then wash the dishes. Water spots are something that I refuse to deal with on any level and Dawn has really impressed me with the sheeting action it provides. Most grocery stores sell the smaller sized bottles but for me, the fifty ounce size is the one for me. It saves me money, I don’t have to have ten bottles of it sitting under the counter and I don’t feel as guilty about throwing out a plastic bottle every week. If you’ve never tried Dawn but are looking for a hard working detergent to get a variety of pots, pans, dishes and glassware clean then I highly suggest that you check it out.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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