I like the dishwasher, but sometimes I only have one or two dishes to wash and don't want to waste a cycle, and cant bring myself to let them sit dirty, so, I hand wash them just to get them done and out of the way. When I was a kid, I had to wash dishes with whatever "cheap-o" dish soap was around the house, usually Ajax. But, when I struck out on my own, I started buying Dawn.

Dawn Liquid Dish Detergent can be found in various sizes and scents in grocery stores, mass merchandiser stores (Walmart, Target, etc), dollar stores (Dollar General, Fred's) and can even be bought online. The prices depend on the size (and it's often on sale at Winn Dixie or Food World), but I usually pay around $2 for it.

Dawn has always cut through grease better (in my opinion) than dish soaps like Ajax, Ivory, and the like. When I worked at a "truck wash", with semis, we would even use it with the rags around the rims of the semis because it would cut through the black grease with no problems. It was just a huge time saver. (I also wash my car with this sometimes)

With dishes, a little goes a long way. It foams and bubbles up really well (unlike Ajax which doesn't want to lather) and I only need a couple of squirts to get a sink of dishes done. Pots and pans, I usually let soak in the soapy water for as little bit, because it makes them much easier to clean if I let the Dawn have time to cut through. Otherwise, it doesn't take as long to wash my dishes, with Dawn.

It's also great with cleaning pans that have cooked a saucy food like lasagna or spaghetti. Lasagna leaves a red stain around the dish, but the Dawn just wipes it off. Don't get me wrong, other dish soaps can do this too, but I don't have to scrub as much with Dawn. Most of it comes off just by letting it sit in the soapy water.

It's not so harsh on my hands and doesn't dry them out, but they have Dawn varieties that are more gentle on hands now. And, I like that they come in many different scents, so I can pick whichever one I am in the mood for.

(Dawn is also used to clean waterfowl and aquatic mammals that come in contact with oil spills, because of it's oil and grease fighting power.)

There are a lot of liquid dish soaps out there, but I always seem to go back to Dawn, because it's one I can count on. It's easy to find in stores, and many places carry it; there's a scent for my every mood, and it's not that expensive, to boot. So, I would recommend giving it a try if you haven't already. It's not "green", but hey, it works.

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