It's hard to get excited about dishwashing liquid.  It's a necessary item in every household, though, even for people like me who usually avoid buying kitchen items that can't be put into the dishwasher.  Some items just must be washed by hands, like the Wusthof Trident knives my husband loves, the one copper-bottom pot that is still in our home, and the good china that I drag out once a year at Christmas.  I don't hand wash many items, but it seems like I still do enough!  Because I had liked some of the products offered by Method, a "green" brand sold in Target, I decided to try Method Pink Grapefruit Liquid Dish Soap.

Description

The bottle of Method Pink Grapefruit Liquid Dish Soap that I have is somewhat different than that pictured at Epinions.  It is a clear plastic bottle with information written in white, but the shape is different - kind of a tall, smushed oval that comes to a narrower peak.  The dispensing system at the top is an opaque plastic object that you turn to open or close the exit to the bottle.  The dish soap is dispensed by turning the bottle upside down and pouring the liquid out.

The dishwashing liquid itself is a clear, light pink liquid, with a viscosity and texture similar to every other dishwashing liquid I've ever used.  The pink grapefruit scent is present, but light.

According to the bottle, this product is non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate free, naturally derived, and has not been tested on animals. 

Use and Experience

I tend to wash very few dishes at a time, mostly because anything that is safe to go into the dishwasher goes into it.  That being said, I have washed a good variety of items with this dishwashing liquid, and I have always found it effective.  The Wusthof Trident knives, the Lenox china, the hand-wash only bar pan that I love to use (except that I have to hand wash it); all of them have been effectively cleaned by this soap with minimal effort.  Greasy pans also come clean without much ado.  The dish soap also rinses off of these items well, so no weird soapy residue is left.

There is one thing that I really do not like about this product, and that is the cap.  The mechanism through which the dishwashing liquid emerges seems like it would be fine - you are just pouring it out - but for some reason, some of the liquid tends to cling to the top, and if you don't remove it, it builds up and eventually you can't get the dishwashing liquid out.  It's easy enough to fix - just run the tip under hot water so that the dried dishwashing liquid melts off - but it's kind of a pain.  And I think it's absurd to keep having to wash off the top of the bottle of a cleaning product every time I use it.

Cost and Where to Buy

As I mentioned earlier, Method products are sold in Target stores.  We paid between $4.00 and $5.00 for this bottle of dishwashing liquid.  Target does sometimes place Method products on sale, so if it is a brand that you want to try, keep an eye on the Target flyer in your local newspaper. 

With regard to ingredients, the bottle is mysteriously mum, which seems a bit sketchy to me.  They claim their ingredients are "naturally derived," and mention Vitamin E and aloe making "your hands feel as clean as your dishes," but that's it.  No ingredients list. 

I have mixed feelings about Method Pink Grapefruit Liquid Dish Soap.  It works well, and the scent is nice.  On the other hand, the dispenser gets clogged with the dishwashing liquid that it is an annoyance… and their ingredients aren't listed, so their claims to being non-toxic and biodegradable seem a little suspicious as a result.  (Besides… what product in 2009 doesn't publish their ingredients list?!)  3 stars and a mild recommendation.

Recommended: Yes