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From today's video

The three dish soaps.

Fragrance-free or Safer Choice on the label — that's the whole shortcut. Three picks by job: everyday, heavy grease, and low-waste.

The daily pick
Seventh Generation Free & Clear Dish Liquid
Everyday dishes.

Fragrance-free, dye-free, EPA Safer Choice certified. The bottle that lives next to our sink for everyday dishes.

~$4
Buy on Amazon → Buy at Target →
The heavy-grease pick
Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds
Cast iron, roasting pans, the worst of it.

Plant-based concentrate. A few drops in a sink of hot water handles cast iron, roasting pans, and the worst of the cooked-on stuff. Lasts forever because you use so little per wash.

~$11
Buy on Amazon → Buy direct from Dr. Bronner's →
The low-waste pick
Cleancult Liquid Dish Soap
Everyday dishes, less plastic waste.

Plant-based formula. Refills ship in paper cartons instead of plastic bottles, so you're not throwing away another bottle every six weeks. Mild scent, gentle on hands.

~$8
Buy on Amazon → Buy direct from Cleancult →

Why fragrance-free or Safer Choice?

The shortcut on the label is simpler than the "clean dish soap" category makes it look. Fragrance-free formulas skip the synthetic scent mixes — useful if anyone in the house has sensitive skin, eczema, or asthma, since fragrance is a top trigger for all three. The EPA's Safer Choice program independently reviews ingredient lists against criteria for human health and the environment; products that carry the label have cleared that bar. Both signals are easy to spot on the back of a bottle.

How much to actually use

Most people use about three times more dish soap than they need. The cleaner formulas above are also more concentrated than conventional brands — a half-pump in a sink of hot water is plenty for a full load of dishes. Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds is the most concentrated of the three; start with five drops, not a squeeze.

The honest tradeoff: Cleaner dish soap runs about 2× the price of conventional per bottle. You use roughly half as much per wash, so the cost-per-load is closer than the shelf price suggests. The dye-free formulas can be slightly less foamy — that's cosmetic, not functional. Suds don't clean dishes; surfactants do.

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