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Best and worst dishwasher tablets
In this article
- The best dishwasher tablets
- The dishwasher tablets we tested
- How we test dishwasher tablets
- Don’t Buy dishwasher tablets
- Dishwasher tablet mistakes to avoid
- Can you just throw a dishwasher tablet in the dishwasher?
- How eco-friendly are your dishwasher tablets?
- 5 surprising uses for dishwasher tablets
The best dishwasher tablets will shift even the toughest food and drink stains from your dishes, keeping them clear, water mark-free and shiny – even after multiple washes.
We've tested big-brand dishwasher tablets including Ecover, Fairy and Finish, plus supermarket own-brands from the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Waitrose.
Our unique testing found big differences between the best dishwasher tablets and the worst. So if you often put tea-stained cups or pasta-encrusted plates in the dishwasher, Which? test results will help you make the smartest choice.
How our tests find you the best
Stain removal
We don't do things in half measures. We pit each dishwasher tablet against the toughest stains, including grease, tea, spaghetti, egg yolk and dried-on milk.
Preventing cloudiness
Cloudy glasses can look dirty. We'll tell you if the tablet you regularly use risks permanently turning your wine glasses streaky or cloudy.
Environmental impact
We'll help you work out which tablets are truly kind to the environment and which ones could do better in terms of sustainability.
We also test...
How well it prevents water marks and whether it will keep your dishes and cutlery shiny, or lead to marks and discolouration over time.
The best dishwasher tablets
Only logged-in Which? members can view the dishwasher tablets test results below.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.
| Dishwasher tablets | Price | Score | Overall cleaning | Preventing filming and cloudiness | Preventing water marks | Sustainability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77% | ||||||
| 76% | ||||||
| 68% | ||||||
| 61% | ||||||
| 60% | ||||||
| 58% | ||||||
| 54% |
Date tested: May 2024. Page last checked: February 2025. Overall cleaning: How well it removes tea, milk, egg yolk, grease and spaghetti starch. Preventing filming and cloudiness: How well it prevents streaks and residue over multiple washes. Preventing water marks: How well the detergent prevents watermarks and droplets. Sustainability: Assessment of the chemicals it contains and packaging. We are not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
The dishwasher tablets we tested
All the dishwasher tablets we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.
Only logged-in Which? members can view the best dishwasher tablets from our tests.
Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.
Aldi Magnum All in One Lemon Zest Dishwasher Tablets
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Available from Aldi (£3.09)
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 40 washes
Cost per wash 8p
Co-op Ultimate All in One Lemon Dishwasher Tablets
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Available from Co-op (£3)
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 30 washes
Cost per wash 10p
Ecover All In One Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 22 washes
Cost per wash 35p
Fairy Platinum Plus Anti-Dull
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 18 washes
Cost per wash 39p
Fairy Platinum Plus Deep Clean
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 29 washes
Cost per wash 31p
Finish Power All In One Lemon Sparkle Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 52 washes
Cost per wash 19p
What about when you're doing your dishes by hand? Discover the best washing-up liquids according to our rigorous tests
Finish Quantum All In One Regular Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 47 washes
Cost per wash 20p
Finish Ultimate Plus All in One Lemon Sparkle Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 52 washes
Cost per wash 22p
Kit & Kin Dishwasher Tablets
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Available from Kit & Kin (£7.49)
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 30 washes
Cost per wash 25p
OceanSaver Eco Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 30 washes
Cost per wash 28p
Sainsbury's Advanced Ultimate Lemon Dishwasher Tablets
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 20 washes
Cost per wash 16p
Waitrose Essential All In One Lemon Dishwasher Tablets
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Available from Waitrose (£4.25)
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Most recently tested May 2024
Pack size 45 washes
Cost per wash 9p
How we test dishwasher tablets
We put dishwasher tablets through rigorous tests that reflect the tough demands required of them in your kitchen.
How well does it remove different food and drink stains?
We use a range of foods and drinks in our dishwasher tablet tests to represent the toughest types of residue you'd expect to wash off in the dishwasher. They include tea, starch (spaghetti), egg yolk, dried-on milk and tough grease.
In our lab we use cups, glasses, plates and baking sheets covered in carefully measured amounts of these substances. After washing them at 45°C, we measure how much residue remains.
Will it stop my glasses going cloudy?
We check glasses after five washes and then again after 30 washes, to see whether residue, cloudy or coloured film, or streaks start to build up on them over time.
How well does it prevent water marks?
Our experts check whether water marks appear on crockery after multiple washes. This indicates how good the rinse aid element of the all-in-one dishwasher tablets is and whether it enables dishes to dry without leaving visible outlines of water spots.
Will it keep my dishes and cutlery shiny?
We inspect plates to see if they have been dulled through washing – we call this loss of brilliance. Dishes that once were bright and glossy start to appear duller and less shiny.
What is its environmental impact?
The chemicals used within the product and their environmental impact are taken into consideration. This includes if they are biodegradable, harmful to aquatic life or persistent, which means that the chemicals could linger and accumulate in ecosystems. In addition, we consider the packaging, how easy it is to recycle and whether that's made clear. We also see if the packaging itself is made from recycled material and whether refills are available, as well as packaging utilisation (whether the packaging is under-filled).
We regularly revisit the dishwasher tablets on sale to see if there are any more popular brands that need testing and when we find them we do.
Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.
Don’t Buy dishwasher tablets
Our tests uncover the best and the worst. If a product performs so poorly that we think you should avoid it, we call it a Don't Buy. We've tested two dishwasher tablets that we've named Don't Buys.
Don't Buy dishwasher tablets either struggle with several areas of cleaning or are truly shocking at one or two. One, for example, demonstrated below par cleaning results and made our test cutlery and pans lose their colour and go dull. Another was terrible at removing egg yolk and struggled to cut through grease.
Sign up to Which? to unlock the results and find out which of the dishwasher tablets we tested are Don't Buys and which are worthy of our Best Buy and Great Value recommendations.
Dishwasher tablet mistakes to avoid
- You might need to add dishwasher salt to a load even if you use an all-in-one dishwasher tablet, but this will depend on how hard the water is in your area.
- If you use your dishwasher on a low-temperature cycle, check the packaging of tablets before you buy – some are only designed to be used at 50ºC to 60ºC or above.
- To prevent spots appearing on your glassware or a soapy film on your plates, run your dishwasher's hot water cycle once a month.
For more tips to help you get the most out of your dishwasher tablets, read our expert guide on how to load your dishwasher.
Can you just throw a dishwasher tablet in the dishwasher?
If you can't be bothered to open the compartment before you run a cycle, popping the tablet somewhere at the bottom of the dishwasher should still be adequate to get your plates and cutlery clean.
However, it's still worth taking the extra time and putting the tablet in the dedicated dispenser. That way you can be sure that the dishwasher disperses the ingredients at the optimal time during the cleaning programme.
Just be sure that there's nothing blocking the dispenser. If there is, you'll likely find that the cleaning cycle doesn't complete properly and your dishwasher tablet won't dissolve.
How eco-friendly are your dishwasher tablets?
There are two main elements to think about when considering the impact your dishwasher tablets will have on the environment: packaging and ingredients.
Ideally your dishwasher tablets should come in refillable packaging, or packaging made from recyclable materials, with the recycling symbol clearly displayed and information on how and where you should recycle it (at home or a supermarket). The worst example we tested displayed no recycling information at all, and its dishwasher tablets were individually encased in non-recyclable wrappers that needed to be removed before use.
Some dishwasher tablets are biodegradable, while others contain ingredients that are classed as PBT – persistent (resist environmental degrading), bioaccumulative (build up and become more concentrated as they go higher up the food chain) or toxic. You have to be careful here, as we've seen brands that advertise their tablets as as being environmentally-friendly when they actually contained ingredients that have poor biodegradability, adverse long-term effects on aquatic organisms and are toxic to the environment.
We've summarised our findings in our dishwasher tablet reviews above, so you can check these to pick one that combines reasonable cleaning performance with ingredients that cause less pollution.
5 surprising uses for dishwasher tablets
We tried out a number of so-called dishwasher tablet 'hacks' to see which ones worked well and which ones didn't:
- Cleaning a burnt saucepan Using a dishwasher tablet to remove burnt on food from pans really works. Simply fill your saucepan with water, pop a dishwasher tablet in, put it on a medium heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes. This will loosen the remnants so it's easy to wipe them off. Just make sure to check the manufacturer's instructions for your saucepan before you do this, though, especially if you have a non-stick saucepan and don't want to damage the coating.
- Cleaning an oven Our tests had mixed results here and the tablets were most effective at cleaning the racks, rather than the oven doors or walls. The best way to do this is by leaving the racks to soak in a tub of hot water with a tablet for a few hours – but make sure to cushion the racks with towels or a mat to avoid scratching your bathtub.
- Cleaning clothes We're not suggesting chucking a dishwasher tablet in your washing machine if you've run out of laundry detergent, but they are useful for tackling stubborn stains. Leave your soiled clothing in hot water with a tablet overnight before putting it through the wash and it should come out spotless. Make sure you only do this with white clothing, though, or you could end up bleaching colours out.
- Cleaning walls From food splashes to crayon marks, there are lots of ways your walls can get dirty. Could a dishwasher tablet be the answer for removing unsightly marks? Cleaning crayon marks from a wall using warm water with a dissolved tablet did work, but we think using washing-up liquid is a better option.
- Cleaning fridges and garden furniture Similarly to cleaning walls, a dissolved dishwasher tablet will also suffice for cleaning the inside of your fridge and garden furniture. Again however, we found it easier, cheaper and quicker to use washing-up liquid.