How To Choose The Best Dishwasher Cleaner?

Your dishwasher deals with a lot of grime including grease and food particles. Over time, grime and bacteria builds up in your machine, particularly small parts such as the spray arms. This leads to reduced cleaning performance and can result in an awful smell coming from your dishwasher.

If you live in a hard water area, you have another big problem to deal with – scale. Scale build-up can clog dishwasher components, prevent proper cleaning of dishes and reduce your machine’s lifespan.

The best way to deal with all these problems and keep your dishwasher in great shape is regularly using a dishwasher cleaner.

Dishwasher cleaners, which come in powder, liquid or tablet formulations, attack hidden grime as well as scale.

Below, we recommend the best dishwasher cleaner you can order online. But first, some tips on how to choose the best dishwasher cleaner.

Key Considerations When Buying Dishwasher Cleaner

A. Cleaning Performance

Obviously, you should get a dishwasher cleaner that works. A good dishwasher cleaner should leave the dishwasher clean and odour-free.

The best way to determine a product’s cleaning performance is to check customer reviews. What do customers say about it? Does it completely get rid of grease and other grime? Does it eliminate smells?

Also, check if customers complain that the cleaner leaves a residue. Some dishwasher cleaners work well but then leave a residue that you have to find a way to get rid of.

• Note: There’s a limit to what dishwasher cleaners can remove. While most do a good job with grease, dirt and limescale, they may not be able to get rid of stubborn stains and mould. If your main problem is mould, products like vinegar, baking soda and bleach work great.    

B. Limescale Protection

If you receive hard water in your home, definitely get a dishwasher cleaner that attacks limescale. This will keep your machine from clogging and ensure your dishes don’t come out with marks and stains.

C. Ease of Use

Check how easy the cleaner is to use. Do you have to put the cleaner in the detergent dispenser or can you put it directly in the dishwasher?

We particularly love those dishwasher cleaners that you can use when washing a load of dishes. It saves you the trouble (as well as energy and water) of running an empty cycle.

D. No. of Applications

Don’t forget to check how many times you can use the cleaner. This will tell you how much value for your money you are getting.

Powder and tablet dishwasher cleaners typically come in a pack with several sachets, usually enough for one or two years of use.

Buying a cleaner with a year’s or more worth of applications means you don’t need to go shopping for a new cleaner every time you want to clean your budget dishwasher.

E. Suitable for Washing Machine?

Check if the dishwasher cleaner can also be used in a washing machine. Buying a multi-purpose dishwasher cleaner will save you the trouble of buying a separate pack specifically for your washing machine.

Best Dishwasher Cleaners: Top 5 Reviews

1. Finish In-Wash Dishwasher Cleaner, 24 Applications

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The Finish In-Wash Dishwasher Cleaner pack has 24 tablets. Following the monthly use recommendation from the manufacturer, this pack should last you two years.

A single tablet is all you need to deep clean your dishwasher. And you don’t even need to do a separate empty clean cycle. Simply place a single tablet at the bottom of the dishwasher and put in dirty dishes as you normally would.

Each tablet consists of three chambers with different cleaning ingredients. The chamber quickly dissolve in water, releasing the active ingredients that degrease your dishwasher, remove grime from the spray arms and other hidden areas and eliminate any foul smells.

The Finish In-Wash tablets do remove some scale from hard water, but we recommend getting a dedicated descaler product for your dishwasher especially if you live in an area with very hard water.

What we like about it:

• Excellent cleaning performance.
• No empty cycle necessary – easier to use and saves time and money.
• 2-year supply.

2. Dr. Beckmann Serviceit Deep Clean Dishwasher Cleaner

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This Dr. Beckmann dishwasher cleaner pack consists of two things: the cleaning powder that you add to your dishwasher and a cleaning wipe.

Use the wipe to clean around the door seal and exterior of the dishwasher. The wipe gets rid of mould, grime and germs that have accumulated around the door seal.

After you wipe down the dishwasher, pour all the powder in the sachet in the bottom of the dishwasher. Unlike the Finish In-wash cleaner, the Dr. Beckmann cleaner requires an empty cycle. Use the standard cleaning program.

The powder removes any build-up of grease and dirt in the dishwasher, including hard-to-reach parts like the spray arms. The powder also eliminates odours.

As far as we can tell, the Dr. Beckmann dishwasher cleaner is not meant for removing scale in the dishwasher. If you live in a hard water area, we highly recommend buying a separate descaler product.

The Dr. Beckmann dishwasher cleaner is available as a 2-pack or a 3-pack. A single pack is good for one application.

What we like about it:

• Deep cleans dishwasher.
• Eliminates foul smells.
• Includes a door seal wipe.

3. Ecozone Washing Machine and Dishwasher Cleaner

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If you are looking for a dishwasher cleaner that you can also use in your washing machine, we recommend this one from Ecozone.

Unlike the other two cleaners above, the Ecozone cleaner works as a descaler as well, so there’s no need to buy a separate limescale remover.

The Ecozone cleaner removes grease, build-up grime and scale in your dishwasher. It also eliminates deposits of detergent to ensure your dishes come out clean and spotless.

The pack includes six tablets for the same number of applications. If you plan to use it in your washing machine, we recommend buying several packs that will last for a while. 4 packs are enough for a whole year. Use a single tablet in your dishwasher and another in your washing machine every month.

To use the Ecozone cleaner, place a single tablet at the bottom of your empty dishwasher and run a hot program. For your washing machine, put a single tablet in the drum and run a 60C cycle.

What we like about it:

• Suitable for dishwasher and washing machine.
• Cleans and descales.
• Allergy-friendly, cruelty-free and vegan.

4. Finish Dishwasher Cleaner LEMON, Pack of 8

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If you are looking for a Finish dishwasher cleaner that tackles limescale, get this pack of eight.

It degreases your dishwasher and targets grime that has build-up in hidden areas. It also contains active ingredients that eliminate scale and calcification in your dishwasher.

If your dishwasher is giving off a foul smell, the finish dishwasher will also get rid of it. It leaves a nice lemon fragrance behind.

The manufacturer recommends using one bottle a month in an empty dishwasher with the temperature set to at least 65C. So this 8-pack is good for eight months.

Note that this is not an in-wash cleaner like the Finish tablets we reviewed above. You can only put it in an empty dishwasher.

What we like about it:

• Degreases and descales your dishwasher.
• 8-month supply.
• Nice lemon fragrance.

5. JYW Limescale & Detergent Remover For Washing Machines & Dishwashers

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This is another good choice if you are looking for a multipurpose dishwasher cleaner that you can also use in your washing machine.

The JYW dishwasher and washing machine cleaner eliminates grease, dirt, detergent deposits as well as limescale. So you don’t need to buy any extra cleaning products.

For best results, the manufacturer recommends monthly use, so this 10-pack is good for ten months, five if you also use it in your washing machine.

To clean your dishwasher or washing machine, pour a single sachet into the dispenser and then run an empty cycle with the temperature set to at least 55C.

What we like about it:

• Degreases and descales.
• Suitable for both dishwashers and washing machine.
• Eliminates bad smells.