This Wirecutter Expert Cleans (Almost) Everything with Dish Soap

Dish soap might be the most underrated cleaner in your home. It's cheap, it's safe to use with bare hands, and it’s the star of many Wirecutter cleaning tutorials — from how to clean wood floors to stainless steel appliances to laundry stains. It also makes a great alternative to “green” cleaners—cleaners that are marketed as less toxic, allergenic, or supposedly better for the environment. 

 

In this episode, we chat with senior staff writer Andrea Barnes about why dish soap is such a powerhouse cleaner, which brands actually work best, and the surprising places you can use it around your home (and when to reach for something else).

 

This episode covers:

• Why "green" cleaners often underperform: Many eco-marketed cleaners aren’t good multitaskers, so you end up buying more products to compensate. A concept called the “Sinner’s Circle” explains why: cleaning requires some combination of time, heat, chemicals, and friction — reduce one, and you have to add more of another.
• How to make an all-purpose cleaner for pennies: Just two to three drops of dish soap in a large spray bottle of water works as an effective surface cleaner for kitchen backsplashes, counters, yoga mats, stainless steel, and more — for under 25 cents a bottle.
• Surprising uses for dish soap: It works on makeup stains, shoes, jewelry, mouth guards, retainers, outdoor security cameras, and even shower tile. If you've been exposed to poison ivy, washing the affected area with dish soap within 20 minutes may help break down the irritating oil.
• What to never clean with dish soap: Don't use it on your pets' fur, your own face, or — crucially — in your dishwasher, where it will cause a sudsy overflow.
• The truth about laundry pods and microplastics: Despite how they look and feel, pods do not shed microplastics. The film dissolves completely and is biodegradable. Experts are actually more concerned about the plastic containers detergent comes in.

 

Products we recommend:

• The best dish soap: Palmolive Ultra Pure + Clear Dish Liquid
• Best dish soap for household cleaning projects: Dawn Platinum Dishwashing Liquid
• Best dish soap for (nearly) plastic-free packaging: Cleancult Dish Soap Lemon Verbena
• Biobased dishwasher detergent pods: Dropps UltraWash Plus
• Wirecutter’s best drugstore lipstick (and Andrea's new favorite): Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick

 

Additional reading:

• The Secret to Better Laundry 
• The 3 Best Dish Soaps of 2026
• The $5 Cleaning Workhorse You Already Have at Home
• How to Clean Stainless Steel Appliances
• Of All the “Sustainable” Dishwasher Pods We Tested, These Really Work
• The 6 Best Lipsticks of 2026

 

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more›

 

Wirecutter Social and Website

Instagram: /wirecutter

Threads: /@wirecutter

Twitter: /wirecutter

Facebook: /thewirecutter

TikTok: /wirecutter

LinkedIn: /nyt-wirecutter

Website: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/

Newsletter: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/newsletters/

 

The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel.Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Episodes are mixed by Catherine Anderson, Efim Shapiro, Rowan Niemisto, Sophia Lanman, and Sonia Herrero. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter’s deputy publisher and general manager is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter’s editor-in-chief. Hosted by Rosie Guerin, Caira Blackwell and Christine Cyr Clisset.

Find edited transcripts for each episode here: The Wirecutter Show Podcast

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.