RINSE AND REPEAT

Zoe Griffen on top dishwasher tablets for sparkling crockery

- Zoe Griffen

Whether you're tackling baked-on pasta dishes or cloudy wine glasses, the best dishwasher tablets can make all the difference between a disappointing rinse and a showroom finish. But with so many options on the market, from all-in-one pods to plastic-free tablets, finding one that delivers can be tricky.

Good dishwasher tablets combine powerful cleaning agents with rinse aid and salt, removing the need for extra products. They should also work well on short or eco cycles, and shouldn’t leave behind a soapy film or chemical smell.

To help separate the sparkling from the subpar, I tested a wide range of dishwasher tablets to find options that performed well across different loads, from greasy baking trays to delicate glassware.

How I tested

Over the course of two weeks, I tested dishwasher tablets on a variety of loads in my kitchen. During testing, the tablets tackled everything from greasy roasting trays and plates covered in pasta sauce to wine glasses and cutlery. To keep things consistent, I stacked the dishwasher the same way each time and ran standard and eco cycles to see how each tablet handled different settings.

Neat eco dishwasher tablets: £20, Amazon

Neat’s dishwasher tablets come in water-soluble PVA wrappers and arrive in a compact, fully recyclable cardboard box. The brand is a certified B-Corp, and claims these tablets offer a powerful clean with minimal waste. I found they performed well on everyday grime: plates with dried-on sauces, mugs with tea stains, and slightly greasy pans all came out clean.