Sign in

Products · Cleaning & laundry · Dirty Labs

Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent, Free & Clear

Reader ratings
Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent, Free & Clear

A fragrance-free enzyme dishwasher powder with an 11-ingredient label and an A from EWG. The USDA and Green Seal logos on its page are in neither certifier’s directory, and no lab has tested it. Reviewed.com picked it for hard water.

Best for People with hard water who want a fragrance-free dishwasher powder with a complete label, and who accept that its marks and cleaning power rest on the maker and one editorial pick.

Our rating
Fair (3.1 of 5)
Price range
Premium
Size
48-load tube; 110-load refill bag $42; 220 loads for $70 as a 2-pack
Made in
Made in USA from globally sourced ingredients (maker’s statement)

approx. $20 for 48 loads

See it on Dirty Labs’s site → (opens in a new tab)

We are not affiliated with Dirty Labs. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.

Also sold at Amazon ($22.00), Grove Collaborative ($22.00) .

Reader ratings & reviews

– out of 5

Loading ratings…

Have this product? Please rate it.

    Reviews are personal experiences, not research, and they never change our quality ratings. Every review is read by our team before it appears.

    How we evaluated it

    How it scores Our rating, metric by metric Fair, 3.1 of 5
    1. Ingredients 35% of the rating 4 of 5

      Eleven named ingredients with CAS numbers and “No added fragrances” (no dye, preservative, chlorine, phosphate or PVA film), with points off for an oxygen bleach, a silicate builder, two enzymes with no allergen note and anti-caking silicas.

    2. Cleans well 20% of the rating 3 of 5

      Reviewed.com names the 2-in-1 powder its best dishwasher detergent for hard water, but its page shows no test of it, the Wirecutter badge on Dirty Labs’ page is unverified, and no lab test is published.

    3. Independent testing 15% of the rating 2 of 5

      EWG rates the label A, which is a review of ingredients and not a test, there is no Safer Choice or EWG Verified listing, and the USDA and Green Seal logos on the page are in neither directory, so nothing tested the powder.

    4. Trust 10% of the rating 2 of 5

      The page shows logos we cannot find in USDA’s or Green Seal’s directories and the maker’s laundry detergent was Consumer Reports’ worst liquid in 2026, though the label is complete and we found no recall or lawsuit.

    5. Value 20% of the rating 3 of 5

      $20 for 48 loads is 42 cents, $42 for 110 loads is 38 cents and $70 for 220 loads is 32 cents, mid-priced for a dishwasher powder and in the same band as Blueland and Branch Basics tablets.

    The rating, 3.1 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank cleaning & laundry and our standard.

    Where to buy Stores and the prices we saw 2 stores
    • Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $22.00. Dirty Labs’ own listing: sold by Dirty Labs, shipped by Amazon. 48 loads, Free & Clear (scent-free); its UPC (850018918145) is the maker’s.
    • Grove Collaborative (opens in a new tab) approx. $22.00. 48 loads. The page opens on Free & Clear; the Aestival version is scented. Its barcode (850018918145) is the maker’s.

    Prices as we saw them on October 23, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.

    What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order 11 ingredients
    1. Sodium citrate
    2. Sodium carbonate
    3. Sodium carbonate peroxide
    4. Sodium gluconate
    5. Protease (subtilisin)
    6. Sorbitan caprylate
    7. Hydrous sodium silicate powder
    8. Sodium carboxymethyl inulin
    9. Alpha-amylase
    10. Calcium silicate
    11. Silicon dioxide
    Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it 1 test
    • Independent Reviewed.com, an editorial pick (it earns commission on retailer links) September 2025

      Names “Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent 2-in-1 Powder & Booster” its best dishwasher detergent for hard water (pros: chlorine-free, spot-free finish, hyper-concentrated; con: premium price). The page says it drew on expert lab tests, its own and hundreds of reviews, and does not show a test of this powder. Not a lab result. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)

    Who paid, and why it matters
    • Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
    • Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
    • Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.

    A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.

    What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found 5 questions
    Do the USDA Biobased and Green Seal logos on the page mean this powder is certified?
    We could not confirm that. The logos sit in an image whose alt text names the scented Aestival version. USDA’s BioPreferred catalog lists three Dirty Labs products and no dishwasher detergent, and Green Seal’s directory (opens in a new tab) has no Dirty Labs product and one dishwasher result from another company. We have asked Dirty Labs for the certificate numbers.
    Is it a Wirecutter pick?
    Dirty Labs’ pages show a Wirecutter badge on its 2-in-1 dishwasher powder. Wirecutter’s site blocks automated access, so we could not read its guide and treat the badge as the maker’s claim. Reviewed.com, a separate lab, also recommends the powder for hard water.
    Does the brand’s weak laundry result carry over?
    Consumer Reports found Dirty Labs’ Free & Clear laundry detergent the least effective liquid it tested in 2026. CR’s dishwasher ratings do not name this powder, so we have no test either way. We would not assume the two behave alike, or differently.
    Can dishwasher detergent damage your gut?
    A 2023 lab study found rinse aid from professional dishwashers damaged gut-cell barriers because of alcohol ethoxylates left on dishes (PMID 36464527 (opens in a new tab)). It used cell cultures and organoids, not people. This powder lists no alcohol ethoxylate.
    Will it damage silver or other items?
    The page says not to wash sterling silver or silver-plated items with it, because the detergent and high temperatures can tarnish them. It contains an oxygen bleach (sodium carbonate peroxide) and a silicate.
    Why we chose it What put it on our list 4 points
    • The Free & Clear page lists 11 ingredients with CAS numbers and says “No added fragrances”. The scented Aestival version adds “fragrances” and names 16 fragrance materials.
    • EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning lists the 2-in-1 Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent + Booster with a hazard score of A and “Ingredient disclosure: good”, data last updated June 5, 2026. That is EWG’s rating of the label, not EWG Verified. The listing shows no fragrance ingredient, so it appears to describe the Free & Clear formula.
    • Price is clear: $20 for 48 loads (about 42 cents), $42 for 110 loads (about 38 cents), or $70 for 220 loads (about 32 cents).
    • Reviewed.com’s guide names the powder its best detergent for hard water.
    Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy 4 points
    • We found no product-specific independent mark. EPA’s Safer Choice table has 14 Dirty Labs rows, all laundry detergents. EWG’s Verified list has one Dirty Labs cleaner, the laundry detergent.
    • The page shows two logos, “USDA Certified Biobased Product 97%” and “Green Seal”. USDA’s BioPreferred catalog lists three Dirty Labs products and this is not one. Green Seal’s directory has no Dirty Labs entry.
    • It contains an oxygen bleach (sodium carbonate peroxide) and two enzymes. The page advises against using it on sterling or silver-plated items.
    • At 32 to 42 cents a load it is a premium-priced detergent, in the same range as Branch Basics’ tablets.
    What to know Details worth knowing first

    Dirty Labs’ Free & Clear dishwasher powder has a complete ingredient list and no fragrance. Our guide to common cleaning products says those are the first two things to look for. EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning rates the label an A for ingredients, and Reviewed.com picks the powder for hard water.

    What it does not have, on the records we could open, is a product-specific mark or a lab test. The Safer Choice and EWG Verified listings that backed Dirty Labs’ laundry detergent do not extend to this product, and the USDA and Green Seal logos on its page did not turn up in either directory.

    We are asking Dirty Labs for the certificate numbers behind those logos. Until it answers, treat the marks on this page as the maker’s claims.

    What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it 9 checks
    How Dirty Labs Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent, Free & Clear measures up against our cleaning & laundry criteria
    What we checked What we found
    Full ingredient disclosure Maker’s claim Eleven ingredients with CAS numbers on the product page, from sodium citrate to silicon dioxide. EWG’s 2026 listing shows the same list plus sodium sulfate.
    Independent mark: EPA Safer Choice Not verified Not listed. EPA’s Envirofacts table has 14 rows for Dirty Labs Inc., all laundry detergents (queried 2026-10-23).
    Independent mark: EWG Verified Not verified Not Verified. EWG’s Verified cleaning list has one Dirty Labs product, the laundry detergent. EWG’s Guide rates this dishwasher detergent A for ingredients, which is a rating, not a certification.
    Other marks shown on the page Not verified A USDA Certified Biobased Product (97%) logo and a Green Seal logo appear in an image on the product page, and the image’s text names the scented Aestival version. USDA’s BioPreferred catalog lists three other Dirty Labs products and no dishwasher detergent. Green Seal’s directory has no Dirty Labs entry (searched 2026-10-23, twice). Dirty Labs’ own FAQ claims USDA Biobased only for its laundry detergents and never mentions Green Seal.
    Wirecutter badge Not verified A Wirecutter badge appears on Dirty Labs’ pages for this line. We could not open Wirecutter’s guide.
    Fragrance-free Maker’s claim The Free & Clear version lists no fragrance and says “No added fragrances”.
    Concentrates and refills Maker’s claim A powder, one scoop per light or regular load and two for heavy soil or hard water. A recyclable cardboard tube and a refill bag are sold. The loads per size come from the maker.
    PFAS Maker’s claim No fluorinated ingredient on the label. We found no independent PFAS test of this product.
    Honest germ claims Maker’s claim No germ-killing claim on the page.
    What the labels mean
    • Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
    • Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
    • Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
    Sources Where our facts come from 10 sources
    1. Dirty Labs Free & Clear Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent product page. Maker’s page. Ingredients, sizes and prices as seen 2026-10-23. The logos are in an image. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    2. Dirty Labs dish landing page. Maker’s page. Shows the Wirecutter badge on the 2-in-1 dishwasher detergent image. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    3. Dirty Labs frequently asked questions. Maker’s page. Says its Bio Laundry Detergents are USDA Certified Biobased, its detergents EPA Safer Choice and its Free & Clear (laundry) detergent EWG Verified. Names no mark for the dishwasher powder and does not mention Green Seal. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    4. Reviewed: The best dishwasher detergents. Independent source. Written by Leigh Harrington, executive editor, September 23, 2025. Names the Dirty Labs 2-in-1 powder best for hard water; says it draws on expert lab tests, its own and hundreds of reviews. Says purchases through its links may earn it a commission. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    5. EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning: Dirty Labs 2-in-1 Bio Enzyme Dishwasher Detergent + Booster. Independent source. Hazard score A, ingredient disclosure good, data last updated June 5, 2026. Not EWG Verified. Read 2026-10-22; EWG’s site blocks automated fetches. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    6. EPA Safer Choice products table (Envirofacts), rows for Dirty Labs. Certifier or regulator listing. Fourteen rows, all laundry detergents. No dishwasher product. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    7. USDA BioPreferred catalog, search for Dirty Labs. Certifier or regulator listing. Returns Bio Laundry Detergent, Bio Enzyme Laundry Booster and Bio Enzyme Liquid Dish Soap. A search for dishwasher returns 102 products, none from Dirty Labs. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    8. Green Seal certified directory, search for dishwasher. Certifier or regulator listing. One result, another company’s tablets. A search for Dirty Labs returned no Dirty Labs product (2026-10-23). Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    9. Consumer Reports: Best and Worst Laundry Detergents of 2026. Test report. Names Dirty Labs’ Free & Clear laundry detergent the worst liquid tested. Says nothing about the dishwasher powder. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    10. Ogulur et al. 2023: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids. Test report. J Allergy Clin Immunol. A cell-culture and organoid study; the damaging component was alcohol ethoxylates in rinse aid. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    Alternatives Other options to compare 2 options

    Weekly research digest

    New topics and updated research, once a week when there's something new. How it works