Sign in

Products · Cleaning & laundry · ECOS (Earth Friendly Products)

ECOS Dishwasher Gel, Free & Clear

Reader ratings
ECOS Dishwasher Gel, Free & Clear

A low-cost, scent-free dishwasher gel: eight named ingredients, one mild preservative, an EPA Safer Choice listing. No load count, no independent cleaning test (CR says gels clean worse than packs), and a maker with labeling settlements.

Best for People who want an inexpensive, fragrance-free dishwasher detergent with a short, listed formula and are fine with a gel.

Our rating
Fair (3.1 of 5)
Price range
Budget
Verified marks
EPA Safer Choice, listed as fragrance-free
Size
40 fl oz bottle

approx. $8 for 40 fl oz

See it on ECOS (Earth Friendly Products)’s site → (opens in a new tab)

We are not affiliated with ECOS (Earth Friendly Products). This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.

Also sold at Amazon ($6.88), Grove Collaborative ($8.99) .

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

      Eight named ingredients with no fragrance, dye, phosphate, chlorine or isothiazolinone and one mild preservative (potassium sorbate), the extras being a gum and an enzyme blend whose amylase ECOS’s page flags as a respiratory sensitizer.

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

      We found no independent test of it, and Consumer Reports says gels generally clean worse than single-dose packs and that its worst detergents, mainly gels, are barely better than water on baked-on food.

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

      EPA lists this exact gel as Safer Choice, a certification the maker applies for, and we found no independent contaminant or cleaning test.

    4. Trust 10% of the rating 2 of 5

      The maker settled a 2015 “natural” suit, a 2022 suit over “non-toxic” claims and a 2026 California case over “zero plastic” PVA sheets, a lab found organic fluorine in one sheet, and this gel’s page omits the Safer Choice mark.

    5. Value 20% of the rating 3 of 5

      About 17 to 22 cents a fluid ounce ($6.88 to $8.99 for 40 fl oz), but ECOS gives no load count, only “fill one dispenser cup”, so we cannot work out a cost per load.

    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. $6.88. Sold and shipped by Amazon. The listing’s scent field says Lavender, but its UPC (749174097545) is the Free & Clear gel in EPA’s record.
    • Grove Collaborative (opens in a new tab) approx. $8.99. 40 fl oz. The page opens on Free & Clear, the version we reviewed; Lavender is scented. Barcode 749174097545.

    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 8 ingredients
    1. Water
    2. Sodium citrate
    3. Citric acid
    4. Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate
    5. Xanthan gum
    6. Caprylyl/myristyl glucoside
    7. Potassium sorbate
    8. Enzymatic blend (protease and amylase)
    Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it 1 test
    • Paid certification EPA Safer Choice

      Lists “ECOS Auto Dishwasher Gel - Free & Clear” as Safer Choice and fragrance-free; Earth Friendly Products has been a partner since 2008. The program reviews each ingredient against EPA’s criteria. It is not a lab test of this bottle. 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 dishwasher gels clean as well as tablets?
    Consumer Reports’ dishwasher detergent ratings (opens in a new tab) say the best packs outperform most gels, and that the worst detergents, mainly gels, are barely better than water at removing baked-on messes. ECOS’s gel is not among the products named on the page we could read, and we found no independent test of it.
    Can dishwasher detergent damage your gut?
    A 2023 lab study found that rinse aid from professional dishwashers damaged gut-cell barriers, and pinned the damage on alcohol ethoxylates that stayed on washed dishes (Ogulur et al., PMID 36464527 (opens in a new tab)). It used cell cultures and organoids, not people. This gel lists no alcohol ethoxylate and no rinse aid, though ECOS sells a separate rinse aid.
    Are the enzymes a problem?
    ECOS’s page marks amylase as present on an EU list of respiratory sensitizers, which is more disclosure than most makers give. We found no study of consumer harm from detergent enzymes. All four dishwasher products here contain enzymes.
    Does ECOS use PFAS?
    Mamavation, a consumer site that earns affiliate income, sent four laundry sheets to an EPA-certified lab in 2024. ECOS’s Magnolia & Lily sheet had 26 ppm organic fluorine (opens in a new tab), a marker for PFAS (Mamavation’s test is a spot-check, and it does not say where the fluorine came from). That is a different product from this gel, and we found no PFAS test of the gel.
    Has ECOS been accused of misleading “green” claims?
    A 2015 class action over “natural” claims settled in 2016 (TINA.org (opens in a new tab)). A 2022 Missouri class action over “non-toxic” claims was dismissed in 2024 after a notice of settlement. In April 2026 several California district attorneys announced a $176,110 settlement (opens in a new tab) over “zero plastic” detergent sheets that contained polyvinyl alcohol. The 2026 case was about sheets, not this gel.
    Why we chose it What put it on our list 4 points
    • EPA’s Safer Choice table lists “ECOS Auto Dishwasher Gel - Free & Clear” from Earth Friendly Products with the fragrance-free flag set to true. We read it on 2026-10-23.
    • ECOS prints all eight ingredients with CAS numbers: water, sodium citrate, citric acid, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, xanthan gum, caprylyl/myristyl glucoside, potassium sorbate and an enzyme blend (protease and amylase).
    • The label has no fragrance, dye, phosphate or isothiazolinone preservative. The one preservative is potassium sorbate.
    • It is inexpensive: $6.88 at Amazon and $8.99 at Grove for 40 fl oz, about 17 to 22 cents a fluid ounce.
    Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy 4 points
    • ECOS’s page for this gel does not show the Safer Choice mark that its dish soap page does. EPA lists the gel, so we count the listing, but look for the mark on the bottle.
    • ECOS gives no load count. It says to fill one dispenser cup to start and adjust, so we cannot give you a cost per load.
    • Consumer Reports says gels generally clean worse than packs, and we found no independent test of this one.
    • It is not a concentrate and has no refill: a 40 fl oz plastic bottle. It has one certification, and EWG’s Verified cleaning list shows no ECOS or Earth Friendly Products items.
    What to know Details worth knowing first

    The questions to ask of a dishwasher detergent are the same as for other cleaners: is there fragrance, and is every ingredient listed? Our guide to common cleaning products covers why those matter.

    ECOS’s Free & Clear gel is on this list because it is inexpensive, the label is short and fully listed, and EPA’s own Safer Choice table lists it as fragrance-free. It also does better than most on enzyme disclosure. Its score is modest for reasons we state plainly: the maker’s page does not show the mark, gives no load count, and nothing but EPA’s listing backs it. Consumer Reports says gels generally clean worse than packs.

    If you want tablets, or a second independent record, see the alternatives.

    What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it 8 checks
    How ECOS Dishwasher Gel, Free & Clear measures up against our cleaning & laundry criteria
    What we checked What we found
    Full ingredient disclosure Maker’s claim Eight ingredients on the product page with CAS numbers and functions. Fragrance is not listed because there is none. The page marks amylase as an EU-listed respiratory sensitizer.
    Independent mark: EPA Safer Choice Verified EPA’s Envirofacts table has “ECOS Auto Dishwasher Gel - Free & Clear”, Earth Friendly Products, automatic dishwasher products, company in good standing, partner since 2008. ECOS’s own page for the gel does not mention Safer Choice.
    Independent mark: EWG Verified Not verified EWG’s Verified cleaning list shows no products from ECOS or Earth Friendly Products.
    Fragrance-free Verified EPA marks this product fragrance-free, and the label lists no fragrance.
    Independent cleaning test Not verified None found for this gel. Consumer Reports’ dishwasher ratings page names no ECOS product and says gels generally clean worse than packs.
    Concentrates and refills Maker’s claim No. A ready-to-use gel in a 40 fl oz bottle with no refill and no stated number of loads.
    PFAS Maker’s claim No fluorinated ingredient on the label. We found no independent PFAS test of this gel. A 2024 Mamavation spot-check found 26 ppm organic fluorine in a different ECOS product, a laundry sheet.
    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 7 sources
    1. ECOS Dishwasher Gel, Free & Clear product page. Maker’s page. Ingredients, directions and size as seen 2026-10-23. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    2. EPA Safer Choice products table (Envirofacts), rows for Earth Friendly Products. Certifier or regulator listing. EPA’s product finder entry for this product is https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/products#search=a04i000000WuqHIAAZ (opens in a new tab). The table is large; look for the product name. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    3. Consumer Reports: Best Dishwasher Detergents. Test report. Updated May 8, 2026. Nearly 30 detergents tested; gels generally clean worse than packs. ECOS is not named on the free text. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    4. Ogulur et al. 2023: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids. Test report. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2023. A cell-culture and organoid study; the damaging component was alcohol ethoxylates in rinse aid. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    5. TINA.org: Earth Friendly Household Cleaners and Products. Independent source. Baharestan v. Venus Laboratories (N.D. Cal. 15-cv-3578): “natural” claims, settlement approved March 2016. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    6. Bay City News via Piedmont Exedra: ‘Earth friendly’ company to pay $176K to settle alleged false ‘plastic-free’ claims. Independent source. April 21, 2026. People v. Venus Laboratories; about detergent sheets, not this gel. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
    7. Mamavation: Safest Laundry Detergent Sheets Tested for Indications of PFAS. Test report. January 2, 2024. Four sheets sent to an EPA-certified lab; ECOS Magnolia & Lily had 26 ppm organic fluorine. Mamavation earns affiliate income. About sheets, not this gel. 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