Method Dish Soap (Target)

I'll have to admit, I did no research on this before I went ahead and gave into my longing to own something made by Method. All of their home care products seem so well-designed and fun, that they just had to be good, right? I'm a sucker for marketing sometimes.

Turns out, not only was the pink grapefruit Method dish soap I purchased lovely to look at and delightful to smell, but it actually works pretty doggone well too! I had to clean the dirtiest pan I had ever had made a mess of (note to self: when steaming butternut squash, make sure there is enough water in the bottom of the pan to actually steam it). I truly thought I had forever ruined one of my favorite Calphalon pans with the horrid black gunk that a night of soaking did nothing to soften. But thanks to the great non-stick of the pan, the scrubby side of my sponge and my new Method dish soap (not to mention a LOT of elbow grease), I was able to get it so my husband had no idea anything ever happened to it! (Shh, don't tell!)

After that baptism by fire, the soap managed to prove itself on much simpler tasks. Since we don't have a dishwasher in our apartment, I have had ample opportunity to test its abilities. It cuts grease well, rinses off quite easily and seems to work very well over all. I've been using the blue Dawn for a while, and it worked well too, but seemed heavier and a little harder to rinse off. Have I mentioned that I love the scent? It's not too heavy, but just enough that it semlls nice. The citrus-y smell also makes me think "clean" without being "chemical," like some other products. It also seems more gentle on my hands than other soaps. I usually wear gloves when I wash dishes because the other soap dried my skin so much, but I've noticed I don't need them as much now with the Method soap.

One of the truly great things about the Method brand in general is that they are committed to the environment , both the larger environment and the home environment. The soap is biodegradeable, never tested on animals and doesn't contain phosphates and STILL cleans my dishes better than the "bad stuff," I've found me a winner! I alo really like their philosophy on what "clean" and "dirty" really mean, which you can check out here: People Against Dirty."

One important note: I'm not entirely sure, but I think the kind I bought is only available at Target, and possibly at some of the other larger stores. It's a 25 fl. oz bottle, but it's shaped more like a traditional dish soap bottle rather than the cool "blob" looking ones I see on all the other websites. I have no idea why I can't find a similar bottle, but they might be making some changes to the design right now, since drugstore.com has a disclaimer on their website ("Due to packaging updates, the image shown above may temporarily appear different from the product received").

Pros: cleans well, rinses well, great scent, good for the environment, pretty to look at, good price, gentle on hands
Cons: Packaging issues