Is the lemon scented dish soap actually cleaning or just covering up the stink?

I had a weird week with dish soap. Monday I used this fancy lavender and mint bottle from a farmer's market. Smelled amazing but I swear my plates still felt greasy. Wednesday I grabbed a cheap lemon one from the dollar store. Cut through bacon grease like nothing but the smell was so fake it made my kitchen smell like a cleaning product aisle. So which side are you on? Do you need the scent to be good or just want it to work?

3 comments

3 Comments

paige42726d ago

Adding to that, the fake lemon scent is probably from cheap synthetic fragrances that cling to everything, even after rinsing. Real lemon essential oil in dish soap tends to be weaker but doesn't leave that chemical aftertaste on your glasses. So honestly I'd rather have a slightly less smelly soap that actually degreases than something that's just overpowering my nose while leaving grime behind.

josephl6726d ago

Yeah but I gotta push back a little on the real lemon oil thing. @paige427 I mean sure it doesn't leave that fake chemical taste, but real lemon oil can actually be pretty harsh on your dish sponges and rubber gloves long term. I've noticed it breaks down the material faster, like my sponges start falling apart way sooner with the natural stuff. Plus some of those natural soaps have a weird smell too, almost like they went rancid after sitting in the bottle for a few months.

michaelchen26d ago

UGH I swear my buddy Dave had this exact problem last month. He bought a big bottle of that lemon verbena hippie soap from the co-op, said it smelled SO good he wanted to drink it. @paige427 you hit it right on the head about the natural scents being weak though because Dave complained his coffee mugs still had a weird film after washing. Then his wife grabbed a bright yellow lemon soap from Walmart and that cheap fake smell actually ruined the taste of his morning orange juice. He said the glasses had that invisible chemical taste for three days no matter how many times he rinsed them.