Dish Washing with Aldi

Last Updated on March 8, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE: Aldi has discontinued the Reeva line of dish washing products. Supplies for washing dishes can now be found under the Radiance label at Aldi. Visit this link to read about the new products.

Aldi offers a small selection of products for dish washing. It’s not as vast as Aldi’s laundry product line, but the store sells everything you might need to get your dinnerware clean and sparkling.

For hand washing your dishes, Aldi sells an original detergent and an antibacterial detergent. I use both of these dish detergents all the time.

For automatic dishwashers, Aldi sells powder pacs and a gel. My local Aldi jettisoned its traditional powdered dishwasher detergent in a box (a product I loved) a few years ago in favor of the gel. I thought Aldi’s new gel left too much residue on my dishes, so I started buying the name-brand Cascade loose powder in a box from a regular grocery store, and I’ve been using it for years. My Aldi store later began selling the powder pacs, but I had not sampled them until I decided to review their dish washing products.

I’m glad I decided to give Aldi’s dish washing products another try, because I discovered that both products worked well in my dishwasher, particularly the pacs.

Reeva Dishwasher Powder Pacs

This is one of two products specifically for automatic dishwasher use. Reeva Dishwasher Powder Pacs are comparable to Cascade Complete and consist of small plastic-coated packets of powdered detergent. The package contains 20 pacs and is plastered with boasts about how the product removes tough food stains, fights grease, is septic safe, has a fresh scent, leaves dishes sparkling and requires no pre-rinse. Its all-in-1 action claims these little pacs are good both for cleaning and rinse aid. The product contains no phosphates.

To use, handle with dry hands only (so the thin plastic coating doesn’t start to dissolve in your hands) and use one pac per load. Do not puncture or unwrap the pac. Place the pac in the main dispenser cup in your dishwasher, close the dispenser, and turn on the dishwasher. Reseal the bag after each use and store in a cool, dry place.

Parents with young children should make sure to store these pacs in a safe place. These look a lot like the notorious laundry pods that children too frequently mistake for candy. (Interestingly, Aldi does not sell laundry pods and sticks solely with liquid detergent.) These pacs contain sodium carbonate, sodium carbonate peroxide and enzymes. The package warns that if some of the product is swallowed, give a glassful of water and call a Poison Control center or doctor immediately. The package also cautions to avoid contact with eyes, skin, and clothing.

That all said, these powder pacs are good performers in my dishwasher. My dishes have come out clean every time, with no grit, film, or food residue. It’s close, but I like these slightly better than the Reeva Automatic Dishwashing Gel, which is Aldi’s other product for dishwashers.

As far as price goes, my local Aldi sells the powder pacs for $2.49 per package of 20: about 12 cents a load. I generally think powder pacs are the most expensive type of detergent for dishwashers, with loose powder detergent being the cheapest, but Aldi’s powder pacs are priced so that they may be only slightly more costly, or about the same cost, as a box of name-brand loose powder detergent. The downside is that the Aldi powder pacs only come 20 to a package, which means I would have to purchase detergent more frequently if I make the switch. It might be nice if they sold them 40 to a package.

Reeva Automatic Dishwashing Gel

The Reeva Automatic Dishwashing Gel comes in a 75-ounce bottle (or about 4.68 pounds) and is comparable to Cascade Shine Shield. It has a lemon scent and claims an advanced grease cutting formula.

To use, load your dishwasher properly so soiled surfaces face spray, and do not block spray to top rack. Fill the dispenser cup completely with the gel, close it, and turn the dishwasher on. Do not spill gel directly on silverware.

This product is an eye and skin irritant that contains bleach and sodium silicate. It’s not for hand dish washing. Avoid contact with clothing. (Trust us.) You’ll still want to keep this product out of reach of young children, but it doesn’t have the appearance of candy like the Reeva Dishwasher Powder Pacs.

Aldi has perhaps tweaked the formula for this gel because it didn’t seem to leave as much residue on my dishes this time, compared to several years ago when I first tried Aldi’s gel detergent. So I think the formula has improved. That said, I still think the Reeva powder pacs do the best job washing dishes.

Price wise, Aldi’s gel is probably slightly cheaper or about the same price as the name-brand loose powder detergent I have been buying for years. My Aldi store sells the gel for $2.49 per bottle. We measured the gel in fluid ounces (the bottle only lists weight ounces, not fluid ounces) and it came out to around 55 fluid ounces. Because our dishwasher takes one ounce of gel per cycle, this bottle gives us about 55 loads, or 4.5 cents a load … a little more than a third the cost per load of the packs. That makes the gel Aldi’s cheapest option for automatic dish washers, which for some people might be enough for a small downgrade in cleaning quality.

Reeva Original Dish Detergent

This Reeva Original Dish Detergent is for handing washing your dishes. It’s blue and comes in a 24-ounce bottle. It it “ultra concentrated” and claims to power away tough foods.

Dish detergent for hand washing all seems pretty much the same to me, except for differences in smells. This one is traditional and not too exciting in the scent department, but it washes dishes fine.

If you want more variety in your dish detergent scents, Aldi offers seasonal Special Buy detergents in scents such as Pumpkin Spice, Apple Cinnamon, Candy Cane, and Holiday Pine. Aldi also sells a green action All Natural Dish Detergent with biodegradable surfactants that is dye free as a Special Buy sometimes. I like to stock up on all of these when I find them.

Reeva Green Apple Antibacterial Hand Soap

This is called hand soap, but it’s for dish washing. The front of the bottle describes it as “ultra concentrated dish detergent” that “powers away tough foods.” So it’s good for both hands and dishes. I like the apple scent, but the FDA has declared that antibacterial soaps are not proven to be any better than plain soap and water, and not enough is known about long-term effects of using antibacterial soaps. I expect Aldi will likely tweak this product to remove the antibacterial ingredient, choloroxylenol. Otherwise, this soap works fine.

The Verdict:

Aldi’s Reeva Dishwasher Powder Pacs do an excellent job of dish washing. They are highly recommended, although they are also the most expensive option. Aldi’s Reeva Automatic Dishwashing Gel is not quite as effective as the pacs, but it is improved over past formulas and is by far the least expensive Aldi dish cleaning option. The Reeva Original Dish Detergent for hand washing dishes works well and is highly recommended. The Reeva Green Apple Antibacterial Hand Soap is also good for washing dishes and has a nice scent, but Aldi will probably be changing the formula to remove the antibacterial ingredient due to new FDA standards.

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