Ecoleaf Eco-Friendly Dishwasher Tablets Review
If you live in a hard water area, you’ll be familiar with pesky limescale residues.
It makes choosing eco-friendly cleaning products tough, but dishwasher tablets are particularly difficult.
(Anyone else cringe at the feeling of chalky glass?)
Plant-based and natural are buzzwords but they exist for a good reason…
Conventional dishwasher products contain ingredients made from petrochemicals.
This is problematic because they are derived from fossil fuels and fracking is one of the main contributors to climate change.
As the dishwasher is my most precious kitchen possession (I am not a washing up person), I want to find the best plastic-free and vegan dishwashing product there is.
If you’re also looking for dishwasher tablets that are kind to the planet but still effective at cleaning, then my upcoming series of eco-friendly dishwasher tablet reviews is for you
In today’s blog post I’m going to be reviewing Ecoleaf. Stay tuned if you’d like to know how they hold up in hard water.
COMING UP
Quick summary
About Ecoleaf
Is Ecoleaf ethical and eco-friendly?
Which type of dishwasher product is the most sustainable?
Ecoleaf dishwasher tablet review
- Effectiveness
- Ingredients
- Packaging
- Cost
- Where to buy it
Disclaimer: This review is not sponsored by Ecoleaf and I have always purchased the product myself. This blog post contains affiliate links to other sustainable retailers which means if you make a purchase then I get a commission for referring you to their website (at no extra cost to you).
About Ecoleaf
Ecoleaf is Suma Wholefoods eco-friendly cleaning range. Suma, a UK-based vegetarian food company, was the first brand to produce recycled toilet paper in the UK 30 years ago.
Suma is a cooperative, which means there are no bosses or shareholders - every single person in the company is paid the same and they share responsibilities.
Ecoleaf cleaning products are plant-based (which means they’re not derived from petrochemicals) and vegan.
Is Ecoleaf ethical and eco-friendly?
All Ecoleaf products are made in the UK to reduce the carbon footprint for UK consumers.
Their products are leaping bunny certified (cruelty-free) and vegan.
Ecoleaf dishwasher tablets are packaged in a cardboard box. The tablets are individually wrapped in thin water-soluble wrappers made from polyvinyl alcohol. You leave them on and they completely biodegrade in the dishwasher.
They are free from controversial and potentially toxic chemicals, including parabens, phthalates, triclosan, SLS and microbeads.
As Suma are a cooperative, all workers are paid and treated fairly.
Which type of dishwasher product is the most sustainable?
Tablets
Pros
Tablets are compact which means they produce fewer carbon emissions from transport
The dose is measured out for you which is convenient
They are easy to store as they don’t take up much space
Cons
Tablets need individually wrapping, although wrappers don’t need to be as thick as liquid pods
They can be expensive
Liquid pods
Pros
Pods are compact which means they produce fewer carbon emissions from transport
The dose is measured out which is convenient
They are easy to store as they don’t take up much space.
Cons
They look like sweets and there have been too many cases of children being poisoned by eating them
They are expensive
They need individually wrapping in a bulkier casing that doesn’t biodegrade as fast.
Dishwasher powder
Pros
Packaging is usually easy to recycle
Refill options are available as part of a circular system
You can buy in bulk to reduce packaging
It is cheap
You can get a more accurate measurement
Cons
It can be messy measuring it out which is wasteful
They often contain fillers and are bulky which results in more carbon emissions from transportation
You have to measure it yourself
Ecoleaf dishwasher tablet review
Effectiveness - They are good, but not as good as mainstream options. I’ve tried a few different eco-friendly dishwasher products now and I always come back to Ecoleaf simply because I can rely on them to clean better than the others. They do contain rinse aid, however, as I am in a very hard water area I find I still need to use good rinse aid in the machine otherwise the Ecoleaf doesn’t prevent limescale residue from sticking to glasses.
If you have extremely hard water or can’t get on with Ecoleaf, your next best bet is probably Smol
Ingredients - the dishwasher tablets contain oxygen bleach, plant-based surfactants and vegan enzymes which help to break down food.
Packaging - The tablets are wrapped in PVA which looks like a thin plastic wrap, however, it fully biodegrades in water. I’ve been using these tablets for 2 years now and I’ve never once experienced them not dissolving or getting stuck in the filter. The box they come in is cardboard and easily recyclable.
Cost - You can buy two different sizes of dishwasher tablets. At the time of writing, the small pack of 25 usually costs around £5.45 and the large pack of 75 costs £13.49.
Conclusion
Ecoleaf is one of the better eco dishwasher tablets out there, but it is not as strong as mainstream products that contain toxic ingredients. If your water is very hard, you’ll need to add rinse aid and possibly citric acid to the tablet box.
I didn’t need to add citric acid myself, but this tip made other dishwasher tablets work better.
I find Ecoleaf is better than Ecover and Miniml, neither of which I liked. It is not as effective as Smol though.
You can buy Ecoleaf dishwasher tabs from:
Ethical Superstore* (a sustainable store for home and cleaning products)
Bower Collective* (an online refill shop)
Have you tried any eco-friendly dishwasher products yet? What has your experience been?
If you found this review useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends! And check out my cleaning category for more natural cleaning tips.
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