Household dishwashing predates modern detergents by many
centuries. Before the development of synthetic detergents and liquid dish soaps,
crockery and utensils were usually scrubbed with hot water and abrasives such as sand, ashes or
washing soda (sodium carbonate), or with the same bar soaps and soap flakes used for laundry and personal washing. In the early 20th century,
chemists developed the first synthetic detergents, initially in
Germany, as substitutes for soap in situations where shortages of natural fats and the tendency of soap to form insoluble “
soap scum” in hard water limited its usefulness. During the 1930s and 1940s, companies such as
Procter & Gamble commercialised household synthetic detergents for laundry, including
Dreft (1933) and the heavy-duty powdered detergent
Tide (1946). These low-suds synthetic
surfactants could be formulated as liquids and performed better than traditional soaps in hard water, paving the way for
specialised dishwashing detergents. Dedicated
dishwashing detergents emerged alongside these developments. Industry accounts describe liquid dishwashing detergents being manufactured in the
United States from the 1930s and 1940s, while in Europe the synthetic detergent
Teepol, introduced in the
United Kingdom in 1942, was promoted for washing dishes as well as industrial cleaning. Company and brand histories describe
Joy as the first widely distributed liquid dish soap in the U.S. market and note that it remained an important brand for several decades. In Europe, Procter & Gamble developed
Fairy Liquid, sold from 1950 in the United Kingdom and later in other
European countries, advertising both its grease removal performance and its relative mildness on users’ hands. By the 1950s and 1960s, dishwashing liquids had become standard household products in many industrialised countries, competing on
lather,
fragrance and convenience as part of a broader
post-war boom in branded cleaning products. In 1973, Procter & Gamble launched
Dawn in the United States as a high foaming liquid detergent for hand dishwashing. Trade and popular accounts describe
Dawn as becoming the leading dishwashing liquid in the U.S. market over the following decades and note the later introduction of “ultra” concentrated formulations in the 1990s. Since the late 20th century, dishwashing liquids have also been affected by broader trends toward milder and more environmentally benign household cleaners. Manufacturers introduced products advertised as gentle on skin, “
biodegradable” or based partly on plant derived surfactants, alongside conventional petroleum based formulations. Some dishwashing liquids incorporated
antibacterial agents such as
triclosan, but regulatory reviews in the United States and elsewhere concluded in the 2010s that such ingredients offered little benefit in consumer wash products and raised health and environmental concerns, leading to bans or restrictions and further reformulation of liquid soaps and detergents. ==Composition==