Dishwasher Tablets — Fragrance-Free, PVA-Free (40 loads)

Citric Acid, Protease, Amylase, Polyitaconic Acid, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Metasilicate, Sodium Percarbonate, TAED (Tetraacetylethylenediamine).

No PVA or PVOH film or binder. No synthetic fragrance. No dyes. No phosphates.

Place one tablet in the dishwasher's detergent compartment. For heavy or greasy loads, use two.

The tablets work in any water hardness — the formula softens the water as part of the wash.

Store the box somewhere dry. The tablets attract moisture and will clump or start to fizz if they get damp, so keep the box closed and away from the sink and dishwasher steam.

We looked hard at laundry and dish soaps. Most arrived in plastic jugs, and most pods hid a film of polyvinyl alcohol — a plastic that dissolves but does not disappear. Only a few passed.

This one: a bare compressed tablet, no film, no PVA binder.

Passes The Standard. This is a dishwasher detergent tablet — it dissolves in the machine, so the only real contact is indirect (rinsed residue on dishes) and brief handling when you load it.

The reason it's on our shelf: it's PVA-free. Almost every dishwasher pod and tab on the market is either wrapped in PVA film or bound with PVA. PVA is a water-soluble plastic — it doesn't stop being plastic because it dissolves; it becomes microplastic in wastewater. This is a bare compressed tablet with no film and no PVA binder.

The formula is enzymes (protease and amylase break down food and starch), an oxygen-bleach system (sodium percarbonate activated by TAED), and water-softening minerals (citric acid, sodium metasilicate). It's EWG Verified — a stricter ingredient screen than our own reject list.

One ingredient worth clarifying: sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (SLSA). It's often confused with SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate). They're different molecules — SLSA is larger and milder — and our concern with SLS is specific to oral care, which this isn't.

Nothing plastic touches the tablets or your dishes. The outer pouch has a thin bioplastic layer (PBS) between kraft paper and cellulose — but it stays on the outside, never in contact with the tablets, the wash, or you.