Sun Dish Soap Review: Lemon Scent Nice But Suds Didn't Last Long

by Taylor

I recently finished my bottle of Sun Dish Soap, in the lemon scent. I bought it because it was a lower cost option, but I have to say I was rather disappointed in it.

I purchased my bottle at Walmart, but I have also seen it available at dollar stores and other low cost big box stores.

When I first opened the bottle I liked the lemon scent a lot, it smelled very nice. I think one of the selling points for this brand is its "Sunsational Scents," since that is prominently advertised on the packaging. However, as I began to use it on the dishes I noticed the scent faded very quickly so I'm not sure if you're looking for a strong scent this soap is for you.

However, scent is really not that important to me, and I could have easily forgiven this. What really disappointed me though was that it didn't seem to last very long. I would put a little on the sponge and after just one or two dishes I would feel like I had to add more.

That was surprising to me because I had never really used a dish soap before that looked thick, like the Sun dishwashing liquid looks, but didn't last too long. I had only felt like this was a problem previously with non-ultra brands of dish soap.

The other problem I had with it is that I just didn't feel like it cut grease from my dishes well either, and I would have to add more to really remove the grease off everything.

Basically, I used the whole bottle because it did work -- just not well, and I didn't want to waste it. However, I was glad when I finished the last of it and could move on to a new variety.

Overall, I would give it a C- grade. So, my opinion of this one is that even though it is a cheap alternative, I think there are other cheaper and low cost varieties available that work better for a comparable price. (One brand I did like that meet this criteria is Ajax dish detergent).

I would like to hear from others who have also used this dishwashing liquid to hear what your opinions of it are. Perhaps you totally disagree with my opinion, or you had some other thoughts to add. You can share your dishwashing soap review here or read other reviews of other brands which have already been submitted.

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Sun Dishwashing Liquid With Oxy Action Is No Good

by Lori
(Post Falls, ID)

Lori shared her review of Sun dish soap, and was none too impressed.

Lori says:

This is about the worst dish soap I have ever used, and I have been washing dishes for nearly 50 yrs.

This is even worse than the cheap store brands are.

The bottle says 56% more, well I'd rather have less of a soap that stays soapy and sudsy and cleans well than to get more of one that doesn't work at all.

I will never buy this one again. In this year, 2012, you'd think it wouldn't be that difficult to make a good dish soap....

Taylor says:

I know what you mean Lori. If you read my review above, I wasn't that impressed with it either, and think there are better low cost alternatives available.

Thanks for taking the time to write your review! I appreciate it.

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Sun Is The Worst Dishwashing Soap

by SR101 Reader

An SR101 Reader shared her opinion about this brand of dishwashing soap.

SR101 Reader says:

This cheap detergent is the worst detergent. It is lousy also, a big waste of money.

You need 4 times as much soap to clean dishes when you use it!

Save your money and get Dawn.

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SUN Antibacterial Dishwashing Soap Is Great Replacement For SoftSoap

by SR101 Reader
(Minnesota)

I like the product and use it as a replacement for SoftSoap.

It's not too thick and works well in the pump.

It does double duty for a hand soap and a dishwashing soap.

It has a nice smell and is less expensive than SoftSoap.

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Sun Soap Sucks

by chinacat67

Here's another quick review of this product, again saying what I think the rest of us think too -- this is definitely a product to pass on!

chinacat67 says:

Terrible dish soap...cheap & I guess you get what you pay for.

It's too watery & doesn't sud up good. You have to use too much to wash dishes.

I'll stick with a brand name from now on.

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Sun Dishwashing Soap Is A Waste Of Money

by Tressy
(Virginia)

This product is a waste of money.

After 2 minutes all the suds are gone and it doesn't last long enough to wash your dishes let alone getting to pots and pans.

I'd like to have my money back and see this product pulled from store shelves. It's that crappy.

And I'm not picky about what kind of dishwashing detergent I use.

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Sun Antibacterial Citrus Dish Soap Is Awful

by Shauna
(Ogden, UT, USA)

Shauna shared her review of this dishwashing liquid too, and just like all the other reviews I think she was sad she tried to save money by buying this brand.

Shauna says:

This stuff is bad, and I mean really bad. It is runny and a whole bunch squirts out.

Although, a lot goes in the water, very little suds form and I have to add a bunch more.

It says 56% more vs. Competitors' 16oz. I believe they mean the 56% more is water. I got it because it was cheap and cheap was what I got.

I can't wait to get to the store to buy something else.

Taylor says:

Thanks so much for sharing your review, but sorry you didn't seem to like it anymore than any of the rest of us.

I'd love to hear from even more people who have used Sun dish soap, to share your experiences with it, good or bad.

In addition, everyone was looking for a cheap dishwashing liquid when they grabbed this one off the store shelf. If you have any suggestions for a cheap but better functioning soap, I'd love to hear those too. You can share your dishwashing soap review here, or read others that have been submitted to see if you can find a good one for the money.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

{R-Z} Household Cleaning Products Reviews

Sun Laundry Detergent Reviews & Information

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Comments for Sun Antibacterial Citrus Dish Soap Is Awful

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used as a pre-treatment for clothes
by: Markeisha C.

I found that this product worked better on clothes than dishes. It took out all stains when I used it as a pre-treater. Good luck.

Cheap but not worth it
by: Wai

You may think you save money, but you don't. I have to use 4 times the amount as Dawn. It was very disappointing. I was totally unhappy with it.

I love it
by: Anonymous

I used dawn for years and always had a bad smell on dish clothes. I recently switched to sun brand for dishes and also purchased sun laundry detergent. Suds do not equal clean. The sun brand cleans wonderfully and easily rinses clean. It is also septic safe! Low sudsing and h.e. its also cost effective! Try it.

Best I ever used
by: Anonymous

Yes Sun is cheaper, but compared to Dawn, I'd rather have Sun. Everyone complains it sucks, but I never seen my glasses look cleaner. Dawn made my glasses look dull and old, Sun Clean made my glasses sparkle.

very mad woman
by: Andrea

This product is horrible. I was very disappointed, very watery, did not make hardly any bubbles, did not get my dishes clean, could not penetrate the grease either. Advertising 25% more not worth it. I wasted my money. I am very mad. Dawn and Palmolive are the better brands. I want my money back!

response to Andrea
by: Taylor

Hi Andrea, thanks for sharing your review, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience with this product. Please be aware that is is a third party website which hosts reviews of lots of cleaning products, and is not in any way associated with the manufacturers of this dish soap. If you wish to ask for a refund you'll need to contact the actual company.

love the lemon and the green apple scents
by: Barbara

I love Sun dish soap! It cleans my dishes and pots and pans really good. The scent is really nice, course my favorites is the Lemon and Green Apple. And they make my kitchen smell good too. I am especially glad that they have put my dish soap in 40oz bottles now. I go shopping once a month since I live about 20 miles from town, so I buy for the month, and I buy about 6-8 bottles of the 10 oz size if my favorite store has them in stock, otherwise I have to buy the smaller ones. But anyway I like the Sun soap. I wish their Sun laundry soap was cheaper in price though, that would be a bonus.

I won't buy it again
by: Pablo

I'm a 100% disabled veteran and I shop at the BX and commissary. Bought a bottle of Sun recently. I won't buy it again. About 1/4 of the way though, the suds are gone. Nope, may have to buy a more expensive brand, but it will be worth it. They (Sun or whoever produces the product) needs to ditch it and try again.

Sunlight Lemon Fresh Dishwashing Liquid
by: Libby Lell

I haven't purchased Sunlight for a long time, but I did this past month as it was on sale. The dish soap doesn't produce any suds or bubbles. The dish water is just flat within seconds, no matter what I am washing. What happened?

Poor quality
by: Anonymous

The newer formulations of Sun dish washing liquid seem to be much lower quality than what they used to make. The older version called "ultra Sun Light" was an excellent product but it cost about 2.5 times the price of the current crop of mediocre products. I suspect that the Wal-Mart pressure on manufacturers for low price at the expense of quality has a lot to do with it.

the soap is great
by: Patty

I look for Sun dish soap. I think it works great. It is mild so doesn’t cause as many skin problems as Dawn does. Plus it doesn’t cause my dish rag to start smelling musty like Dawn dish soap does. I put my money on Sun!

However I am so disappointed, we just moved to the Midwest and I can’t find it. Places that used to carry it do not. I have to have it shipped in now.

Works well for me
by: Dennis

I have been using this particular product for quite some time for both hand washing and for cleaning dishes. It works very well for me, but I use it in a way that is different from how most other people use it. I got some foaming pump bottles, the kind where you put liquid soap in the bottle and when you push the pump, it delivers a frothy foam instead of a dribble of thick liquid. To use this device, I dilute the dishwashing liquid in the ratio of 1 part dish liquid to 2 parts deionized (or RO) water and mix thoroughly. This makes it almost as thin as water and delivers just the right amount of detergent in the foam with a full press of the pump. One squirt is just right for hand washing. I also use just one squirt of foam to clean a dinner plate. I run water over the plate first, give it a squirt of foam, then scrub the plate with a dish scrubber of the knitted plastic or metal coily types that I have run under the faucet first to dampen it. These coily scrubbers are non-abrasive and quickly rinse clean after use. Then I rinse off everything, towel off, and set aside to dry. I do not use a dish pan to hold soapy water, just one squirt from the pump for each dish, and a quick rinse. A partial squirt is fine for cooking and eating utensils. One thing I really like about the Sun Lemon is that the fragrance does not cling to my hands, it rinses away quickly and thoroughly. Dawn is better for mineral oils like engine oil and transmission fluid, and does a good job of cleaning them out of clothing, but the fragrance clings and lingers in a way that is very unpleasant to me. I used to wash my hair with the old formulation of Sun dish liquid called "Ultra SunLight" but that product is no longer available, probably due to Wal-Mart's insistence on a race to the bottom of quality in pursuit of low price. I now use Palmolive Pure+Clear for my hair, it works as well as much more expensive hair care products and leaves my hair in excellent healthy condition with no lingering fragrance.

lack of suds may be misleading
by: Robert Goodman

Unlike other brands, Sun's doesn't contain any foam stabilizers. Also, it contains a magnesium salt, which will tend to break the bubbles while it improves grease cutting a little. This means it may be cleaning at times when you think you need more because the water's not sudsy.

It's based on an alkylbenzene sulfonate, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate. This ingredient used to be fairly common in dish detergents (it was also used in high suds laundry detergents, most of which were also labeled for use in hand dishwashing or as all-purpose products, and in powdered all-family bubble baths), but was eliminated from most around 1970 in favor of formulas that were milder to skin (and to the urogenital tract in the case of bubble bath). Some of the pricier brands brought back "pot scrubber" etc. versions that are stronger but also harsher than their regular formulas, by dint of mixing alkylbenzene sulfonate back in. This ingredient works together with magnesium for degreasing hard surfaces, although, as a water "hardener", magnesium would not have been a sought-after ingredient for laundry detergent or for bubble bath.

Also, the lack of long-lasting suds should make rinsing easier.

Lemon scent
by: Tina

I usually buy another brand dish detergent but I decided to try Sun Sunsational Lemon Scent dish detergent, the 40 fl oz. The only regret I have is that I can't find another lemon scent. I love this product, the lemon scent, and how it cleans my dishes. I have looked in several stores and I will continue to look until I find this product. This is a very good product, not expensive, it just works as good as one.

Sun Antibacterial with Oxygen Cleaning Action Citrus Dishwashing Liquid
by: Lynn

I have been using Sun citrus energy antibacterial dish detergent for the past 12 years. It is great at breaking up grease - just as good as the much more expensive DAWN, and I LIKE that it has antibacterial properties. It freshens up my sponges (I also use bleach spray when they get too yucky which works well too). I am finding it very difficult to find Sun citrus energy anymore. I used to buy in bulk (99 cents each) so I wouldn't run out, but now I find I can't get it anywhere. Bring it back please!

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