Dishwasher detergent that leaves no residue

Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs has the best record for spot-free dishes: 18 of 21 shoppers said glasses and dishes came out without film or residue, from a fairly small group. Every other detergent here falls below half, and Blueland Dishwasher Tablets has the weakest record here at 3 of 29. Shoppers often write when a film shows up, so low shares are common in this category.

  • 228 store reviews counted
  • Target shoppers
  • Mar 2017 to Oct 2026

Updated . How we count

Did dishes come out film-free? What shoppers said
  1. Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs 21 said either way
  2. Cascade Powder Dishwasher Detergent 70 said either way
  3. Seventh Generation Triple Action Clean Dishwasher Packs 16 said either way
  4. Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Gel 31 said either way
  5. Seventh Generation Natural Power Dishwasher Packs 38 said either way
  6. Blueland Dishwasher Tablets 29 said either way

Share of shoppers who stated an outcome for residue. Ranked by the lower bound of a 90% confidence interval, so a product needs both a good share and enough reports to rank high.

Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs Best record Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs 18 of 21 say dishes came out film-free See price & reviews on Amazon
What stands out

Reviews copied from brand websites are much kinder than Target's own for Seventh Generation and Blueland. Blueland's site shows 7 of 9 with no residue, against 3 of 29 at Target, which is one reason we show those reviews but don't count them.

The ranking, product by product

Praise and complaints are the points shoppers repeat most, shown as a share of each product's counted store reviews.

1 Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs

Cascade

Platinum Plus ActionPacs

Best for sparkling glasses

18/21 say dishes came out film-free

Shoppers single out the glasses, with 42% saying they sparkle and 79% saying it gets dishes clean. Cascade's own site is a bit cooler at 7 of 10, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 79%
  • Glasses sparkle 42%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 13%
  • Pod doesn't dissolve 8%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 18 of 21
  • Brand site 7 of 10 shown, not counted
2

Cascade

Powder Dishwasher Detergent

34/70 say dishes came out film-free

More shoppers weighed in on this powder than on any other detergent here, and they split almost evenly (34 of 70). 46% of reviews mention a film or residue and 20% say dishes came out still dirty.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 39%
  • Glasses sparkle 10%
  • Good value 5%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 20%
  • Cloudy glasses 3%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 34 of 70
  • Brand site 9 of 9 shown, not counted

Share of 79 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

3

Seventh Generation

Triple Action Clean Dishwasher Packs

6/16 say dishes came out film-free

A small group weighed in, and 10 of 16 said it left a film or residue. 19% say a pack didn't fully dissolve.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 25%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 25%
  • Pod doesn't dissolve 19%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 6 of 16
  • Brand site 4 of 5 shown, not counted

Share of 16 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

4

Seventh Generation

Dishwasher Detergent Gel

8/31 say dishes came out film-free

Film is the main complaint, at 62% of reviews, and 45% say dishes came out still dirty. Seventh Generation's own site shows 8 of 8 with no film, which we show but don't count.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 28%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 45%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 8 of 31
  • Brand site 8 of 8 shown, not counted

Share of 40 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

5

Seventh Generation

Natural Power Dishwasher Packs

8/38 say dishes came out film-free

30 of 38 shoppers said it left film, spots or cloudy glasses. 15% say a pack didn't dissolve, though 25% still say it cleans well.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 25%
  • Glasses sparkle 8%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 30%
  • Pod doesn't dissolve 15%
  • Cloudy glasses 8%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 8 of 38
  • Brand site 7 of 8 shown, not counted

Share of 40 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

6

Blueland

Dishwasher Tablets

3/29 say dishes came out film-free

Residue sinks this one: 72% of reviews mention film or residue and 31% say the tablets didn't dissolve.

What shoppers praise

  • Cleans well 14%

What shoppers complain about

  • Dishes still dirty 41%
  • Pod doesn't dissolve 31%
  • Cloudy glasses 7%
Where shoppers said it
  • Target 3 of 29
  • Brand site 7 of 9 shown, not counted

Share of 29 store reviews that mention each point. A full bar is 50%.

Where these numbers come from

The 6 products ranked here carry 14,127 reviews at Target. We read the newest reviews of each product (up to a thousand per listing), kept the ones that talk about residue, and counted up to 40 per product, posted between Mar 2017 and Oct 2026.

A review counts only when the reviewer used the product themselves. We drop reviews written in exchange for a free product or a sweepstakes entry (0 on this page), and products that are no longer sold.

Target also shows reviews first posted on brands' own websites. We show them on product cards but never count them, because brand-site reviews run more positive than store reviews of the same products.

Because we searched for the problem, people who had it are overrepresented. Compare products with each other rather than reading a share as your own odds.

We count what shoppers report. Nothing here is safety advice: use heaters, fans and other appliances as the maker's manual says.

Amazon buttons appear only on products that most shoppers here say fix the problem (at least 60%, with enough reviews to trust it). Everything else gets no buy link.

An AI model labels each review against a fixed list of points, and we spot-check the labels before publishing. We publish counts, never the reviews themselves.

Read the full method

Product pages we read

  1. Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs Target (24 reviews counted)
  2. Cascade Powder Dishwasher Detergent Target (79 reviews counted)
  3. Seventh Generation Triple Action Clean Dishwasher Packs Target (16 reviews counted)
  4. Seventh Generation Dishwasher Detergent Gel Target (40 reviews counted)
  5. Seventh Generation Natural Power Dishwasher Packs Target (40 reviews counted)
  6. Blueland Dishwasher Tablets Target (29 reviews counted)

Questions buyers ask

Which dishwasher detergent leaves no residue?

Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs has the best record (18 of 21). Cascade Powder Dishwasher Detergent comes next but splits almost evenly at 34 of 70, and the rest come in lower.

Why is there a white film on my dishes after the dishwasher?

Hard water, a short or cool cycle, and detergent that doesn't fully dissolve are common causes, and a rinse aid can help with spots. In these reviews, 31% of Blueland reviews and 15% of Seventh Generation Natural Power reviews mention tablets or packs that didn't dissolve.

Do Seventh Generation and Blueland leave a film?

Often, according to Target shoppers. Film-free results came in at 6 of 16 for Triple Action Clean, 8 of 31 for the gel, 8 of 38 for Natural Power and 3 of 29 for Blueland Dishwasher Tablets. Reviews on the brands' own sites are much kinder, and we show but don't count them.

Are Cascade pods better than Cascade powder for residue?

In these reviews, yes: 18 of 21 said Cascade Platinum Plus ActionPacs left no film, against 34 of 70 for Cascade Powder Dishwasher Detergent. They're different formulas, so it isn't a straight pods versus powder test.

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HiveTried earns a commission when you buy through the "See price & reviews on Amazon" buttons. It never changes the ranking: the order comes from buyer reports only, and a product gets an Amazon button only when buyers here say it works.