Plant- and mineral-based dishwasher tablets from ATTITUDE, biodegradable and free of phosphates, chlorine bleach and synthetic fragrance. 26 tablets.
An honest word about "phosphate-free"
This appears prominently on the packaging, and in Europe it is not the distinction it sounds like. Phosphates in consumer automatic dishwasher detergents have been restricted across the EU since 1 January 2017, under Regulation (EU) No 259/2012 — the same rule that removed them from consumer laundry detergents in 2013. Every consumer dishwasher detergent legally on sale in Portugal is already effectively phosphate-free.
So it is a true statement that tells a European customer nothing about this product against its competitors. It carries real meaning in North America, where the brand is from and where the rules differ. We would rather explain that than let a label imply an advantage that regulation already guarantees.
The things that do distinguish these are the absence of chlorine bleach and synthetic fragrance, and the fact that the whole ATTITUDE range is made without the ingredient categories on EWG's restricted list.
How dishwasher detergent works, and why it changes how you load
Modern dishwasher tablets rely on enzymes — proteases that break down protein and amylases that break down starch — rather than on brute alkalinity.
This has a consequence most people get wrong: do not pre-rinse your plates. Enzymes need something to work on. Scrape off bones and large debris, but leave the food film. A rinsed, nearly clean plate gives the enzymes nothing to attach to, and studies of dishwasher performance consistently find pre-rinsing wastes water without improving results. Some detergents actually perform worse on pre-rinsed loads.
Salt and rinse aid are separate, and still necessary
An all-in-one tablet contains a water-softening component, but in genuinely hard water it is not enough on its own. If your glasses come out cloudy with a white film that wipes off, that is limescale and you need dishwasher salt in the machine's softener reservoir. If they come out with drying spots and streaks, you need rinse aid. Neither is a failure of the tablet; they are different jobs.
The wrapper
If these tablets come in a dissolvable film, it is usually polyvinyl alcohol (PVA or PVOH). It dissolves completely, which is why nothing is left in the machine. Whether it then fully biodegrades in wastewater treatment is genuinely contested — there is published research on both sides. It is a live scientific argument rather than a settled one, and anyone claiming certainty in either direction is overstating the evidence.
Attitude
Attitude
