Where can I find some washing-up liquid?

December 1, 2020 4:59 PM

Is it possible to order a bottle of what the British delightfully refer to as "washing-up liquid" (what we Yanks would boringly call "dish soap") in the United States? Any brand, any size is fine—I just need it to actually say "washing-up liquid" on the label. Cheers!
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to Shopping (13 answers total)

I found this on ebay.
posted by General Malaise at 5:19 PM on December 1, 2020

British Corner Shop is an online shop for British migrant workers (aka “expats”) that delivers worldwide, including to the US. Most of what they stock doesn’t actually say washing-up liquid on the bottle, but this one does.
posted by jedicus at 5:22 PM on December 1, 2020 [3 favorites]

Half of an answer: I'm pretty sure all/most of the store brands (like Tesco, Sainsburys, Waitrose) label it washing up liquid, and it's always the same alarming shade of green, both things I found very quaint when I visited. I don't know how you'd get it in the US, but maybe some brand names in there will help you on your search.
posted by phunniemee at 8:02 PM on December 1, 2020

Here's one from Canada
posted by pinochiette at 8:15 PM on December 1, 2020

For full on Britishness, the best washing up liquid is definitely fairy liquid, and I recommend you go find a 'mild green fairy liquid' jingle on YouTube for the full experience. Sadly, it may not say it's washing up liquid on the label as the modern ones have gone all plain and simple, but it does have 'FAIRY' written across it in big letters. (However, I miss the round white bottles it used to come in.)

It also smells nicer than every American dish soap I've tried (in the standard green form; fruity scented washing up liquids are just plain wrong).
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 8:57 PM on December 1, 2020

mild green fairy liquid!!

Some products on Amazon UK can be delivered to the US (and vice versa), it might be worth having a search on there with a delivery location set to your address?
posted by ellieBOA at 9:53 PM on December 1, 2020

mild green.. hairy lip squid!
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:16 AM on December 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Just to confirm - Fairy no longer calls itself "washing up liquid"; on the front it just says FAIRY, and on the back it describes itself as "dishwashing liquid". It's still By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, mind.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:08 AM on December 2, 2020

The non-store brands I'm aware of that fit your criteria are Ecover and Bio-D, and it looks as if people have already found you sources of British Ecover.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:13 AM on December 2, 2020

Sir, printing one's own labels is a time honored tradition. Perhaps you might find the combination of two tawdry American products could combine into the delightful essence of cleanliness you seek? If so, consider a mixture your own creation and choose the appropriate theme from such delights as you may find in our colorful history. I assure you that any printer capable of rolling labels will produce as fine a veneer for your alcohol and lye powered cleansing solution as you could ever discover in a local shopkeep's wares.

Standard disclaimer with regards to mixing household chemicals applies.

posted by IronLizard at 3:17 AM on December 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

I have to say, fairy liquid is so so concentrated and of such a high quality that my family of four uses about one bottle per 6 months, maybe even one per year. So if it made me happy to look at the bottle I would spend whatever sums they were asking on eBay.
posted by pairofshades at 8:57 AM on December 2, 2020

No idea which UK store sells this, but Sqeezy [sic] not merely says "washing up liquid" on the label, it's also the source of the annoying "easy peasy, Lemon Sqeezy" thing.
posted by scruss at 10:04 AM on December 2, 2020

Response by poster: I went with this "Ecover" bottle on Amazon. Took several weeks to arrive, but it was just what I was hoping for!
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 12:49 PM on December 31, 2020 [1 favorite]