With a a name like The Laundress and a fancy $15 price tag to match, you’d expect this dish liquid to do a much better job than a $2.10 bottle of Ajax. But in Consumer Reports tests of dish liquids we found that price didn’t predict cleaning power.

In fact, we recommended all 14 dish liquids we tested after finding that they were very good at removing food and grease. Out of the batch were two Best Buys—the Ajax and Kirkland Signature (sold at Costco). Both cost 6 cents per ounce.

"Our tests show you don’t have to pay a lot to get your dishes clean," said Jim Nanni, Associate Technical Director for Consumer Reports. "All dish liquids contain surfactants, enzymes and other chemicals to aid in cleaning."

Our tests were no cake walk. In the labs we baked a mixture of evaporated milk, flour, egg yolks and sugar onto glass plates, put the plates in trays of warm water with equal amounts of each detergent, and used a machine that holds a sponge to rub each plate with an equal amount of pressure.

Since all the tested products did fine, Consumer Reports recommends buying dish detergent based on price. And you should skip antibacterial cleaners, which don't do any better, and could lead to the development of tougher bacteria.

Full Ratings are available to subscribers.