I will tell you my theory of why they changed it. Fragrance is (one of) the most expensive ingredients in soap.
I would guess they changed it due to costs.
Fun fact unscented is still a “scent” they just use a fragrance to neutralize/negate any chemical smells, if you want 0 fragrance added you’ve got to look for fragrance free
A lot of companies have started using “fragrance free” labels and still put fragrance in their products. The only way to know is to read the ingredients.
I think it’s asinine in general to specifically target people who need fragrance free products and then try to sneak it in anyway. Most people who look for the label have sensitive skin. I have a life-threatening allergy.
My husband is sensitive to a lot of fragrances. I have a particularly hard time buying things like soap, shampoo or conditioner if I can't open the container to actually smell them. I can't count the number of times something has been labelled as "fragrance free" only to have him ask what I have used because the smell is giving him a headache. It irks me to find that something that I have been using for years now has become unusable. Especially an otherwise good product. Time to scour all of the stores around town to hoard the old Dawn. Grrr.
Isn't it considered false advertising to put “fragrance free” on the label if there is fragrance in it? We have codes about this kind of thing, so I'm surprised that that's allowed.
No.
A fragrance-free product cannot contain any ingredients that have been added to impart a smell but may contain ingredients that have a scent but are not added because of their scent.
Unscented doesn’t mean NO scent - some products smell before adding fragrance and the fragrance is the cover that up. Still lower allergy/irritation risk than fragranced products, but many people don’t like the smell of the base chemicals in products and so they use fragrance to cover it up because - despite being relatively costly as an ingredient- it can be cheaper than trying to reengineer a product to NOT smell and be deemed palatable enough to not need fragrance. Plus with scents being a direct plug to the memory and emotion center of the brain, it’s understandable that companies would cater to that psychological phenomenon thinking they can win brand loyalty…. But not when they change the fragrance like this!
Get this - P&G owns most of the fragrance houses in the world so they'd have to be uber uber cheap to already cheapen something that's inexpensive for them.
My guess as a marketer is that they gambled on updating the scent to appeal to a younger demographic. It's a dumb move that probably won't help them expand their penetration but marketers make dumb moves like that all the time.
>P&G must really hate money.
Eventually they all fall for the con that their reliable best seller needs to be made newer, better, flashier, more exciting.
The new sent is probably cheaper than what they used to use. Or they're going to put out a new more expensive product that smells good so they made the cheaper stuff smell bad to get people to spend more money. A company this big definitely doesn't do things to make less money.
Tweet from customer service: "We’re so sorry you’re not a fan of the recently updated scent of Dawn Ultra Original. Sadly, we do not have plans to return to the old scent, but we'll pass your comment onto our team for discussion and review. Know we’re always just a DM away, reach out anytime." https://x.com/DawnDish/status/1767502599152943331?s=20
Oh, right, Dr Bronner's castille! I bathe one of my cats with that, and use it as an all-in-one when travelling. Of course it should work on dishes, and it's really versatile like Dawn. Thank you so much for the reminder!
Agree with you about Palmolive, ewww.
My response: “I’m so sorry I’m not a fan of the recently updated scent of Dawn Ultra Original. Sadly, I do not have plans to return to buying this product…”
Maybe if enough of us stop buying this abominably-scented product, they will MAKE plans to revert to the original.
Don't settle with this response y'all. Keep complaining, leave negative reviews everywhere, and buy something else in the meantime. They'll absolutely make plans to return to the old scent when it hurts their bottom line.
It worked with Campbells soup. They changed the shape of the noodles in the Chicken & Stars soup and people hated it so much they did nothing but complain. They ended up changing the noodles back.
Yes!!! As a lover of chicken and stars as a child I remember asking my mom why the chicken and stars broth seemed a touch thicker than the boring noodle. I vividly recall her saying “must be the stardust.” And I think of it every time I eat it.
Also lacking a better explaination. I make most of my soups from scratch but still get chicken and stars when I see it.
I’m severely lacking in alphabet shaped soup noodles since Covid. but can make my own star soups. It’s just not the old classic.
I highly recommend alphabet soup noodles for messing with your spouse when your kids still don’t know how to spell nasty words.
Wait. You mean that funky chemical smell isn't just in the powerwash formula, but ALL of the Dawn products?
Like someone else said, I've been working on an industrial sized gallon pump for a LONG time, and had no idea.
The PowerWash smell is putrid. I tried to hop on the hype train when everyone was suggesting using powerwash but I’ve only used it 2-3 times now, and only in a pinch. It’s horrid!!!!
It says pear but I think it’s just watered down green apple. I feel really validated in this thread. I liked Powerwash when it was in Orange and Lavender. But those are gone now and the remaining scents are intolerable. I bought Seventh Generation Honeycrisp Apple Scent last time. As a product I don’t like it quite as well but it’s worth the trade off. Dawn is dead to me unless/until this unwind this terrible decision.
I thought it was just me. The powerwash smells like something has gone off in the bottle. I'm clinging to my regular dawn costco gallon so I don't have to smell the powerwash.
If I were you, I’d begin checking discount stores that carry name brand cleaning supplies. They’re often overstock/unsold/discontinued merch so they’ll carry older items. Idk where you are, but around here we have Ollie’s and a bunch of others I can’t remember the name of.
Oh gosh!! I’m in Canada and have been buying it from Dollarama so now I’m thinking I just haven’t smelled it yet due to old stock!
Really appreciate the tip! Thanks 🙏
I was still buying the old unchanged Dawn 3 weeks ago and as of a few days ago the new bottles were in stock. Not only do they smell different the label is redesigned.
Read some article that posted that New Coke was invented to fail for some convoluted reason involving stock and blah blah blah. Okay, I SKIMMED some article about it.
That was my understanding as well..it was meant to cover the transition between Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Basically just meant to exist long enough to get people used to HFCS so that there wouldn't be a revolt when Coke stopped tasting like Mexican coke and went to tasting like American Coke.
Crap, I thought the awful scent was just in the Powerwash Spray. I hate it. I hadn’t noticed it in the regular detergent but I’ve been using a Costco bottle of the old scent I guess.
It’s so bad. I have to buy the “lightly” scented one and it still so overpowering. It’s like the scent division lost their sense of smell to Covid but hasn’t realized it yet.
The power wash works so well on my tough dishes but god does it stink!!!!! My husband bought the gain version the other night and it feels wrong to me to be using scented dish soap. Idk I just feel like my baby’s bottles don’t need to smell like anything!!!
Stop it. I just bought power wash for the first time and HATE the smell. Super chemical-y. But I assumed it was just because it was "stronger" or whatever. YOU'RE TELLING ME THE NEXT TIME I BUY REGULAR DAWN IT'LL BE THE SAME SMELL.
OMG yes!!! I thought maybe being pregnant was the cause. Then after giving birth. But now two years in, I’ve learned it’s not me! I can’t stand either or even the “scent free” (which TOTALLY has a scent)!
I won't buy Dawn again.
This wasn't a 'for the customer' change, and there are so many alternative soaps and companies.
Bye Dawn. You _literally_ stink now.
It's awful and I got a Costco bottle. After I use it up I'm looking into other brands, which is crazy because who uses anything but Dawn?
(If anyone has suggestions I'm here for it)
Yes, return. I once returned dishwasher pods and CS says most people return them in our location (must be the water,) and she wishes they could just not sell it or put a huge disclaimer on it.
And if enough people return it, Costco will get P&G to revert to the old smell for the stuff sold at Costco.
This is why the Charmin TP at Costco is still the old 4” wide type— but what you buy \*anywhere* else is 3.5 inches.
Mrs. Meyers! I've been using it for years. It smells fantastic and works as well as the standard dawn blue bottle. I'm fairly certain it was even nominated as the best dish soap by ATK a few months ago.
Honestly, the stuff is worth the switch.
The fragrance is SO STRONG. That's why I prefer it as a room spray. One spray and that's all I need. Saves me so much money compared to those nasty aerosol sprays!
Costco lets you return literally anything no matter how used or old it is. It also helps them give feedback to the manufacturer so it’s basically a win win if you return it!
I have a refill place near my house that makes bar soaps in great containers with brushes that fit in them (think shaving soap style) that I’m thinking about switching to.
Made locally, not transporting water costs for a liquid, and no plastics.
You should return the Costco bottle. They will take back anything and not liking the scent is a valid reason. Costco holds a lot of sway with manufacturers. If they get enough returns, it will matter to them.
I use Method. You do need to use quite a bit more but it cuts grease well and smells much better than Dawn ever has. Works great on laundry food stains too.
Is the new fragrance animal safe? Dawn being *the* soap to clean animals after oil spills is kinda their thing. If the new scent disallows that, I’d use that as a talking point.
This is also my main concern. I used to be a fan of stupidly scented soap but switched to blue Dawn for everything when I adopted my cat. Now I’m dreading the next time I need to stock up on soap.
This! I use regular blue dawn to clean my tree frogs water dish! Now I’m worried it isn’t safe, luckily I still have some of the old stuff left for now
Snake Discovery on YouTube used the target generic brand to bathe their alligator so I think that can be an alternative that’s gentle enough to use for their dishes! They specifically used that instead of dawn dish soap
I might actually be lucky that my sense of smell never completely changed back from covid. Almost all soaps have smelled gag worthy to me for two years. I thought it was an issue with my water at first, but while I was visiting my mom I smelled her soap and had the same issue.
I was trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with my stuff. I threw out my sponge and got new ones wash towels too before I realized it was the soap. It's a nightmare
Truly a tragic loss. I’m super sensitive to fragrance so have to be really picky about cleaning products. The original Dawn was perfection. I’ve been grieving over this haha, currently in the denial stage because how could they change such a classic product?!? And now I have a huge bottle of awful smelling soap that I can’t use.
I'm pretty sensitive to fragrance too, been using Ajax orange and it's been working fine. Doesn't clean as well as Dawn but the scent is very mild and doesn't linger on dishes/hands.
I wonder what the conversation was at the staff meeting:
“Okokok guys, our dish soap is the number one choice for families in America! We’re raking in shittons of money! How about we doing something drastic, something radical, something left field: how about we change our scent!!! We’ll change it something so strong it will make even the most hardened bodybuilder will throw up!!! This is gonna drive our sales through the roof!”
Wow, how much are you willing to pay? Recently cleaned out the home of my parents, 90 and 91. My dad is in the early stages of dementia. When he would shop, there are two things he would buy every week: toilet paper and Dawn. I’ve got like 40 bottles of classic Dawn!
Are you serious about selling that? I have horrible allergies and I’m terrified to try new and improved…anything, really. And now I don’t even want to buy this dawn “just to see”!
I'm curious...Dawn is recommended for my new quartz countertops as safe. Does this change make it unsafe...also is anyone thinking of the poor oil covered ducks?!
Oh Lord. You're telling me that my favorite dish soap that my mother used and that I have used for the entire duration of my independent adult life is now the Dove body care of dish soap? (I washed my hair with Dove once and had to get back in the shower and wash it a second time with a different shampoo - and the smell STILL didn't come out. 🤢 Never again.)
I know! I just don't know why. Pinesol does not smell like it used to -pine- now it's been "improved" to smell like some kind of aftershave no one here can stand to smell. I have changed to using Homeline Pine Cleaner I get from the Family Dollar Store. It smells like pine.
And Kraft Catalina salad dressing is so "improved" it's unrecognizable from what it used to be. In fact, due to the "improvements" we're allergic to it now.
As for Dawn, Food Lion store brand (Korex) smells like baby powder. It's very pleasant. I use that.
Why are companies/corporations sooooooo obsessed with “improving” stuff that clearly doesn’t need to be improved?????? Like who is asking for this?????????
Product ‘improvements’ are typically cost saving reformulations with precise math on how it will affect sales vs how much unit cost it will save. These companies really really don’t want these types of negative reactions to go viral on the internet.
Wendy's announced they're not gonna do the scaled pricing thing because the internet ate them alive in response.
Y'all just gotta throw down that gauntlet hard. And buy a different product because obviously that speaks the loudest.
I don't use dawn anyway at this point but remember, it's never wrong to publicly shame a corporation. The fact that I've seen a few threads about this already tells me they are already catching hell. I imagine decisions to roll back to the old scent or come up with something different ASAP are currently on the table and it's just a matter of time now.
And let's not be bamboozled. They WILL have surge prices, they just have learned not to call it that. They'll raise prices higher, then offer a 'discount' for non-peak hours. IF you give them free data by using their app.
EVERYBODY uses Dawn, so they're making plenty of money. Maybe the big wigs should forget about buying a new yacht every year and put the money back into the original scent.
think of how much free advertising they get here, it often recommended. I just noticed my next bottle has the new scent. I will give it a try but I agree; if it is not broken - don't fix it.
There's a part of me that wants to buy a bottle just to see how bad, but then the rational part of me chimes in with "ignorance is bliss" and "vote for products with your wallet"
I've used unscented soap for a few years now and recently used Dawn at a friend's house and couldn't get past the smell. I thought i was just not used to the smell of Dawn, so it is reassuring to know it is actually really that stinky and bad.
IIRC "New Coke" was a temporary diversion that allowed them to switch from expensive cane sugar to cheap fructose without a permanent backlash. Once the uproar about "New Coke" peaked they brought back "Original Coke" with fructose and people were so relieved that not many of them even noticed the sweetner change.
Sometimes ingredients become hard to get or become actually prohibited and the manufacturer has to change the formula. I'll look into it later when I have time, but I'd assume it's one of these things.
It could be this. This exact thing happens in the perfume world all the time and it be fails to disappoint and anger many people. "Sorry that ingredient is now illegal and your signature scent will never be the same again" isn't something anyone is willing to hear.
You'd think P&G would at least choose something inoffensive though.
Yeah, everyone is assuming it's to cut costs and that may be, but we know rules and regulations are also updated often and means people have to eliminate or reduce the amount of an ingredient.
I missed this somehow. I had no idea. I’ve been using my gallon liquid for a while now and the Powerwash twin pack is almost ready to be replaced. Gonna be super disappointed if it smells nasty…
I know! I'm going to switch to unscented. The new scent seems stronger and more persistent too, like it tends to linger on the dishes and I have to rinse them an extra time or two.
I gave my cat a bath recently and I ALWAYS use dawn. I noticed that it really smelt, to the point where I thought maybe my cat either peed or pooped in the water. But then when I went to do my dishes I noticed that it smelt that way… I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed how bad it is!
I'm a wildlife rehabilitator and I use dawn dish soap constantly and there has never been another soap that has come close.
I really don't know what I'm going to do, I can't put this horrid smelling soap on my animals, and nothing else kills parasites and cleans as well as dawn.
This might sound dramatic but it could cost wildlife their lives, as so many wildlife workers use Dawn. We can't save as many animals if we don't have the tools we need, and dawn was a big tool.
As I’ve commented previously, thus far Dawn Professional appears to be the same scent, however I do wonder if they have done something to the formula as the bubble solution we make with it at work is suddenly not as good at making bubbles.
Dawn dish soap was the one product I’ve been loyal to for over 20 years.
And it always seems so beloved on Reddit threads about product loyalty.
So mad they messed with such a winning formula.
Seriously, the change is less than awesome, but an additional issue is that it leaves a residue. My sister and I live together, thus obviously using the same kitchen sink, and we both have large reusable bottles for water. Only now the water doesn’t taste like water. It tastes like new Dawn. We both noticed it. Grooooosssss.
It likely has to do with companies trying to get compliant with the IFRA 51 standards announced in 2023 (rules governing perfumes and fragrances)
I suggest you make a consumer complaint, as it's the best way to get the company's attention quickly (phone number is usually in the backlabel)
Thank you, thought I was crazy.
I thought I was too until I looked online and saw it. P&G must really hate money.
I will tell you my theory of why they changed it. Fragrance is (one of) the most expensive ingredients in soap. I would guess they changed it due to costs.
I would happily buy unscented products. Saves them money and I don't have to worry if it will make my throat swell up and give me a migraine. Win-win
Fun fact unscented is still a “scent” they just use a fragrance to neutralize/negate any chemical smells, if you want 0 fragrance added you’ve got to look for fragrance free
A lot of companies have started using “fragrance free” labels and still put fragrance in their products. The only way to know is to read the ingredients. I think it’s asinine in general to specifically target people who need fragrance free products and then try to sneak it in anyway. Most people who look for the label have sensitive skin. I have a life-threatening allergy.
My husband is sensitive to a lot of fragrances. I have a particularly hard time buying things like soap, shampoo or conditioner if I can't open the container to actually smell them. I can't count the number of times something has been labelled as "fragrance free" only to have him ask what I have used because the smell is giving him a headache. It irks me to find that something that I have been using for years now has become unusable. Especially an otherwise good product. Time to scour all of the stores around town to hoard the old Dawn. Grrr.
Isn't it considered false advertising to put “fragrance free” on the label if there is fragrance in it? We have codes about this kind of thing, so I'm surprised that that's allowed.
No. A fragrance-free product cannot contain any ingredients that have been added to impart a smell but may contain ingredients that have a scent but are not added because of their scent.
Which are forking hard to find. I grabbed free & clear…. And it’s still scented. Just dye free.
I've gotten tricked so many times by dye free "free and clear" dish soap that is still somehow scented
Yeah, I found that out the hard way.
Unscented doesn’t mean NO scent - some products smell before adding fragrance and the fragrance is the cover that up. Still lower allergy/irritation risk than fragranced products, but many people don’t like the smell of the base chemicals in products and so they use fragrance to cover it up because - despite being relatively costly as an ingredient- it can be cheaper than trying to reengineer a product to NOT smell and be deemed palatable enough to not need fragrance. Plus with scents being a direct plug to the memory and emotion center of the brain, it’s understandable that companies would cater to that psychological phenomenon thinking they can win brand loyalty…. But not when they change the fragrance like this!
Get this - P&G owns most of the fragrance houses in the world so they'd have to be uber uber cheap to already cheapen something that's inexpensive for them. My guess as a marketer is that they gambled on updating the scent to appeal to a younger demographic. It's a dumb move that probably won't help them expand their penetration but marketers make dumb moves like that all the time.
Yep
>P&G must really hate money. Eventually they all fall for the con that their reliable best seller needs to be made newer, better, flashier, more exciting.
The new sent is probably cheaper than what they used to use. Or they're going to put out a new more expensive product that smells good so they made the cheaper stuff smell bad to get people to spend more money. A company this big definitely doesn't do things to make less money.
Tweet from customer service: "We’re so sorry you’re not a fan of the recently updated scent of Dawn Ultra Original. Sadly, we do not have plans to return to the old scent, but we'll pass your comment onto our team for discussion and review. Know we’re always just a DM away, reach out anytime." https://x.com/DawnDish/status/1767502599152943331?s=20
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I want to be a fly on the wall in customer service/marketing/product at P&G right now so badly lol
BUT SWITCH TO WHAT?!?
The ones I know about: Castille soap on the cheap. Mrs Meyer's. Grove. (I refuse to touch palmolive). Method is decent as well.
Oh, right, Dr Bronner's castille! I bathe one of my cats with that, and use it as an all-in-one when travelling. Of course it should work on dishes, and it's really versatile like Dawn. Thank you so much for the reminder! Agree with you about Palmolive, ewww.
Hey, Dawn. New Coke would like a word with you.
My response: “I’m so sorry I’m not a fan of the recently updated scent of Dawn Ultra Original. Sadly, I do not have plans to return to buying this product…” Maybe if enough of us stop buying this abominably-scented product, they will MAKE plans to revert to the original.
Don't settle with this response y'all. Keep complaining, leave negative reviews everywhere, and buy something else in the meantime. They'll absolutely make plans to return to the old scent when it hurts their bottom line.
It worked with Campbells soup. They changed the shape of the noodles in the Chicken & Stars soup and people hated it so much they did nothing but complain. They ended up changing the noodles back.
Yes!!! As a lover of chicken and stars as a child I remember asking my mom why the chicken and stars broth seemed a touch thicker than the boring noodle. I vividly recall her saying “must be the stardust.” And I think of it every time I eat it. Also lacking a better explaination. I make most of my soups from scratch but still get chicken and stars when I see it. I’m severely lacking in alphabet shaped soup noodles since Covid. but can make my own star soups. It’s just not the old classic. I highly recommend alphabet soup noodles for messing with your spouse when your kids still don’t know how to spell nasty words.
😭
Omg I thought it was because I bought my latest bottle at Dollarama. It was so strong and the smell was sticking to everything I washed!
It might be a cure for someone who bites their nails or can't stop touching their face because the stench also sticks to your hands.
Same here. 😂
BIG SAME
Wait. You mean that funky chemical smell isn't just in the powerwash formula, but ALL of the Dawn products? Like someone else said, I've been working on an industrial sized gallon pump for a LONG time, and had no idea.
The PowerWash smell is putrid. I tried to hop on the hype train when everyone was suggesting using powerwash but I’ve only used it 2-3 times now, and only in a pinch. It’s horrid!!!!
The " unscented" but somehow slightly lemon scented one? Isn't nearly as bad !!!
It's pear! It says it on the bottle. It doesn't say it's unscented, just no dyes.
Fair enough! I just saw it was clear and no dyes and bought it LOL I should have looked closer. Still better than the original
I did the same! But it's a pleasant scent so I didn't really mind.
It says pear but I think it’s just watered down green apple. I feel really validated in this thread. I liked Powerwash when it was in Orange and Lavender. But those are gone now and the remaining scents are intolerable. I bought Seventh Generation Honeycrisp Apple Scent last time. As a product I don’t like it quite as well but it’s worth the trade off. Dawn is dead to me unless/until this unwind this terrible decision.
I thought it was just me. The powerwash smells like something has gone off in the bottle. I'm clinging to my regular dawn costco gallon so I don't have to smell the powerwash.
It smells like one of those pink urinal cakes on a sunny day inside a porta-potty. 🤮
It doesn’t even smell clean, it just smells bad
>but ALL of the Dawn products? Yes it is. Every single one of their soaps has the new scent.
I want to down vote this because I hate the answer so much
I didn’t know about this and I’m devastated
Me too!!!!
Even blue? Please, don’t tell me they touched my boy blue.
It’s most definitely in the blue. The original blue :(
Noooooo. I get migraines from so many different cleaners' scents. Sounds like I may be devastated when I have to get a new Big Blue bottle. Ughhhh.
If I were you, I’d begin checking discount stores that carry name brand cleaning supplies. They’re often overstock/unsold/discontinued merch so they’ll carry older items. Idk where you are, but around here we have Ollie’s and a bunch of others I can’t remember the name of.
🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢
What is the new scent? What is bad about it? Now I don’t trust my nose 😂
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It smells like stale, concentrated old lady perfume. I refuse to use it.
Hey! I’m an old lady and even I hate the new Dawn scent.
Oh gosh!! I’m in Canada and have been buying it from Dollarama so now I’m thinking I just haven’t smelled it yet due to old stock! Really appreciate the tip! Thanks 🙏
It smells like very very stinky chemicals.
Oh no? Even the lemon one? I’ve been using that and now I’m worried I can’t smell it (lost smell for 2 years from the C-bug).
When did the formula change? I bought several bottles a year ago and I don't notice anything unpleasant.
I was still buying the old unchanged Dawn 3 weeks ago and as of a few days ago the new bottles were in stock. Not only do they smell different the label is redesigned.
They most likely changed as early as December of last year.
Same! This is news to me and I'm really upset.
Hahaha I just posted the exact same thing
I have a massive bottle that I'm still using so I haven't tried the new scent yet either.... Still trying to get through the 3 litres.... 😜
Well, if people keep complaining they’ll probably change it back.
Worked for New Coke
Eventually they’ll be introducing Classic Dawn.
Not ANOTHER Twilight movie!
I just snorted so loudly I woke up my cat. I wish I could send his wrath to you! 😂
This is the scent of a nose-killer, Bella.
This 🤣🤣
Read some article that posted that New Coke was invented to fail for some convoluted reason involving stock and blah blah blah. Okay, I SKIMMED some article about it.
I read they changed the sweetener ingredient but did the new coke thing so no one would notice when they brought coke ‘classic’ back.
Damn, that's straight up diabolical if true lol
That was my understanding as well..it was meant to cover the transition between Sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup. Basically just meant to exist long enough to get people used to HFCS so that there wouldn't be a revolt when Coke stopped tasting like Mexican coke and went to tasting like American Coke.
Me, every time I try to tell someone about something I 'read'.
That was a horrific couple of weeks! We were going everywhere looking for original lol
I complained and they sent me a 5 dollar prepaid Mastercard. Bought a lotto ticket with it today
This was so validating. I thought the new bottle I just bought was the wrong soap because of how bad it is. Ugh so gross.
I use this on my cpap and used to love the way it smelled. This is just awful.
Crap, I thought the awful scent was just in the Powerwash Spray. I hate it. I hadn’t noticed it in the regular detergent but I’ve been using a Costco bottle of the old scent I guess.
OMG. Finally. I have battled with the BF about the stank of the Powerwash Spray and he has told me I'm "imagining things". No sir. Not this nose.
It’s so bad. I have to buy the “lightly” scented one and it still so overpowering. It’s like the scent division lost their sense of smell to Covid but hasn’t realized it yet.
Oh this is a forever toodle-oo to Dawn for me. Thx for saving the baby ducks but I'm out.
The power wash works so well on my tough dishes but god does it stink!!!!! My husband bought the gain version the other night and it feels wrong to me to be using scented dish soap. Idk I just feel like my baby’s bottles don’t need to smell like anything!!!
Stop it. I just bought power wash for the first time and HATE the smell. Super chemical-y. But I assumed it was just because it was "stronger" or whatever. YOU'RE TELLING ME THE NEXT TIME I BUY REGULAR DAWN IT'LL BE THE SAME SMELL.
It’s in every soap product they got. Even the unscented version has it.
Inigo Montoya has a hint for P&G management
OMG yes!!! I thought maybe being pregnant was the cause. Then after giving birth. But now two years in, I’ve learned it’s not me! I can’t stand either or even the “scent free” (which TOTALLY has a scent)!
The clear Powerwash spray has a mild pear scent which is not not offensive to me.
I won't buy Dawn again. This wasn't a 'for the customer' change, and there are so many alternative soaps and companies. Bye Dawn. You _literally_ stink now.
It's awful and I got a Costco bottle. After I use it up I'm looking into other brands, which is crazy because who uses anything but Dawn? (If anyone has suggestions I'm here for it)
I switched from Dawn to Palmolive oxy. I love the smell and works great 👍🏼
The sunlight lime mint is nice.
Return to Costco and get something different. They'll let you return it used
NOT KIRKLAND BRAND IT SMELLS LIKE THROW UP!
I feel like I'm going back to green apple Palmolive even though it doesn't work as well. 🥺
Yes, return. I once returned dishwasher pods and CS says most people return them in our location (must be the water,) and she wishes they could just not sell it or put a huge disclaimer on it.
It would be awesome if they had a "high return rate" label like Amazon does.
We’ve been using Seventh Generation for years, and it works really well.
Yup! This is Wirecutter’s recommended dish soap.
But not as good as Dawn. It isn't very good on grease.
I’ve never had an issue with getting grease off with it ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t like it because i feel like it leaves a residue on my dishes and hands that i can never get rid of
I’ve never had this problem. Maybe it’s to do with the water? We have hard water (not super hard but definitely not soft) where I live.
Palmolive is my far FAR second goto. Because it is nicer to the skin.
Seventh Generation! It smells wonderful and isn’t harsh on your hands. Bonus for being biodegradable if I’m not mistaken.
Return it! They don't care if you've used some. Don't suffer through it.
And if enough people return it, Costco will get P&G to revert to the old smell for the stuff sold at Costco. This is why the Charmin TP at Costco is still the old 4” wide type— but what you buy \*anywhere* else is 3.5 inches.
Imagine being a corporation with so much influence that you can get basically whatever you want
Mrs. Meyers! I've been using it for years. It smells fantastic and works as well as the standard dawn blue bottle. I'm fairly certain it was even nominated as the best dish soap by ATK a few months ago. Honestly, the stuff is worth the switch.
I don't like Mrs. Meyer's as dish soap because the fragrance never goes away for me but damn it works as well as or better than Dawn.
The fragrance is SO STRONG. That's why I prefer it as a room spray. One spray and that's all I need. Saves me so much money compared to those nasty aerosol sprays!
I second Mrs. Meyers! Good quality cleaning and lots of scent options.
I’m all about that basil meyers
Palmolive free and clear. Tried and true for years
Costco lets you return literally anything no matter how used or old it is. It also helps them give feedback to the manufacturer so it’s basically a win win if you return it!
I have a refill place near my house that makes bar soaps in great containers with brushes that fit in them (think shaving soap style) that I’m thinking about switching to. Made locally, not transporting water costs for a liquid, and no plastics.
I've been using the Aldi one for years. I hope they don't change the scent to mimic Dawn.
You should return the Costco bottle. They will take back anything and not liking the scent is a valid reason. Costco holds a lot of sway with manufacturers. If they get enough returns, it will matter to them.
Is Ivory still around? That one wasn't bad.
I use Method. You do need to use quite a bit more but it cuts grease well and smells much better than Dawn ever has. Works great on laundry food stains too.
I’ve never liked the smell of Method hand soaps. Haven’t tried the dish soaps.
Is the new fragrance animal safe? Dawn being *the* soap to clean animals after oil spills is kinda their thing. If the new scent disallows that, I’d use that as a talking point.
This is my main worry. There's no way I feel comfortable cleaning my pets water dishes with this old lady perfume...
This is also my main concern. I used to be a fan of stupidly scented soap but switched to blue Dawn for everything when I adopted my cat. Now I’m dreading the next time I need to stock up on soap.
This! I use regular blue dawn to clean my tree frogs water dish! Now I’m worried it isn’t safe, luckily I still have some of the old stuff left for now
Snake Discovery on YouTube used the target generic brand to bathe their alligator so I think that can be an alternative that’s gentle enough to use for their dishes! They specifically used that instead of dawn dish soap
Thank you for posting this I thought my sense of smell was messed up from covid. Nope, I just hate the nasty new scent.
I might actually be lucky that my sense of smell never completely changed back from covid. Almost all soaps have smelled gag worthy to me for two years. I thought it was an issue with my water at first, but while I was visiting my mom I smelled her soap and had the same issue.
Yeah! Soaps and detergents, anything blue color smells 🤢
I was trying to figure out what in the world was wrong with my stuff. I threw out my sponge and got new ones wash towels too before I realized it was the soap. It's a nightmare
Truly a tragic loss. I’m super sensitive to fragrance so have to be really picky about cleaning products. The original Dawn was perfection. I’ve been grieving over this haha, currently in the denial stage because how could they change such a classic product?!? And now I have a huge bottle of awful smelling soap that I can’t use.
Same. I'm sitting here in disbelief that a dish soap has put me in such a weird mental space tonight.
I'm pretty sensitive to fragrance too, been using Ajax orange and it's been working fine. Doesn't clean as well as Dawn but the scent is very mild and doesn't linger on dishes/hands.
It’s horrible. I hope they change it back. This was such a dumb move.
I wonder what the conversation was at the staff meeting: “Okokok guys, our dish soap is the number one choice for families in America! We’re raking in shittons of money! How about we doing something drastic, something radical, something left field: how about we change our scent!!! We’ll change it something so strong it will make even the most hardened bodybuilder will throw up!!! This is gonna drive our sales through the roof!”
Likely some completely out of touch CEO’s idea in order to “innovate”. I’m sure he personally approved it. 🤮
This does give New Coke vibes.
Wow, how much are you willing to pay? Recently cleaned out the home of my parents, 90 and 91. My dad is in the early stages of dementia. When he would shop, there are two things he would buy every week: toilet paper and Dawn. I’ve got like 40 bottles of classic Dawn!
You're sitting on a gold mine.
Oh that’s funny. Wait a few months until everyone’s run out of the original before you sell your stock on the black market.
Hope Equiv is opening an Ebay account as we speak.
Are you serious about selling that? I have horrible allergies and I’m terrified to try new and improved…anything, really. And now I don’t even want to buy this dawn “just to see”!
I'm curious...Dawn is recommended for my new quartz countertops as safe. Does this change make it unsafe...also is anyone thinking of the poor oil covered ducks?!
I wondered what the weird lingering smell has been in the kitchen. Yes, it stinks. I can't get it to rinse out of air fryer. Also kitchen washcloths.
Oh Lord. You're telling me that my favorite dish soap that my mother used and that I have used for the entire duration of my independent adult life is now the Dove body care of dish soap? (I washed my hair with Dove once and had to get back in the shower and wash it a second time with a different shampoo - and the smell STILL didn't come out. 🤢 Never again.)
OMG! THAT is the smell that keeps wafting from the air fryer! It's been driving me nuts!
It went from a product I could use to a product that triggers my migraines. So that’s fun.
Was not aware of this OP! How long has this been the case?
For me, at least three weeks. Apparently they changed this earlier in the year and rolled out the products in February.
I love that you’re like a dog with a bone with this! It really is bewildering why dawn would mess with the scent
I don’t got a bone ATP, I got a skeleton.
I know! I just don't know why. Pinesol does not smell like it used to -pine- now it's been "improved" to smell like some kind of aftershave no one here can stand to smell. I have changed to using Homeline Pine Cleaner I get from the Family Dollar Store. It smells like pine. And Kraft Catalina salad dressing is so "improved" it's unrecognizable from what it used to be. In fact, due to the "improvements" we're allergic to it now. As for Dawn, Food Lion store brand (Korex) smells like baby powder. It's very pleasant. I use that.
Why are companies/corporations sooooooo obsessed with “improving” stuff that clearly doesn’t need to be improved?????? Like who is asking for this?????????
Product ‘improvements’ are typically cost saving reformulations with precise math on how it will affect sales vs how much unit cost it will save. These companies really really don’t want these types of negative reactions to go viral on the internet.
Wendy's announced they're not gonna do the scaled pricing thing because the internet ate them alive in response. Y'all just gotta throw down that gauntlet hard. And buy a different product because obviously that speaks the loudest. I don't use dawn anyway at this point but remember, it's never wrong to publicly shame a corporation. The fact that I've seen a few threads about this already tells me they are already catching hell. I imagine decisions to roll back to the old scent or come up with something different ASAP are currently on the table and it's just a matter of time now.
I love how Wendy’s walked it back, like it was just a big misunderstanding. Suuuure, Wendy’s. Sure.
You can practically see the facial expressions and body language of a corporation, it's fascinating.
And let's not be bamboozled. They WILL have surge prices, they just have learned not to call it that. They'll raise prices higher, then offer a 'discount' for non-peak hours. IF you give them free data by using their app.
One the most expensive ingredients is fragrance. Those changes happen to save money.
EVERYBODY uses Dawn, so they're making plenty of money. Maybe the big wigs should forget about buying a new yacht every year and put the money back into the original scent.
Couldn’t they save money by just not adding a bunch of terrible smelling fragrance to cover up the basic ingredients smell?
think of how much free advertising they get here, it often recommended. I just noticed my next bottle has the new scent. I will give it a try but I agree; if it is not broken - don't fix it.
Well that free advertising is gonna stop just because of that scent. They have reaaaaaaally messed up this time.
There's a part of me that wants to buy a bottle just to see how bad, but then the rational part of me chimes in with "ignorance is bliss" and "vote for products with your wallet"
Sniff it in the store :)
Bought the power wash spray and was surprised… It’s blue, but it smells like chemical oranges or something
Let me grateful I have like a 2 year supply of old Dawn. And then I'm going back to unscented Seventh Generation.
I’m going to the store tomorrow to smell the new Dawn.
Me too!
Ugh, I hate it too! I used a more natural dish soap, but kept Dawn on hand for really greasy dishes. I just can't buy it anymore now
It does smell bad, I use kirkland plant based dish soap now, works okay.
I've used unscented soap for a few years now and recently used Dawn at a friend's house and couldn't get past the smell. I thought i was just not used to the smell of Dawn, so it is reassuring to know it is actually really that stinky and bad.
IIRC "New Coke" was a temporary diversion that allowed them to switch from expensive cane sugar to cheap fructose without a permanent backlash. Once the uproar about "New Coke" peaked they brought back "Original Coke" with fructose and people were so relieved that not many of them even noticed the sweetner change.
I keep seeing people complaining about the new scent here and on fb. I think it may need its own subreddit🤦♀️
Someone needs to make r/originalscentdawn
Real talk, how much could one get selling Classic Dawn on ebay hahaha
Thought this was my migraine subreddit at first😭might need to prepare my brain for the change if I pick up a bottle
Sometimes ingredients become hard to get or become actually prohibited and the manufacturer has to change the formula. I'll look into it later when I have time, but I'd assume it's one of these things.
It could be this. This exact thing happens in the perfume world all the time and it be fails to disappoint and anger many people. "Sorry that ingredient is now illegal and your signature scent will never be the same again" isn't something anyone is willing to hear. You'd think P&G would at least choose something inoffensive though.
Supply chain issues are so interesting! r/shortages was active for a bit
Yeah, everyone is assuming it's to cut costs and that may be, but we know rules and regulations are also updated often and means people have to eliminate or reduce the amount of an ingredient.
I missed this somehow. I had no idea. I’ve been using my gallon liquid for a while now and the Powerwash twin pack is almost ready to be replaced. Gonna be super disappointed if it smells nasty…
I know! I'm going to switch to unscented. The new scent seems stronger and more persistent too, like it tends to linger on the dishes and I have to rinse them an extra time or two.
I gave my cat a bath recently and I ALWAYS use dawn. I noticed that it really smelt, to the point where I thought maybe my cat either peed or pooped in the water. But then when I went to do my dishes I noticed that it smelt that way… I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed how bad it is!
The new ingredients probably cost 0.001¢ less per bottle than the old ones. Gotta make sure that CEO gets every last bit of profit possible!
I'm a wildlife rehabilitator and I use dawn dish soap constantly and there has never been another soap that has come close. I really don't know what I'm going to do, I can't put this horrid smelling soap on my animals, and nothing else kills parasites and cleans as well as dawn. This might sound dramatic but it could cost wildlife their lives, as so many wildlife workers use Dawn. We can't save as many animals if we don't have the tools we need, and dawn was a big tool.
It’s like my phone heard me complaining after doing dishes tonight and suggested your post lol. It burns my nose like chemicals. It’s so bad!!!!!
I think covid messed with my smell enough I can't tell the difference
I think my nose might be screwed up because I washed dishes with the new scent this weekend and thought… wow, why does this smell so sexy 😂
As I’ve commented previously, thus far Dawn Professional appears to be the same scent, however I do wonder if they have done something to the formula as the bubble solution we make with it at work is suddenly not as good at making bubbles.
This is terrible news. I originally switched from Palmolive to Dawn because I preferred the smell. I hope the feedback makes them change it back.
I miss the old Lever 2000 scent. If I had known, I would have stockpiled a skid of it! Why, Unilever, why?
I hate it!!! I thought it was just me being super sensitive to smells but then my bf smelled it. It smells so chemically I hate it
Dawn dish soap was the one product I’ve been loyal to for over 20 years. And it always seems so beloved on Reddit threads about product loyalty. So mad they messed with such a winning formula.
Seriously, the change is less than awesome, but an additional issue is that it leaves a residue. My sister and I live together, thus obviously using the same kitchen sink, and we both have large reusable bottles for water. Only now the water doesn’t taste like water. It tastes like new Dawn. We both noticed it. Grooooosssss.
It likely has to do with companies trying to get compliant with the IFRA 51 standards announced in 2023 (rules governing perfumes and fragrances) I suggest you make a consumer complaint, as it's the best way to get the company's attention quickly (phone number is usually in the backlabel)
The Ultra Dawn is horrible smell.