Commercial dish soap needs to do three things at once: cut grease fast, rinse completely clean, and not wreck the hands of whoever's washing dishes for a full shift. Not every bottle labeled "commercial-grade" actually delivers all three.
This guide breaks down what separates a genuinely commercial dish soap from a relabeled retail bottle, whether your kitchen needs a manual soap or a machine detergent, how much grease-cutting power you actually need, and what it really costs per sink load.
- JANITORI No.81 costs roughly $0.14 per sink load at the midpoint 12.5 mL dilution — a 4 L jug covers about 320 washes, or roughly 16 days for a restaurant doing 20 sinks a day.
- No.81 is a manual dishwashing liquid for hand-washing at a sink, not a low-foam machine detergent — using it in an automatic dishwasher will oversud.
- Plant-derived surfactants replace the SLS and petroleum solvents found in many commercial dish soaps, which WHMIS 2015 classifies as skin and respiratory irritants at cleaning-product concentrations.
- No.81 carries 0% of eight flagged ingredients, including phosphates — regulated federally under Canada's Concentration of Phosphorus in Certain Cleaning Products Regulations.
- What Makes a Dish Soap "Commercial-Grade"?
- Manual Dish Soap or Machine Detergent — Which Does Your Kitchen Need?
- How Much Grease-Cutting Power Do You Actually Need?
- Is a Plant-Derived Dish Soap Gentler on Kitchen Staff's Hands?
- Where Should You Use a Commercial Dish Soap?
- How Much Does Commercial Dish Soap Cost per Sink?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes a Dish Soap "Commercial-Grade"?
A commercial-grade dish soap is formulated to handle continuous, high-volume use — concentrated enough to dilute per sink rather than pour straight from the bottle, tough enough on grease to keep pace with a full lunch rush, and compliant with the phosphate limits Canada places on cleaning products manufactured or sold here.
JANITORI Dish Soap No.81 is a plant-derived concentrate built for restaurants, cafés, food service operations, and institutional kitchens — not a retail bottle stretched thin. It's diluted 10–15 mL per 2 L of water rather than used at full strength, which is what makes a 4 L jug last hundreds of washes instead of dozens. Phosphates in cleaning products are federally regulated under the Concentration of Phosphorus in Certain Cleaning Products Regulations to limit nutrient pollution in lakes and rivers — No.81 carries 0% phosphates, clearing that bar without cutting grease-fighting power.
Manual Dish Soap or Machine Detergent — Which Does Your Kitchen Need?
It depends on whether dishes go through an automatic dishmachine or get washed by hand at a sink — the two need completely different chemistry, and using the wrong one causes real problems.
No.81 is a manual dishwashing liquid, designed for hand-washing pots, pans, and utensils at a 2- or 3-compartment sink. It's meant to foam — that's part of how a surfactant lifts grease off a pan. An automatic dishwashing machine needs the opposite: a low-foam detergent, because suds in a mechanical dishmachine cause overflow and interfere with the spray arms. If your facility runs both — hand sinks for pots and pans, a machine for plates and glassware — you need two different products, not one bottle doing double duty.
How Much Grease-Cutting Power Do You Actually Need?
More than a household dish soap, less than an industrial degreaser — commercial dish soap sits in the middle, built to handle baked-on food residue without needing a second product for routine sink cleanup.
No.81's plant-derived surfactants are formulated in the same Montreal lab that makes JANITORI's industrial degreasers, so the grease-cutting chemistry is genuinely commercial-grade rather than a consumer formula in a bigger jug. For equipment with heavier grease buildup — range hoods, fryer stations, floor mats — that's a job for a dedicated degreaser, not dish soap; see our food-safe degreaser guide for that layer of the kitchen.
Is a Plant-Derived Dish Soap Gentler on Kitchen Staff's Hands?
Yes, measurably — the surfactants that cause hand-drying and dermatitis in dish soap are usually SLS and petroleum-derived, and plant-derived formulas replace both.
Most commercial dish liquids use sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and petroleum-derived surfactants, which strip natural oils from skin — a documented driver of the cracking and dermatitis common in kitchen staff who wash dishes for hours at a stretch. Both are classified as skin and eye irritants under WHMIS 2015 (CCOHS) at the concentrations used in cleaning products. No.81 replaces both with plant-derived surfactants that cut grease without the same skin-stripping action — gloves are still recommended for all-day use, but hands hold up noticeably better without them.
Shop Dish Soap No.81 — $43.95 / 4L
Where Should You Use a Commercial Dish Soap?
Anywhere pots, pans, glassware, or utensils get washed by hand at a sink in volume — restaurants, institutional kitchens, and any facility running a 2- or 3-compartment sink station.
| Setting | Why It Fits |
|---|---|
| Restaurants & cafés | Manual pot-and-pan sinks running through a full service, day after day |
| Institutional kitchens (schools, offices) | High-volume washing on a fixed budget, plant-derived formula with no harsh-chemical exposure for staff |
| Food service & catering | Concentrated and portable — travels well for off-site event cleanup |
| Multi-unit residential & mixed-use kitchens | One product covers shared-kitchen dish stations without stocking multiple soaps |
How Much Does Commercial Dish Soap Cost per Sink?
JANITORI No.81 costs roughly $0.14 per sink load at $43.95 for a 4 L jug — about 320 washes at the midpoint 12.5 mL dilution.
For a restaurant running 20 sink loads a day, that's roughly 16 days per jug. The bigger lever for facilities is bulk sizing, not the per-sink math on a single jug: 20 L pails, 204 L drums, and 1,000 L totes bring the per-sink cost down further, with custom labeling available for pallet-scale orders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does commercial dish soap cut grease as well as name-brand options?
Yes — JANITORI No.81's plant-derived surfactants are formulated to break down cooking oils, animal fats, and baked-on residue on contact, developed in the same Montreal lab that makes JANITORI's industrial degreasers. The difference from many big-box dish soaps is what's not in it: no petroleum solvents, no SLS, no synthetic fragrance that strips moisture from skin.
Will a plant-derived dish soap dry out kitchen staff's hands during a full shift?
Significantly less than conventional options. Most commercial dish liquids rely on SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) and petroleum-derived surfactants that strip natural oils from skin — a documented cause of cracking and dermatitis in kitchen staff who wash dishes for hours at a time. No.81 uses plant-derived surfactants instead; gloves are still best practice for all-day use, but hands hold up better without them.
Does commercial dish soap leave a film or residue on glassware?
It shouldn't, if the formula rinses clean. No.81 is engineered to rinse completely under hot or cold water with no soapy film, no residue, and no off-taste — which matters for wine glasses and coffee mugs where any leftover film changes the drinking experience. If film shows up, the fix is usually less concentrate, not more water.
What's the right dilution ratio for commercial dish soap?
For No.81, 10–15 mL per 2 L of water — roughly one tablespoon per sink basin. Use 10 mL for a light load, 15 mL for heavily greased pots and pans. At the midpoint dilution, a 4 L jug covers about 320 sink loads.
Is commercial dish soap safe to use with a septic system?
Only if it's genuinely biodegradable and free of phosphates and chlorine — both of which damage the bacteria a septic system needs to function. No.81 carries 0% of eight flagged ingredients, including phosphates and chlorine, and is formulated to break down naturally in both municipal wastewater and private septic systems.
Get Dish Soap No.81 — Made in Canada