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Product type | Dishwasher detergent |
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Owner | Procter & Gamble |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1955[1] |
Website | cascadeclean |
Cascade is a brand of automatic dishwasher detergent manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1955, it is the most popular dishwasher detergent brand in the US. [1] [2] [3]
Cascade was developed by Procter & Gamble in 1955 as a specialized product for automatic dishwashers. Its creation stemmed from a business decision to differentiate the company's cleaning products. Before Cascade, the company had marketed Tide as a multi‑purpose detergent, including for dishwashing, but found Tide powder did not leave dishes sufficiently shiny. The company identified a market for a product specifically formulated for increasingly popular automatic dishwashers. [1]
A patent for an "automatic dishwasher detergent composition" that became part of the Cascade brand was granted to Procter & Gamble chemists Dennis Weatherby and Brian J. Roselle. The patent, issued on December 22, 1987, described a formula that included a class of dyes to give the detergent a lemon-yellow color without staining dishware and the dishwasher interior. [4] [5]
The brand's formulation has evolved over time. In 2010, Cascade reformulated to remove phosphates (such as sodium triphosphate) in response to environmental regulation and concerns about eutrophication of waterways. [6] [7]