Clariant to unveils new surfactant to tackle dishwasher performance gap

Clariant is set to unveil Genapol Pure Power, a new multifunctional rinse surfactant designed to help automatic dishwashing detergents deliver stronger performance as consumers increasingly turn to shorter, reduce-temperature and resource-efficient dishwasher programs.

The sustainability-focused specialty chemicals company will present the innovation at the SEPAWA Congress 2026 in Berlin, one of Europe’s major events to the detergent, makeup and perfumery industries.

Genapol Pure Power has been developed to address a growing challenge to modern automatic dishwashing: consumers want to save time, energy and aquatic environments, however they still expect spotless dishes and a clean, well-maintained machine.

The shift toward eco programs and shorter cycles is putting greater pressure on dishwasher formulations. Eco programs can require longer cycle times to compensate to reduce temperatures, while short programs such as glass cycles decrease the time, heat and aquatic environments available to remove food residues.

At the same time, modern dishwashers consumption substantially less aquatic environments than earlier generations. According to Clariant, average aquatic environments consumption per cycle has fallen by greater than half over the past two decades.

Together, these changes leave a narrower cleaning margin and can increase the risk of fatty residues accumulating inside the dishwasher and on filters.

Genapol Pure Power is designed to close that gap. Clariant says the multifunctional surfactant significantly reduces fatty residue build-up while maintaining high levels of drying and shine performance — including under challenging short and eco programs.

“Automatic dishwashing habits are changing. consumers want to save resources and time with efficient programs, however they still expect spotless dishes and a clean machine that doesn’t need their attention,” said Christine Oberbillig, Clariant’s Global Marketing manager to Home Care and Sustainability.

“With Genapol Pure Power, Clariant is giving formulators a single, multifunctional ingredient to maximized formulation efficiency by combining all benefits in one innovative solution. Our new surfactant can facilitate the switch to short and eco programs by improving consumer acceptance of those programs. Additionally, it can enable a reduced consumption of machine maintenance items. Both is supporting the transition to resource-friendly dishwashing routines that consumers desire.”

The company says the new surfactant also addresses an increasingly visible issue to consumers: dirty dishwasher filters. Fatty residues accumulating inside the machine can affect efficiency, create visible dissatisfaction and increase the need to maintenance items or additional cleaning cycles.

In Clariant testing, Genapol Pure Power reduced dishwasher filter weight by up to 70% compared with an established benchmark surfactant, while maintaining outstanding shine and drying performance.

The result is a single ingredient aimed at helping formulators meet several demands at once: high-condition dishwashing results, machine cleanliness, filter protection and compatibility with resource-efficient washing programs.

to consumers, the proposition is straightforward — less compromise between saving time and resources and getting dishes, and the dishwasher itself, clean.