Dish washing soap is usually good for up to 12-18 months and automatic dishwashing detergent is only good for about three. Once it expires, all of the bacteria eliminating properties are diminished and there is no use for it anymore.

Is it OK to use expired liquid soap?

Most manufactured soaps have an expiration date of two to three years. However, if soap still lathers up when you wash your hands, says Minbiole, it can still be used effectively — even after the expiration date. It shouldn’t matter if the soap is liquid or bar, he says.

How do you read the expiration date on soap?

Read letters as though they were assigned to months. Read the numbers after the letter as the date of the month and the year in which the item was produced. For example, if a code reads “D1519,” that means April 15, 2019. Many products might have a closed code as well as an open-date code.