The aim of dishwashing agents is primarily to free crockery, glass and cutlery from remnants of food. At the end of the wash, after rinsing and drying, the various items in the dishwasher must be free of stains and streaks. Another requirement with machine washing is that the plates, cups, glasses etc. are not damaged in any way.

Because of the differences in the cleaning conditions, a distinction is generally made between "household machine cleaning" and "industrial machine cleaning" (I&I = Industrial and Institutional).