Dishwashers - do you use powder or tablets - this video made me rethink my process

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Dishwashers - do you use powder or tablets - this video made me rethink my process

lchiu7

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#293794 14-Feb-2022 09:56

There is a big trend now to use tablets in dishwashers rather than powder and I succumbed to that also. That is until I saw this video on YT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04

I find this person's videos very informative and he made a very strong case for not using tablets but using powder.

Exec summary

- most dishwashers have a pre-rinse cycle where they clean off most of the gunk on the dishes. The detergent tray stays closed during that time

- during main wash the tray opens and the detergent is released.

The issues with using tablets are

- many dishwashers have two trays for detergent - one which is always open and one that flips open later. THe open tray is to provide some detergent during pre-wash. If you user a tablet you miss that advantage. I see both my F&P's have this second tray

- if you put the tablet in the cutlery tray then all the detergent is used using the prewash cycle so your main wash is mainly water.

Answer

1. use powder and put powder in both trays or powder in the open tray and a tablet in the closed one

2. if your machine doesn't have a second tray sprinkle some powder on the door

3. Don't ever put a tablet in the cutlery tray - that is a waste.

Now if I could convince my wife I don't need to slavishly rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher that would be a great victory :-)

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#2867996 14-Feb-2022 10:07

i have had 4 different dishwashers and have never seen this open tray, i use tablets and i have no idea when the cover springs open and releases it .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Ge0rge

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#2867997 14-Feb-2022 10:08

So how is it, when I put dirty, unrinsed, dishes in my dishwasher and a tablet in the cutlery tray, that my dishes come out nice and clean, and the glassware is streak-free?

It almost makes you think that different parts of the tablet dissolve at different rates so they act at varying times throughout the cycle...

rphenix

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#2867999 14-Feb-2022 10:11

I certainly understand its optimum to open the dispenser and release the cleaning powder at the correct wash cycle. This is why if you read the Finish Packet it actually says to put the tablet into the main detergent Dispenser also listed at step 12 in the FAQ.

However I've put tablets in the cutlery drawer (as I suspect many tablet users do) for years and seems to work well. I was going to replace our dish drawer due to poor cleaning till I switched from powder to using tablets now I'm waiting till I eventually renovate the kitchen.

vexxxboy

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#2868004 14-Feb-2022 10:18

rphenix:

I certainly understand its optimum to open the dispenser and release the cleaning powder at the correct wash cycle. This is why if you read the Finish Packet it actually says to put the tablet into the main detergent Dispenser also listed at step 12 in the FAQ.

However I've put tablets in the cutlery drawer (as I suspect many tablet users do) for years and seems to work well. I was going to replace our dish drawer due to poor cleaning till I switched from powder to using tablets now I'm waiting till I eventually renovate the kitchen.

if you use those Quantum tablets and you you put them in the drawer the outer plastic cover melts and they get stuck in the drawer , it is the reason i stopped using them because i was told they should go in the bottom of the washer not the drawer. i have never used them since since i think there is a reason why that drawer is there.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Behodar

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#2868005 14-Feb-2022 10:21

Shows how out of touch I am... I've always used powder, only being vaguely aware of tablets. I've never seen a "stay open" place for powder (presumably not in the door) and posts above mention a "cutlery drawer"?!

My dishes still come out clean...

trig42

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#2868009 14-Feb-2022 10:24

If you watch that video (and he does quite a few good videos), he mentions (and he may have even tested it) that the different colours and part of the tablets are just marketing. They all dissolve at the same rate.

I was using tablets (because I thought, easier, same dose) until I watched his video last year some time. I've switched back to powder, and the cheapest powder at Countdown (Shine), and haven't noticed dished any worse. I think the most important thing is Rinse Aid (which is also brilliant using a capful in half a bucket of warm water to wash windows) - i use the cheap brand of that too.

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MadEngineer

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#2868011 14-Feb-2022 10:28

You need to check his follow up video on this.

“I’ve led you astray and I’m very sorry about that”.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

lchiu7

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#2868012 14-Feb-2022 10:29

vexxxboy:

i have had 4 different dishwashers and have never seen this open tray, i use tablets and i have no idea when the cover springs open and releases it .

This my F&P which is about 3 years old

Left picture shows detergent drawer closed with the small holes to allow the powder to come out during the rinse cycle and then the second picture shows where the powder is placed

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Bung

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#2868018 14-Feb-2022 10:33

Example of dispenser with space for rinse cycle powder on right where cover has holes. You could just as easily spill some powder on the door.

Our Bosch uses the rinse water for main wash unless it is very dirty. You can hear the door pop open about 10 minutes into a wash.

If you want to use very short cycles tablets won't have time to fully dissolve.

If your tablets aren't dissolving on a normal wash are you sticking something in front of the dispenser that blocks the water reaching it.

Ge0rge

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#2868069 14-Feb-2022 10:37

Consumer have this page free.

Each to their own I suppose, but of their top six recommendations, five are tablets. The best is a powder, however their overall assessment is that tablets are better but come at higher cost per wash.Interestingly, the worst performer is a tablet too, so I guess it's more about the ingredients that the form.

lchiu7

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#2868072 14-Feb-2022 10:39

MadEngineer: You need to check his follow up video on this.

“I’ve led you astray and I’m very sorry about that”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU&t=0s

He apologises for quoting from one detergent manufacturer to fill both compartments full and so using too much detergent.

4:28

but he doesn't contradict his original point that powder in both dispensers is still valid

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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dfnt

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#2868083 14-Feb-2022 11:06

I use tablets, but one thing I do is remove the "dissolvable" plastic wrap as it eventually clogs the filters

panther2

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#2868093 14-Feb-2022 11:17

Tablets? Never used powder

qwertee

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#2868096 14-Feb-2022 11:23

Tablets always and rinse aid. Never bothered to remove the dissolvable wrappers.

alasta

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#2868111 14-Feb-2022 11:45

I use Finish tablets and always get sparkling clean dishes. I bought a pack of 55 for $15 at Pak N Save over the weekend so they seem cheap enough to me.

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