Dishwasher newbie

SonOfPearl

I've just moved to a bigger house and for the first time I have a dishwasher. Hooray - no more washing dishes!

However, I had a bit of a shock when I saw the price of Dishwasher tablets. The tablets recommended by the manufacturer (Bosch) are Finish 5 in 1 powerball which seem quite pricey.

So, are there any cheaper options? Are there any good alternatives?

Thanks

Debt_Free_Chick

SonOfPearl wrote: »

The tablets recommended by the manufacturer (Bosch) are Finish 5 in 1 powerball which seem quite pricey.

Translation ......


The tablets that Bosch are paid (by the manufacturers of Finish) to recommend, are Finish 5 in 1 powerball :rolleyes:

Anything will do. I buy a 5kg tub of diswasher powder (Kitchen King brand) for £5 and it lasts me well over a year. Nothing to suggest that this is not sufficient as everything comes out squeaky clean - as it should

Two suggestions - run the rinse only program once a day until the DW is full and ready to wash.

When empty, run a hot intensive wash in an empty machine once a month, to give the DW a good clean.

adandem

I always buy mine when they're on offer, usually from Wilko's or Home Bargains. My last box of Finish tablets was £3.99 for 66. I've tried cheaper own brand ones and have not had any luck with them.

maow425

I have an AEG dishwasher and have got by fine on just supermarket own value laundry powder. But the Finish tablets are good, but if I can get away with spending 50p every 6 months or so, instead of £5 every few weeks... I know which option I'd give the thumbs down... Individual decision, of course, but many on here have tried and tested washing powder instead of expensive tabs. And it saves me from having to buy different detergents, I get by with one box, and that's it.

nickcardwell

Just to add, when buying tablets becareful with the offers! Some look really good but when you work it out they can be expensive.

As a rule of thumb aim for 7p per tablet (thats the cheapest i have seen) , though adandem above got them cheaper at 6p (£3.99/66) .

I have seen some in the big supermarkets on "Offer" (like 50% free) but when you work it out , it still comes in at 15p each..

Sagaris

I've used Tesco Value tablets (6p each) and they were 'as good as the leading brand'! I still use salt and rinse aid (Tesco cheapie again) as the water round here is very hard. Always get good results too.

kwatt

maow425 wrote: »

Individual decision, of course, but many on here have tried and tested washing powder instead of expensive tabs. And it saves me from having to buy different detergents, I get by with one box, and that's it.

I can't believe I'm reading this!

I work in the industry and have done extensive testing of detergents and I can 100% assure you that using laundry detergent in a dishwasher is a big no-no. Not extensive but you can think on the following...

• Will not dissolve correctly (different mechanical action)
• Contains different enzymes for different staining levels so poor results
• Designed to work at different temperatures (poor results)
• Will damage many types of crockery
• Will damage many types of cutlery
• Will cause blockages as it's not designed to break down the heavy grease
• Will very likely overfoam, DW detergents are low foaming
• Can cause inconsistent results
• Can react rinse aid, badly

This is a bad, bad, bad idea and as for being tested, I doubt it. What that means is that someone gave it a whirl and it was okay for a couple of washes, it doesn't show long term damage to the machine, the dishes or both.

There's ways to save money but I'd strongly suggest this isn't one of them.

Do this in some machines and you WILL get an instant overfoam condition which WILL cost you an engineer's visit or a replacement machine. The same applies to the people that think they can use washing up liquid... big mistake with instant failure in almost every case.

Dishwasher and laundry detergents are totally different in modus operandi even if they do share some common ingredients. SO you may think you're saving money, but you're not. You may well kill the machine early or have the need for service calls and/or replacement parts that you wouldn't have required had you actually paid attention to what's in the instructions. Added to which, when we get this on an "in warranty" call be that manufacturer or extended warranty, you just nullified your warranty, well done. And, we know when we see it.

As for cheapo detergent brands, well you get what you pay for and I don't even rate Finish TBH, I think it's not so good.

HTH

K.

Dumyat

I tried the Aldi 5 in 1 this week for the first time and have found it to be very good. I think it was £2.99 for 40.

kwatt

Okay, now you've got me started on this...

Here's an article I wrote in May 2006 on the whole dishwasher tablet thing. You could assume that it's basically, it's a big con, you're all being fleeced and the entire industry is lying to you. Or you could take the view that these people are absolutely expert in getting money out you for stuff you don't need, want or that really works all that well.

Personally, I'd wager on the latter and that marketing and sales call the shots as usual.

A lot of big manufacturers get paid a lot of money to endorse these things and yet, when it comes to servicing issues with them, quietly admit that they don't work so well.

All the information is there for you to be able to work out what's going on.

K.

indiegirl_2

KW, thank you for that article. I too am about to buy a dishwasher and must admit that I was baffled by the plethora of dishwasher 'soap forms' available. Your article helps immensely.

I am always wary when manufacturers recommend a product. I'm cynical like that though:p

kwatt

Hi indiegirl,

Thanks, I'm glad it was useful.

Sometimes there is reason to recommend certain products, for example for our own brand we do recommend a detergent but then we don't get paid to do that. We do it because it works better than the rest and tell people why.

I don't mind product endorsement so long as it's backed up with facts which prove it's either a better deal or works better than the competition, hence the reason I won't endorse anything unless I've tested it or the guys have the way I would.

Sadly, many people are too easily bought or generate too much revenue from "recommended" stuff.

I look at it this way, if it's just a "we recommend XXXX" with little or no explanation I avoid it. If there's an explanation of why you should use a product or do something a particular way then I am far more likely to take note of it as someone has taken the time to actually look into it.

In this instance, for dishwashers, you can see special programs for 3-in-1 tablets etc. now on dishwashers, not because they do anything extra (bar run longer and hotter, using more electricity) but just so as the machine will work with the damn things. Even then, when pressed, many manufacturers will admit that these programs doesn't resolve all the issues with the hard tabs.

Oh and Finish Quantum which is being plugged heavily on TV at the moment... save your money, just trust me on this.

K.