Dishwasher powder

anotheruser

When the video said 

"dishwashers aren't designed to take [dishwasher tablets]"

I switched off.

I have no doubt the likes of Finish and Fairy pay dishwasher manufacturers to "recommend" them but you absolutely cannot tell me dishwashers today, in the UK, are not meant to have tablets.  Why would dishwasher manufacturers include them as a sample if they're not meant to be used?
I'm sure it was only very early dishwashers that didn't take tablets but anything from the last 20 years will have been built to utilise them.


You'll also find dishwasher videos stating that dishwashers pre-drop the tablet in the pre-wash, which means it isn't present for the main wash.  Our dishwasher doesn't pre-wash unless we press a button and then it literally just pre-washes, nothing else.

The proof is in the washing.
If your dishes come out clean or nearly clean 100% of the time, then whatever you're doing and whatever the machine is doing is working.

Tip: Try dissolving a Finish tablet in water by itself.
Spoiler: It turns the water a manky brown colour.

anotheruser

Okay, so I carried on watching - skipping through every so often.

The significant flaw in his experiment is that he only let the dishwasher run for 15 minutes, so it seems.
Of course there would be sludge built up and plates that aren't clean because the dishwasher hadn't run through it's full cycle.

But then I assume everyone runs their dishwasher on the hottest cycle once a month?
For cleaning?
Even without the fancy cleaning things you can get...

I have, if there is a heavy load (as in , very greasy or tough stains) been known to throw an extra tablet in the basket where the normal tablet drops.  But then I'm not worried about over-dosing - this seems to work for us.  Although I don't do it that often as we have a couple of years supply of Fairy Platinum Plus I got for about £6 a bag.  Those tablets do pretty good by themselves.

We run our dishwasher once a month and washing machine when it tells us (which is after 30 washes) both on the hottest cycle to blast though anything left behind and give the machines a good clean through.  Seems to work for us.



I am more than open to stuff and perhaps will try some soda crystals next time but for the extra hassle, I really don't think it's worth it - my stuff comes out clean.

How to get white streaky marks out of glasses is the real problem someone needs to solve.

SGB89

Regardless if he's right or not about that. I think these tablets are a total scam and it's better to use powder or liquid.

Remember these tablets can't fit in the pre wash container. So yeah I don't understand the point of them. Expensive and half useless yet extremely popular for some reason..

It's so annoying the choice is so limited these days. 

SGB89

shiraz99 said:

Be aware that dishwasher detergent made for commercial dishwashers isn't really suitable for domestic machines. Commercial dishwasher cleaning programmes are a lot quicker than domestic machines and the detergent is designed specifically for the purpose.

It's the same ingredients used in domestic machines. But much much cheaper. My only concern is probably overdosing the load. So I'll just have to do some trial and error to get it right.

waqasahmed

SGB89 said:

Regardless if he's right or not about that. I think these tablets are a total scam and it's better to use powder or liquid.

Remember these tablets can't fit in the pre wash container. So yeah I don't understand the point of them. Expensive and half useless yet extremely popular for some reason..

It's so annoying the choice is so limited these days. 

I'm hoping that washing machines don't go the same way. Millennials (including myself in that generation) and younger are more used to tablets rather than washing up powder and fabric conditioner.

Mum's used the washing up powder and fabric conditioner for years and the results from them are far better than gels/tablets. They're cheaper and better for the environment too, so it's a win/win tbh. It doesn't take much longer to just add detergent into the top of the washing machine drawer and some now even do auto dosing 

waqasahmed

SGB89 said:

shiraz99 said:

Be aware that dishwasher detergent made for commercial dishwashers isn't really suitable for domestic machines. Commercial dishwasher cleaning programmes are a lot quicker than domestic machines and the detergent is designed specifically for the purpose.

It's the same ingredients used in domestic machines. But much much cheaper. My only concern is probably overdosing the load. So I'll just have to do some trial and error to get it right.

Please do let us know how you get on. That's still cheaper than the stuff froth Amazon I believe

The stuff from Nisbet isn't available in the local store in my city, but it is available in a neighbouring city (one that I pass to get to my parent's house) 

grandadgolfer

Another vote for Aldi magnum tablets......the best and cheap

MalMonroe

Hi, I've had a dishwasher for many years, current one is a Beko and it's been going well for 13 years now. 

I've used all kinds of things in it, powder, liquid, tablets, pods - all brands.

I prefer all in one tablets. And to be honest, Sainsbury's own cheapish all in ones are the best ones in my machine. I also sometimes top up the salt and rinse containers (mainly because the red alert lights that pop up when the containers are empty are annoying) but they don't seem to add anything.

Dishwasher powder just goes everywhere and is annoying. Sometimes I don't even put the tablets in the proper container but throw them in the bottom of the machine. It makes no difference.

I don't like Finish at all. None of their tablets (I've tried them all) are 100% effective. Fairy all in one pods are okay but they're more expensive than Sainos own tablets. I've sometimes ordered all in one tabs from amazon's subscribe and save - and it sometimes works out to be a cheaper option but my dishes and cutlery aren't as squeaky clean as I'd like.

Basically, if you keep your machine clean and make sure the filters are cleaned out regularly (every 6 weeks or so) your dishwasher should do a great job for many years. I'd be lost without mine so I try to look after it nicely. 

silvercar

I only use powder. On the rare occasion I’ve used tablets they occasionally don’t dissolve properly and leave part behind in the dispenser. I have soft water and use rinse aid.

casper_gutman

silvercar said:

I only use powder. On the rare occasion I’ve used tablets they occasionally don’t dissolve properly and leave part behind in the dispenser. I have soft water and use rinse aid.

How could a tablet be left partly in the dispenser? Doesn't the whole thing drop straight out as a block when the dispenser door opens at the appropriate stage in the cycle?

We're in a soft water area and always use the cheap Aldi tablets with no salt or rinse aid. The results in our two year old Beko machine are as near perfect as makes no odds.

That said, our dishwasher has a specific set of programme options you're supposed to pick when tablets are used. These are slightly longer than the programmes for powder or liquid. To me this implies that (i) the machine is intended for use with tablets but also (ii) using tablets on a standard cycle could conceivably give less than optimal results in some circumstances.