Cascade: Run Your Dishwasher With As Few As Eight Items

[frigilux]

I'll be the first to admit I often run the dishwasher with less than a BobLoad, but this seems extreme even to me.  I guess someone wants to sell a lot of Cascade pacs and a lot of replacement dishwashers.

 

On the rare occasion I wash a few--let's say eight--items by hand, I don't let the water run continuously.  I wash in one sink, then stack soapy items in the other.  Finally, I turn on water to do a quick rinse of the items with the sprayer. Total water used: possibly 2 gallons; no wear-and-tear on dishwasher, either.

 

[parunner58]

I to will run it if not completely full. Mostly the rack with the glasses will be filled and the bottom rack is about 3/4 filled I may run it because we are usually out of glasses to drink out of. We do have the single rack option, but only used a few times.

 

[friscosudz]

It's about driving product usage

With the changes in peoples cooking and dining habits, people are dirtying fewer dishes and therefore running fewer cycles and using less detergent. It's basically an attempt to get people to run their dishwashers more often and boost sales. Getting someone to run a load every day vs. 2-3 times per week will double consumption of detergent for that household. Multiply that times however many households fall prey to this advertising and that's some significant $$ into P&G's coffers.

 

[DADoES]

 
Tons of suds with that large overdosing for 2 plates, 2 glasses, 2 forks, 2 knives, all prewashed clean before loading, LOL.

 

[askolover]

Top rack usually fills first with glasses and cereal bowls.  Silverware runs out too.  Then when I'm working my stainless drink bottles I fill with sweet tea for my work supper go in the bottom.  The only time it gets run mostly empty is if it is stinky and we don't use pods in it anyway...chlorinated powder.

 

[neptunebob]

It's just that I notice that if there are a few dirty dishes in there, if I don't run the machine every day the next day it will attract ants. Just want to keep the ants away.

 

[DADoES]

 
My last DW run was on 4/6 when I posted to the current BobLoad&reg thread.  The accumulated load needs to run today.  No ants have occurred.

 

[sudsmaster]

Ants don't dare come in my house.

 

[jetcone]

That is some slick marketing

Every nite, well I do run mine every nite but cooking 3 meals a day its mostly full, so I have no qualms. However I ate out tonight so I will do a rinse and reload tomorrow and run it then. 

Funny they dont mention "rinse n hold" thats about a gallon in my machine.

 

[jamiel]

I read an interesting article several months ago talking about how P&G is facing challenges from people down-shifting away from their premium (Tide/Cascade/Dawn/…) products to cheaper alternatives, and that their future might best be secured by creating turnkey bathroom/laundry/dishwasher solutions for multi-family developers to incorporate into their new and remodeled units which will use cassette-based products (Tide/Cascade/Charmin) which will arrive via Amazon as the old ones run out---touchless. Give away the dishwasher to get the detergent business...shades of Gillette!

 

[henene4]

I get the awefull sensation that what I bashed and praised Miele for wasn't as far fetched as I thought it might be.

AutoDos might be their way to get into a business before it ever existed.
Dunno how patents stand, but Miele might have a pretty damn awesome place in that race.

If you wanted to get that running you would want to give away DW that lasts as long as possible, works as well as possible with as little trouble for the consumer as possible.
The idea is a seamless, no hickup solution for consumers.
If detergent ever runs out, a machine fails or dosen't clean well the consumer wouldn't spend the money for the convenience.

Miele would sell the machines at a discount, still make profits, build up a service branch as a piece of the contract and would reenter the US market.

I was pretty sure that the cartridge thing for washers and dishwashers as well as their schedule thing via the app wasn't really something for the EU market.

This time, the EU is just test market for the US for them.

Pretty far fetched, yet oddly in tune...

 

[ea56]

I’m An AW.org Heritic

I haven’t run our dishwasher in over two years.  Ever since a certain someone in DC started stressing me out I discovered that washing the dishes by hand is a great stress reliever, go figure, but it works for me.  After dinner I wash and David dries.

 

Our kitchen is cleaner, because  after doing the dishes I can go over all the counters and the stove with a hot, soapy dish cloth.  I use very little water by filling the sink to start with just a few inches of hot soapy water, wash the silverware and cutlery first, then the glassware, cups, plates, bowls and pots and pans, rinsing each item over the side that I’m washing in to increase the water level as I progress.  I use a very low flow, turning the water off when not rinsing.  All in all I probably use less between 2- 3 gals.

 

The best thing of all is once the dishes are done, they are done!  No having to go back into the kitchen when I’m engrossed in something else to unload a DW, and no getting up in the morning and having to unload a DW.  I store the dish drying rack and drain board in the DW when not in use, to keep the counter clutter down.

 

I know most reading this post will think I’m crazy as a crap house rat, but it makes me happy as a pig in you know what to do this simple, mindless task as a daily stress reliever.  And even after a certain someone in DC is no longer stressing me out I plan on keeping up this same routine.

 

Eddie

[this post was last edited: 4/13/2020-18:28]

 

[sudsmaster]

Um, I don't think you're crazy, Eddit, but like most here, I vastly prefer the DW approach - as long as it's running properly. I didn't get a DW until 1997. An old rusted out bottom GE came with the house. I didn't even try running it. I got a Frigidaire at Costco that was marginal at best, and a few years later replaced it with a Bosch which I still have - although the drain pump did need repairs.

I also have a collection of vintage KA dishwashers, two top loaders and one front loader. Only run one, the oldest top loader. It works OK but not as well as the Bosch.

In general I think a modern dishwasher gets things cleaner than hand washing. I still hand wash stuff that won't fit in the DW, and items like pots and pans, of course.

 

[jetcone]

IM a Staunch

Dishwasher driver! But interesting to note they now think a lot of this allergy stuff is generated in children but dishwashers. At an early age you need to eat dirt to develop your immune system, and dishwashing takes that development away, so they are saying turn off your dishwasher the first 5 years of life because its a little dirty, it leaves germs which kids need exposure too. Interesting idea. Artey is way past 5 so  my machine is back on !!

 

 

 

[ea56]

I didn’t get my first DW until 1987, and once I had one I thought I’d never want to be without one again.  

 

Then two years ago, with a FULL load in the DW I hit start and waited for it to finish.  When I opened it up at the end of the cycle, there was crusted detergent all over everything along with baked on food from the heat.  I was pissed off as hell to have to wash all this baked on schmutz off when I was already busy trying to cook dinner.

 

The DW was 11 mo. old and still under warranty.  It took over 4 weeks before it was repaired. I had to go through a family Easter dinner washing all the dishes.  

 

Soon into these four dishwasher-less weeks I discovered that I actually was enjoying the whole process and found that I was also feeling less stressed. So it was a happy accident.  The DW was repaired, and I still haven’t used it since it broke down.

 

My pots and pans look better than ever, and they are always ready when I need them.  I don’t have to take a pan or other item out of the DW and wash it by hand when I need it, because everything is already clean and ready to use.

 

I know that this isn’t for everyone here, but it works for me.  And for those that may be concerned about sanitation of the dishes, we haven’t gotten sick in over two years from our hand washed dishes. I use straight hot tap water to wash and rinse and freshly laundered dish clothes and dishtowels.

 

 I lived the first 36 years of my life without one with no ill effects. It’s a personal choice, not an “Eddit” choice.

 

Eddie

 

 

[gansky1]

I don't have a problem leaving the dirty dishes to accumulate in the dishwasher for a day or two.  The conundrum with that is, when you have 1/2 load waiting in the machine then cook/serve a big meal, there isn't enough room for all the newly soiled in addition to what's already in it.  I solved this dilemma by installing two more dishwashers (KDS-14 & Maytag WU601) in the garage, steps away from the kitchen.  Also have portable '74 roto-rack downstairs in the basement, just in case.

 

[tomturbomatic]

More than one of anything you need is often the answer.  Ask a male lizard. I remember when we bought our first dishwasher, the salesmen told my parents that the home economists from the power company would tell you to run it after every meal, but they said it would hold a full day's worth of dishes and clean them at the end. 

 

[dustin92]

I usually run ours 3/4 or full, usually every night after dinner. It's just my mom and I, but EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher. I don't hand wash. We have had a dishwasher since 2000 and I will never live in a house without one. Why waste my time and energy when the machine can usually do a better job, wash at higher temps with stronger detergents than hands can handle, and dry the dishes? All I do is load dirty dishes and unload clean ones.

 

[petek]

Most normal days we would get by running the dishwasher ever 2nd day however these past few weeks I've been eating more and playing around in the kitchen than usual so it's become at least once a day and sometimes twice.. The extra load is mostly my baking things and parts to the mixer, bowls , dough hooks etc. and being a light load I run it on the 30 min cycle so I'll have them clean again in case I get the urge to try something else.