Cascade with Dawn for Dishwashers(YUK)

[maytagbear]

Last year's dishwasher detergent report

in CR said that the only good dishwasher liquid tested was Cascade Complete liquid, because (paraphrase) "liquid formulas and enzymes don't co-exist very well."

Cascade Complete liquid does work well (the friends who brought the dishwasher brought a bottle of Cascade Complete liquid,) but I find it too spendy for regular use. For me, Cascade Pure Rinse powder works just as well.

All the other liquids tested were in the distinctly second group.

Of course, "your milage may vary."

Anyway..a side note. Does one rack always fill up faster for you? I either have glass and mug heavy loads, or plate and pan loads. This afternoon's load was a glass and mug one.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[appnut]

Usually top rack for me, then I start putting glasses & mugs in the botom rack.

 

[Dual-action]

If you live in a humid climate and you only use you dishwasher
about twice a week the powder detergents turn into a solid brick and you wind up tossing it out, thats not very economical for me .Thats why i really like the cascade action pacs they clean goon and stay fresh in there little bag , so i guess it just depends on what your situation is ... ahh cascade
action pacs,your house may be blown away by a hurricane but your dishwashing detergents stays nice and fluffy.

David

 

[toggleswitch]

Bottom rack fills up first for me.
Spill-over goes on top.

Lately all pots & pans go in DW.
The get scoured LATER. (no heat dry, natch)

Just as well--
my 3-year old @#$%^&* KA can't wash a glass grit-free for beans!

It has gotten to the point that I do a *Rinse only* with detergent, THEN a normal wash (with power scrub option)for rally scuzzy loads.

 

[neptuneguy27]

The top rack seems to fill more quickly than my bottom rack. My mom has a habit of putting all the small salad plates on the top. Which leaves too much space in the lower rack. So I always go in and rearrange things behind her. hehehehe.

 

[parunner58]

We usally get more mugs, glasses, cereal bowls, and small plates loaded first. This fills up half the top and a little in the bottom along with the silverware. What is nice with the TOL Frigidaire is I shift everything to fill up one of the racks and can do a top or bottom only load. Thats what make this DW so versatile.

 

[toggleswitch]

Yup yup yup.
Top or bottom is definitely versatile.

 

[westyslantfront]

Cascade vs. Electrasol

After being a Cascade user for many years, Tucson water is very hard and I was getting "drops that spot" in spite of using water conditioner and rinse agent. Roger, Nate, and I noticed that Cascade no longer contains chlorine but Electrasol still contains chlorine. I switched to Electrasol and finds it does a better job than Cascade. For really dirty white clothes, we have pre-washed with Electrasol for improved results.

 

[Burpalator]

I've tried everything out there and Cascade Complete powder definitely is the clear winner. The Action Paks with Dawn in them work well for me, too, although they do tend to get a little too sudsy for my liking. The Electrosol with Jet Dry ball doesn't rinse well in my water. I haven't used Cascade Complete liquid but I have tried Sunlight and Electrosol liquids and they performed poorly. Plus, the liquid dishwasher detergents are bad for the machine.

When I lived in southern Florida, I used to keep my box of Cascade in a big zip lock bag and that eliminated the hardening problem. I read an article recently that said (regardless of where you live) to not buy more than what you'll use in a month. I forget the particulars but something in dishwasher powder breaks down with age rendering it less effective.

My mom swears by the Wal-Mart brand but I have noticed that her dishes don't get as clean as mine. She has a just-under-TOL Whirlpool (non-tall tub) and I have a very MOL Kenmore.

As for racking, why is it that people seem so inclined to want to "spike" their glassware in the top rack, meaning placing glasses and cups over the tines instead of using them as row separators? I know friends think I am hopelessly anal when I go behind them to rearrange in order to maximize space. It seems like a common sense thing to me, but "spiking" seems to be very popular....