Dishwasher film?

[whirlcool]

Doug:

I have found that you can use pretty cheap detergents and add STTP. That Palmolive nonphosphate gel I have been using is $2.58 at Wal-Mart, the bottle is 75 ounces.

As you know, gels don't usually perform as good as powders.

Last night we had a SS pot that had cooked rice remains sitting in it uncovered all day. Everything else was just standard dirty, nothing really bad. But we used only 1/2 tsp of STTP with the Palmolive, and every bit of rice was gone from that pot.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the container that the STTP is shipped in is a real bear to open?

 

[retropia]

Allen, that sounds like pretty good performance with only using 1/2 tsp. additive. Does that Palmolive gel use chlorine bleach or does it use enzymes?

Speaking of Colgate-Palmolive, I found a dishwasher detergent made by their commercial division, called "Palmolive Triple Action Tabs." It appears to contain phosphates, in the form of "Pentasodium triphosphate." I haven't been able to determine the percentage of phosphates.

It's available at the link below at Amazon, in a box of 200, for $49.84 plus $7.50 shipping. That works out to a per-use price of $.2867. That's more than I like to spend per wash, but some might find it worthwhile for the convenience.

http://www.amazon.com/Triple-Action...=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1276449772&sr=8-12

 

[whirlcool]

The Palmolive Lavender Gel we have uses chlorine bleach. You can't smell it in the gel though.

It appears that you don't need a lot of STTP to get good results. Karen washed the den curtains tonight. They have been up there for 5 years. They usually have streaks along the bottom that won't wash out. These come from the dogs brushing against them as they walk by. Even pretreatment doesn't work anymore.

She washed them with Arm & Hammer detergent, which isn't known that well for being powerful and 2 Tbs of STTP. They came out perfectly clean, not a streak anywhere and they look like new.
But that wash water! Man, was it dirty!

 

[jerrod6]

I purchased Finish powder and Cascade all-in-1 powder at Target today. The Finish cost $2.99, Cascade was $6.34, both boxes are 75oz. and are phosphate free.

I used the Finish today on a medium size load with average soil. 1 1/4 tablepoons in main wash, and 2 teaspoons in prewash cup. Everything is spottless. The powder now contains enzymes and something named Sodium Carbonate peroxyhydrate. This word seems to be another term for Sodium percarbonate. I will try the Cascade Wed.

The Cascade makes no mention of prefered water temperature but does tell you to completely fill both cups. Finish says that a temp of 140F is optimal. I wonder how many new DW are using this high of temp range in their normal cycles?

 

[whirlcool]

If you have your water heater set that high and pre-drain the hot water pipe before starting the DW you may be ok.

If you have a DW that has a "Hi-Temp" wash option, this will heat the water up for you and you don't have to worry about it.