Dishwashing Detergents

[panthera]

Actually,

my experience has been that UK brands, like all European products clean considerably better than do the American products.

We just plain have more phosphates, considerably higher enzyme dosages and more effective bleaches as well as protective agents.

Nothing I have ever tried cleans as well as SOMAT or MIELE (I strongly suspect they are the same thing). The Lidl and Aldi and Schlecker and Rossmann and DM and Tengleman house brands all work fine on Universal 55° (the special program my Miele uses which raises the water temperature in a special curve to match the enzymes needs perfectly). On a normal wash, nothing clens everything as well as SOMAT or MIELE.

I prefer the tabs for the simple reason that the powders make my nose burn. And powder for the pre-rinse hasn't been needed for decades.

American dishwashers, given a decent detergent - like Somat 7in1 clean just as well as do ours. It isn't the machines, it is the castrated detergents.

Same with the laundry products.

 

[logixx]

Somat 9

The newest dishwasher detergent by Henkel. Somat 9

1) Detergent
2) Rinse Aid
3) Salt Substitute
4) Stainless Steel Shine
5) Long-Term Glass Protection
6) Cleaning Enhancer
7) Low Temperature Activator
8) Odor Neutralizer
9) Extra Drying Effect

 

[sudsmaster]

I use the Cascade Advanced Power (Costco exclusive, it seems) in my Bosch 43C and the KA VariCycle toploader, which has a detergent dispenser. In the '58 KA KD2P toploader, I use Cascade with Dawn gel/powder packs, because it has no dispenser.

Formerly I used Kirkland brand DW powder but didn't like the aroma it left in the Bosch. It cleaned ok but it did stink. I see that Kirkland has a new environmental powder w/o phosphate. Haven't tried it but I figure it probably doesn't work as well as the phosphated powders.

Haven't had any problem with etching with any of these... I suspect those that do are using too much for the load and water softness. The water here is low hardness but not too soft (4 grains or so). And I don't pre-rinse, ever.

I avoid the gels because Bosch says not to use them.

 

[lavamat_jon]

We usually use store brand tablets (Sainsburys do 32 for 3 quid or so, they're fantastic, as are the Asda and Lidl equivalents), and find that they do a job equal to those of Finish tabs which sell at stupidly high prices if not on offer. Last time I was home mum and dad had those Finish tabs that come in plastic tubs with no need to unwrap - have to say they're fair but still don't do anything special compared to the store brand tabs. The Fairy capsule burst things on the other hand are almost next to useless... can't clean for toffee even on a 75*C wash.

We haven't used powder for a few years now - mainly because it is easier for anyone in the family to put in one tab and be done with it, but also because most supermarkets - even the huge ones we have in Lincoln - are getting very weak now when it comes to stocking powder.

Salt we will use own brand - rinse aid we're still on a 5 litre bottle of Calgonit we bought from JTF from when we had the AEG dishwasher, and still have a quarter of the bottle left... must be coming on to about 4 or 5 years now and we only paid 3.99 for it.

Jon

 

[brisnat81]

Finish Powder here, comes in 3kg bottles for $10 on sale and then usually lasts 3-4 months. 30mL in the main wash, 5mL in the prewash.

Finish rinse aid, again when its on sale 500mL for about $7 and lasts 2-3 months.

Our local appliance store decants Pool salt from the 20kg bag into convienient 1kg bags. 1kg lasts 6 months or so.

I use Finish liquid for Aluminium and food processor components, but not for every day cleaning.

The sensor cycle on our Miele takes 90-120mins and everything always comes out clean and dry.

 

[panthera]

9in1

Neun-in-einem!

Wieviel davon wirlich neue ist, wag ich zu verzweifeln...

Wahnsinn.

 

[maytagbear]

Somat9

Omigawsh!

Somat9??

I think I need to take a shower or lie down.

ME WANT.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[yogitunes]

if your glasse are "foggy" you could also use "glass magic" in a small green box available at walmart for about 3 bucks...after a few washes the glasses are clear again...

maytagbear....i got a jaqcuzzi...and a bed that massages...lol

 

[frigilux]

I've purchased Persil (Henckel) laundry detergent from the Factory Direct Superstore (see link), and I see they have Somat dishwasher tablets. They seem to only have Somat 1, and the version pictured above is Somat 9.

How does Somat 1 compare in cleaning ability with Cascade products?

http://www.factorydirectsuperstore.com/

 

[maytagbear]

Eugene--

I've only used the now unavailable Somat7, and it was, with my combination of water, machine, and dishes---soooooooooo much better than Cascade, which is darn good.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[dixieland]

miele detergent

I purchased a box of Miele Dish Tabs over the weekend. So far they don't appear to be a miracle worker for me. I'll keep using them (since they came in a box of 60) so maybe the performance will improve. Hope so.

 

[logixx]

Somat 9 was only launched here in Germany in April. Last time our consumer magazine tested dishwasher detergents Somat 7 ranked as the number one detergent - followed by Somat 5, which did not quite as well on bleachable stains as Somat 7. The products by Reckitt Benckiser (Finish, ...) ranked in the middle of the field. What is usually criticized about multi-functional tabs is that, besides the price, they sometimes contain too many ingredients. All these extra functions, like anti-etching, can weaken the cleaning performance. Somat 7 did well in this respect.

Regarding detergent-only tabs however, Reckitt Benckiser's "Powerball" product did better than Somat 1. I'll have to check tonight to see the exact results from the "test" issue.

 

[favorit]

Pril (Somat) Gel

Normally I use powders (Mc Bride or Reckitt-Benckiser)
Just tried the new Somat Gel . Here is named Pril, while handwashing Pril is named Dixan as laundry products.
It works very well, stainless steel has never been so sparkling (pots,cutlery .. and the tub)

http://www.pril.it

 

[panthera]

Aaron,

German detergents are made for use in completely softened water. You may have water tat is hard, in that case they won't work very well,at all.

 

[polkanut]

I love this dishwasher detergent. We buy it at Mills FleetFarm, a regional chain that sells farm, automotive, household, sporting goods, etc.

http://www.stearnspkg.com/all_tek/464tek.pdf

 

[rayjay]

Tim. Can this be ordered on-line and is there a minimum?

Thanks, Ray

 

[polkanut]

Ray,

I called Stearns Packaging and they do not sell to individuals, however he did give me the web address of a company in Elgin, IL that does. Check out the link below, I hope this helps you. They sell this dw detergent in pre-measured 1oz. packets.

http://www.unoclean.com/Stearns-Pre...enser-Free-Foodservice-Cleaning-Products.aspx

 

[cleanteamofny]

Hey Ray.....,

Could you post a picture of your dishwasher, control panel and money shot on this thead please?

Thanks,
Larry

 

[rayjay]

Hi Larry. Going to soon. In fact I want to post pics of the new kitchen. I have all the new Electrolux appliances.

Ray

 

[rayjay]

Hi Tim. Thanks for the info. I already saved the link and will call. I guess you really like this detergent/

There was nothing like the smell of the old dishwasher detergents like Cascade from the 60's that had that bleach smell when the machine was running. Plastics never got stained either.

Ray

 

[rayjay]

Could you post a picture of your dishwasher, control panel a

Larry.

PS: As soon as I get my computer back at home.

Ray

 

[polkanut]

Yes I do!!!

When I open the container, it has a smell like almond extract. It works great, and our stainless steel items just gleam. The STPP in it doesn't hurt either.

 

[mark1973]

These are what im currently using:

Sainsburys Basics: 30 Tablets - £1.72 = $2.52 US Dollars
Clean & Fresh 5in1 Lemon: 15 Tablets - 95p = $1.39 US Dollars

They both clean really well and I believe why pay the prices that some dishwasher detergents are when cheap alternatives clean just as good.

I also use Tesco Value Tablets and Lidl Tablets which also clean just as well as expensive brands (Just my personal opinion).

Mark
x

 

[mark1973]

Ingredients Of The Sainsbury's Basic Tablets:

 

[mark1973]

Ingredients Of The Clean & Fresh 5in1's

 

[polkanut]

Ray,

I did a Google search for Hytron and found that buyitbythecase.com has the 84ct. 1oz. packs for $15.89 vs $27.95 that UnoClean is asking for the same quantity. Click on the link and type "Hytron" in their search options box.

http://www.buyitbythecase.com

 

[drhardee]

I have and will continue to use Miele tabs. I have discovered that 1 tab cut in half with a pair of kitchen shears (due to the water soluble wrapping, breaking them in half isn't a convenient option.) will more than satisfactorily clean the most greasy spaghetti sauce slathered mess I can offer.

The box of 80 tabs cost $32.00. Using 160 half-tabs, that comes out to .20/load, more than affordable.

Peeps on Gardenweb (who don't necessarily know best) tell me that Miele techs have stated that Cascade pacs and Finish tabs simply contain too much detergent per application for the minimal amount of water that a Miele DW uses, and that over time, this can cause damage to the innards of the DW. Don't know if that's true, but it was corroborated by my own DW tech who is supposed to be "Miele certified".

I used to use 1/2 TB of Wal-Mart powder per use, and that did fine, but my blind husband knocked over the little container I stored it in under the sink once too often. I went to tabs and harmony has reigned in that little corner of my OCD world.

 

[rayjay]

Tim.... Thanks so much for the info. I will order.

Now.....Do you use the 1 oz. packet per cup in the dishwasher?

Ray

 

[polkanut]

Fill the dispenser cup like you normally would. You should get great results every time. Does Carteret have hard or soft water?

 

[rayjay]

Tim, I have a water softening system in the house. out water is very hard in Carteret, approx. 13 grains.

I usually fill the cups 1/2 full.