DW Test: Maytag 8951 w/ Quixtar's Dish Drops Detergent

[frigilux]

The dishwasher detergent and fabric softener arrived today, so I decided to give the Dish Drops a try. Directions on the box say to use 2 tablespoons, but I always fill both dispensers full of Cascade powder when washing unscrubbed pots/pans, so I did the same for the Dish Drops---about 2 tablespoons in the prewash and 2-1/2 in the main wash compartment.

 

[frigilux]

I made (gourmands, stick index fingers in your ears and go "la-la-la", here) Tater Tot Hotdish, but neither the chef's pan nor the half-size chafer pan it was baked in struck me as being challenging enough. So I put them in the oven on Convection Bake at 400-degrees for a few minutes. That did the trick!

 

[~sudsshane]

Hi Eugene

so, what was the outcome?..would you say Quixtar's powder is as good as Cascade Complete or Electrasol?..can I ask what you paid for that box?

Thanks

Shane

 

[frigilux]

...and the half-size chafer pan

 

[frigilux]

Cycle: Heavy Wash

 

[frigilux]

...and options

 

[frigilux]

Full disclosure: These shots taken at completion of cycle. It didn't dawn on me til halfway through the cycle that we all like rack shots. First, the bottom rack:

 

[frigilux]

....then the top rack

 

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...and finally, a full interior shot of the 8951

 

[frigilux]

Results: The detergent did a great job, but I would have expected the same results from the Cascade Pure Rinse I normally use. Maybe I should have baked/burned the stuff on a little more. But, as you see, both pans are spotlessly clean.

 

[frigilux]

and the half-pan.

 

[frigilux]

Shane---I'll have to try an even more challenging load to see if Quixtar's Dish Drops is any better than Cascade. And the stuff is spendy---an 80-oz. box cost $16.65.
More testing to come. Dish Drops is going to have to do pretty damn well to make it worth the price difference over the leading national brands.

 

[andrewinorlando]

I thought the nice thing about Dish Drops is that you're supposed to be able to use about half the amount you would use of regular brand detergent? What is the phosphate content in Dish Drops?

 

[frigilux]

Hi Andrew--The phosphorus content of Dish Drops is 8.3%. My Sam's Club-sized box of Cascade With Shine Shield (no longer called Pure Rinse, I guess) says 6.4%. And I had the dosage wrong in an earlier post. The standard dose is 1 tablespoon per compartment.

Quixtar had two formulas of Dish Drops, one for soft water and one for hard. The soft water version has been discontinued. There are still some boxes available online, but I ordered the hard water version, since that's what's going to be available in the future.

The dishwasher runs a lot in my house, so I'll try a pots/pans load using only 1 tablespoon in each compartment. That may be the best test. I'll post more pics later today when I dirty-up some pans.

 

[frigilux]

Visited the Quixtar site and found the soft water (discontinued) version of Dish Drops had a 6% phosphorus content. It also claimed to be specially formulated not to etch glassware.

 

[frigilux]

Here's a tougher pots/pans test for Dish Drops detergent.

First, an oatmeal pan from this morning. The stuff is really cooked on at the bottom of the pan.

 

[frigilux]

Used the same amount of detergent and same cycle as in previous test. Here's the result.

The Dutch oven is slightly discolored at the bottom, but there is no debris on it. Most surprising!

 

[frigilux]

The oatmeal pan is spotless!

I'm certainly impressed with Dish Drops. I wish CR would test it next time they rate dw detergents.

 

[frigilux]

Huh! The 'before' photo of the Dutch oven didn't post. Here it is. I used it to brown aromatic vegetables and a chuck roast. The darkest parts are burned on. I didn't expect this to come clean.

 

[aamassther]

Great results, thank you for posting pictures. Though I must say, you really are using more than you need to. When I used it, years ago, and it came in a neat plastic jug. I used to divide an SA8 scoop between the two dispensers, slightly more in the main cup and get darned good results, even in the crappy BOL GE machines. Todd