How Long Does Dishwasher Detergent Last?

[whirlyfanatic]

How Long does a 45oz bottle of Cascade/Cascade Complete Last? Pleases help.
I'm trying to figure out if to buy the a bulk box of Cascade powder.What's the best out of Cascade complete, cascade original gel and cascade original powder, all phosphate free of course. Help please.

 

[frigilux]

Q: How long does dishwasher detergent last?
A: Until the box is empty!

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, I'll be here all week!

 

[passatdoc]

Since it's in a sealed container, should be no problem. It will last until you've used it up.

I have friends who gave me two 100-count tubs of Finish tabs, because the tablets did not fit easily in the rather shallow detergent cup of their late model Kitchen Aid DW. In particular, the power ball made it difficult to close the lid because the cup wasn't deep enough to afford adequate clearance of the tab by the lid. They went back to using powder or gel.

The tabs are individually wrapped and I estimate that some of them are 3-4 years old. When I unwrap one, it's still intact and does not seem to have broken down or decomposed. No performance difference noticed in my DW, either. I have a Bosch DW from 2001 and the tabs fit neatly in the detergent cup, with enough clearance for the lid to close.

 

[retropia]

My vintage Cascade Action Pacs with phosphates have a copyright date of 2008 and seem to be aging fine. Some of them shrink a little and have a wrinkled appearance, but it doesn't affect the performance.

I also had pretty good luck with older boxes of Cascade powder. Sometimes there would be clumps, but they would break up easily just by shaking the box a bit.

If you have hard water, the non-phosphate version of Cascade that received a good review from Consumer Reports was the Cascade Complete variety of Action Pacs. (Of course they cost the most.)

 

[whirlcool]

As long as you keep moisture out of the box you should be ok. Moisture causes the product to harden and clump up. We use ziploc bags with a few silicate packs inside to pack our phosphated detergents and three years later they are still powdery with no clumps at all. [this post was last edited: 9/11/2012-15:12]

 

[cleanteamofny]

If there's any dishwasher that must be used immediately is the liquid DWD with Baking Soda in it, for it get hard on the bottom and is unusable!

Powder will keep well as long as it'a in a cool dry place!

 

[mrboilwash]

According to the German consumers magazine dishwasher tabs should never be stocked up in large amounts. They even recommend to buy them only in stores with a rapid turnover to make sure one gets them as fresh as possible for best results.
The enzymes can break down even when stored in a dry place.

I have never noticed myself any negative results with older tabs, guess it shows only in laboratory tests.

Liquid products generally seem to have a limited shelf life. Powders and tabs may lose some of their "zing" but at least they won`t rot.

 

[whirlyfanatic]

Sorry i should rephrase, How many uses can i get out of a 45oz bottle? i wanna knw if i get some more

 

[cleanteamofny]

It's hard to say, it all depends on the load your are washing.
If your load is mostly lightly soiled, then fill the main wash cup only.
You may cut that in half if you are not washing greasy pots and pans with the load.
So the savings begins there otherwise we can not give you an more accurate number past the recommended Automatic Dishwashing Detergent dosing.

 

[whirlyfanatic]

I run my dishwasher everyday, once. I'm trying to get a month out of a 45oz bottle. Is that possible?

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I bought a cheap-o box of ELECTRA-SOL powder at a bargain store back when I lived in the apartment...

The stuff did not fully dissolve when it was used, either... We had a BOL General Electric, but none-the-less, I wouldn't have wanted to chance it in my better, newer Maytag, which we have in our house now...

None-the-less, I saved the detergent, as I didn't want to get rid of it in a non-responsible to the environment manner (ie. 'just throwing in the trash'), so it actually gets used as an "auxiliary" toilet bowl cleaner or "cleaning supplement"...

Anyway, the stuff has to be at least four-years-old, and is still not all caked up in the box, either & my bathroom I keep it in, under the sink has a vent behind it (don't know why my vanity was built in front of the vent w/o a vent in the cabinetry...!) so the stuff is still good & if not for your dishes, then there are other uses...!

-- Dave

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Recently one of my local grocery stores had two carts full of bottles of gel detergent near the entry of the store, on 50% off sale - both their own store brand and Cascade. Looking at the store brand stuff, which is made by Sun, there is a use-by date on the bottle. The dates were approaching, hence the clearance. I presume the same of the Cascade, as you can de-code the P&G manufacture dates.

I've been told that dishwasher detergent is much fussier stored long-term than laundry detergent - perhaps the enzyme explanation above is the reason, but I've also heard about keeping moisture out of powder.

Thus I am rapidly getting rid of dishwasher detergent.

Gordon

 

[whirlcool]

We had a neighbor with a TOL KitchenAid DW. She claimed that one 45oz bottle of detergent was lasting her at least 9 months.

One day she complained to Karen that the dishwasher was just not cleaning her dishes well. So I went over there to investigate.

What this woman was doing was putting just a spot, the size of a dime in the detergent cup. That's all. Maybe 1/500th of an ounce! No wonder her dishes weren't being cleaned. I explained to her that she was basically just rinsing her dishes, not cleaning them. Her response, well I've always done them that way!

Jeesh!