Miele DW tablets

[drhardee]

A Miele tech support agent chided me over the phone (when last I called them) for using Cascade Action Packs with Dawn in my Miele DW. The tech said that one Action Pack in a Miele is the equivalent of completely filling both the detergent cups,and then adding 2 TB of detergent on top! They did wash quite well, but in order to make nice with Miele and restore karmic balance in my life (even though they could find nothing wrong with the DW), I marched my hips down to the Miele store and bought a box of Miele DW Tabs. I blanched momentarily at the $31.00 price tag, but there are 80 tabs in a box which works out to less than .50 a load.

I'm here to tell you they are FABULOUS! Every load I've done using these tablets has come out spotless and "smooth feeling". Not greasy, but not the kind of "dry film" one can sometimes get on dishes. Miele has recently put the tablets in water soluble wrappers, so you don't have to unwrap the tablet as I understand you used to have to do. They are scored so they can be cut in half for doing a "Top Solo" load too. Any one else tried these tablets??

http://www.miele.com/usa/dishwashers/accessories_in_detail.asp?cat=2&acc=1&item=71

 

[aamassther]

I'm about 3/4 through a box of the tabs. I'm using them in a Bosch. They are the best I've ever used. I've been consistently getting the same results you state. The shine is amazing.

 

[nmaineman36]

I have been using the Miele tabs in my Miele dishwasher as well. I do like them. In fact a couple of friends of mine are using them as well in the Danby Portable dishwasher...I gave them a few to try..they are hooked on them as well. One thing I will say that i noticed at least with my dishwasher is that the tab will stick in the dispenser. That "dissolving wrapper" acts like glue and I have seen a couple of times I would open the door during main wash and it was stuck in the dispenser. Now I just unwrap it and the problem is solved.
The Tabs are made by Claro in Austria and if you go to Claro-products.com they have a whole line of dishwasher detergents. Some I wish Miele or they would market here. they have a 7 in 1 tab that looks interesting and the pink balls that they have for pots and pans I would love to wrap my mitts on. I also have been using the Miele rinse aid as well love it...Plus been using the dishwasher salt for the water softener the dishwasher has built into it.
I still use the Cascade Powrpacs in the Miele and I do get great results plus I have tried the Electrosol 3 in 1 tabs plus the Dishdrops detergent and will have to say that they both do a great job as well.

 

[panthera]

It's the phosphate, dahlinks, it's the phosphate...

Well, and the enzymes.
Back in the bad old days when streams had more suds than a gay foam party, western Europe decided to built Type 5 or better sewage systems (not hard, since most cities still just dumped their sewage directly into the local river, stream or whatever).
The US decided to ban everything which really cleans, this being mainly phosphates from detergents. Obviously, the politicians making this decision had never tried to clean anything in their lives...
Those 7 in 1 tabs are not any better than the 3 in 1s are, by the by...Still, the Miele tabs are only 2X as expensive as they would be in Germany, so that is really a pretty good deal.

 

[gansky1]

Don't get too used to those phosphates in dishwasher dets - their time is ticking...

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/06/07/phosphate-detergent-ban-oped-cx_ae_0608ebeling.html

 

[supersuds]

Oh, great

Where is it that everyone is buying STTP? Looks like we all may need it.

Panthera, my understanding (from old issues of Consumer's Reports) is that the foaming problem in steams and lakes wasn't related to phosphates as such. Phosphate detergents were successfully reformulated in the early 1970s to eliminate the foam problem. Algae growth is a separate issue. Maybe we should use more Clorox to kill the algae?

From gansky's article, it sounds like 97% of the phosphate runoff isn't even from dishwasher detergent. Grr.

 

[launderess]

Pre-Rinsing Dishes?

Excuse me?

Hasn't much time, effort and noise been devoted to convincing legions of housewives and other users of automatic dishwashers NOT to pre-rinse dishes.

2010 is along way away, will keep my eyes on the Chemistry Store and other sellers of STPP to see what if any crack down in shipping the stuff occurs. Stockpiling dishwasher detergent now is not really effective as it would take much room, and unless stored under the proper conditions would either turn rock hard, and or otherwise useless.

L.

 

[drhardee]

The "Chemistry Store.com" is located in a warehouse about 5 miles from my home (here in South Carolina). As far as I can see, they'll always have lots of STPP available for the soap making community, although with that ban coming, they may have to do away with it.

I don't know if they'd have a hard time with selling it to you as a laundry additive, but if you're a "soap maker" hobbyist who needs it in your product, well then..

http://www.chemistrystore.com/sodium_tripolyphosphate.htm

 

[panthera]

Supersuds,

That is not my recollection, you may be right. Since I am enroute to Munich right now, no time to look it up.
The basic split, Europe building (finally) sewage treatment plants to cope with the phosphorous and the US basically banning things is, however correct.
When I get back to Munich and have time, I will try to find out exactly what was going on.
Cut it anyway we like, those tablets running up to 38% phosphate with heavy doses of enzymes run rings around the low-phosphate stuff. Even enzymes alone (Great Value from Wally-Mart) do a much better job of cleaning that those products without.