Removal of Tomato Stains from Plastic Tub Dishwasher

[iiijohnnymaciii]

After a week of no improvement I started looking for an additive to clean my dishwasher tub stains. I came across an older post that called for a product with Benzoyl Peroxide 10% as its active ingredient since they didn’t make Cascade Plastic Booster anymore. Since Cascade Plastic booster is 5% Benzoyl Peroxide, I used just 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zit cream instead of using the 3 tablespoons Cascade Plastic Booster called for. I set the dishwasher to pots and pans and put the 1 1/2 tablespoons in prewash with an empty load except for the cutting boards. A small disclaimer. My prewash cycle is just as long as my main wash cycle. No other detergent was used. Sure enough it worked like a charm. Here are some before and afters.

 

[combo52]

Wow That Really Worked

However we have never had problems with Tomato stains [ and I make a lot of tomato sauces ] I just use a tablespoon or two of Aldi        liquid DW detergent in the prewash cup, this also eliminates any coffee or tea stains in mugs etc.

 

The inside door of our WP PC DWs are plastic and look like new after almost 33 years , one of the 2 machines is run almost every day.

 

John L.

 

[iiijohnnymaciii]

Hi John.

Yeah. It happened when I was experimenting with different detergents to see how cheap I could go. I usually use cascade platinum tab as the prewash and cascade lime green gel (bleach detergent) in the main wash to sanitize. My prewash is so long that everything is clean after the prewash with the cascade tab. Then the bleach detergent can use its free chlorine just to sanitize in the main wash.

However, about a week ago I used just a small amount of cascade powder in the prewash. Followed by a smaller than usual amount of bleach detergent in the main wash. All the dishes were clean, but it proved to be a disaster for the tub and clear plastics. I don’t think it was enough detergent for the 2 gallons it fills with. Then stains got set in with the 140 degree water.

Since then I went back to the cascade tabs and the lime green cascade. We had a red sauce the other night and happy to report no stains! It’s hard to beat cascade platinum tabs!

 

[washingpowder]

My mom sent me a 90-tab pouch of Drrft detergent marked P&G Professional; the pouches look identical to Cascade Platinum but they smell a lot less, and the performance is outstanding. I've had heavily stained containers from tomato sauces and stuff come out sparkling.
Actually surprised because my Miele cavitates a lot sir to the foam, and yet it still works way better than anything else. Am thinking about cutting off the softener, since NYC water is already soft to begin with, and see how that goes.

 

[rp2813]

Any chance that benzoyl peroxide would work as well on turmeric or curry stains, and can it be used for other surfaces besides dishwasher interiors like Tupperware or other plastic containers?

 

I also have to say that the results on John L.'s two casserole dishes are literally incredible.  I've never known any dishwasher that could remove that degree of burnt/baked-on residue.  I'm now on the lookout for Cascade Platinum to be on sale.

 

[foraloysius]

"All the dishes were clean, but it proved to be a disaster for the tub and clear plastics"

The question is ofcourse if the dishes are really clean when the tub isn't.

 

[iiijohnnymaciii]

Foraloysis,

Vitrelle and glassware have a different molecular structure than plastics, which are certainly more porous.

RP2813,

Yes, it would work on Tupperware and other plastics.

 

[iej]

You need dishwasher detergent with pectate lyase enzymes in it which specifically breaks down those kind of stains.

Any good quality detergent should remove it though, with regular use. Try a higher end Finish or Cascade tablet detergent and use it for about 5 to 10 washes and you should notice a big difference.

Basically what you're seeing is stains from the natural lycopene red pigment in the tomatoes. It's really good for you, but stains plastic. When you make tomato pasta sauces the pigment becomes suspended in oils and basically turns into a rather potent dye. The only things that will remove it are bleachy dishwasher detergent and also that enzyme helps a lot.

Simpler detergents also don't necessarily break the oils as quickly and may not hold the oil globules in the water as well as the more competent ones. So you're better off sticking with the higher end ones, particularly if you've a plastic tub.

Using the machine with a good detergent will solve it.

 

[norgeway]

Simple Fix

CLOROX!!!