Which dishwasher gel to use?

[Marky_Mark]

Helicaldrive, it's good to hear that you've now found a new detergent that works well for you.  I haven't tried Aldi Radiance gel yet but I'll give it whirl just for fun.  

 

I have found that Cascade Platinum pacs are excellent performers and they clean really well.  They are the best I've tried on scrambled egg cooked in stainless steel pans.  They are also the only phosphate-free detergent I've used that will remove the rainbow iridescence pattern left on stainless steel pans after cooking certain things (adding STPP to any detergent also removes these stains).  Unfortunately they produce a lot of suds, which can be a problem in some machines.

 

I've found that Finish Quantum/Ultimate is not a great performer and is the worst on scrambled egg.  It is also utterly hopeless at removing those rainbow stains from stainless steel unless you add STPP.  The good thing is that they are not sudsy at all.

 

Mark

 

[mark_wpduet]

I don't worry with eggs because I don't prerinse except for TWO things... Any egg residue (raw or cooked) and raw meat juices...Some people on here will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about... It doesn't matter the detergent, how hot the water is, how many rinses... everything can come out spotless but if you have egg residue on any dishes...even though the glasses are clean..when you go to grab one and put something in it to drink...there's almost a hint of a wet dog smell...and some people notice it while other's totally don't. The meat juices aren't as bad but I just can't bring myself to put a plate swimming with raw meat juice in the dishwasher.

and it is DEFINITELY the egg residue...I'm not 100% sure if it's just from raw egg residue, cooked, both..but it's definitely a thing and I've noticed it on/off for years if I made the mistake of not rinsing egg residue..

Honestly, I think that for some people... it's there but they can't smell it...

If the egg gets rinsed... no issues at all

 

[gelaundry4ever]

finish ultimate

I have found in my dishwasher that Finish Ultimate works even better than Cascade Platinum Plus ever did.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

finish ultimate TOL

I thought Finish Ultimate wash supposed to be their TOL product.

 

[jons1077]

Cascade Complete powder

Cascade complete powder seems to be the best for the 1990 KUDS22. Pods suds up badly in that machine and the wash cycles are too short for them to be effective. I’ve tried the gels and they do ok. Honestly, even the Wal-Mart Great Value powder did pretty well in the Kitchenaid as well.

 

[mark_wpduet]

sorry it probably is Finish Ultimate is their TOL... where it used to be Quantum...sorry I'm out of the loop
back when I paid more attention... Powerball was entry... and Quantum was TOL.... I guess now it's ultimate.

Quantum does work really well with STPP added... without STPP added it still does fine... just leaves the dishwasher looking like crap inside. Weird. You would think if there was a film on the stainless interior there would also be one on the dishes but there's not...

Anyway - when I get through this Quantum I'm going back to the costco packs

 

[me]

Finish powerball quamtum ultimate

LOL, in the UK at least, we've now also got Finish Ultimate Plus, and Finish Ultimate Infinity Shine, and Finish Ultimate plus Infinity Shine, although I think they are probably all the same product and they can't make their mind up what to call it!

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Detergent

FWIW, the cheapest Cascade ActionPacs clean just as well, but leave far less streaks on my dishes compared to Finish Quantum. This probably is due to the addition of Trisodium Dicarboxymethyl Alaninate which is great for both water softening as well as degreasing. The dark green Cascade gel does have a similar ingredient in it. Because of that, I actually would recommend it over some of the other gel or powder products. However, that may not be the best for each dishwasher or a particular person's dish soils. Cutting a Finish tab in half is not a bad idea to be honest. 

 

[Marky_Mark]

To follow on from my previous post:

Finish Quantum/Ultimate is rated highly by consumer testing groups.  And I have tried it many times in the past and found it to work really well on my scrambled egg pan challenge.  But I tried it again a couple of weeks ago several times and it couldn't shift the egg nearly as well as Cascade Platinum for some reason.

 

And whenever I've used Finish Quantum/Ultimate, it has always left stainless steel pans with the iridescent stains that can appear after cooking certain foods.  Whereas Cascade/Fairy Platinum tends to mostly or completely remove the stains in just one wash.  Adding STPP to any detergent will also do this.

 

Mark

 

[foraloysius]

I’m using Finish Ultimate Plus but I add a small amount of Sun powder. Excellent results! I was never happy with just one tab per load. Just like with laundry I prefer to adjust the dosage to the load. That small amount of powder makes sure everything is spic and span including the dishwasher itself.

 

[appnut]

I experienced that iridescent film just two nights ago. I'll add some STPP next time to the dispenser. Otheerwise I've been extremeley pleased with the Quantum hard water. Cascade Platinum always over foamed.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi Bob.  I know you have hard water, whereas I have softened water.  

 

As long as I add sufficient STPP and select a cycle that is long enough and hot enough, those stains are completely removed and the stainless steel pans are left gleaming.  Finish Ultimate/Quantum never removes those stains even in the Miele on Intensive 75 ºC or in the PowerClean or KDS-18 etc.  

 

I do a lot of cooking in stainless steel pans!  One of the detergents I like using is Cascade Complete powder mixed with STPP (two-thirds Cascade, one-third STPP by weight).  Of course, Cascade Fryer Boil Out also removes those stains but it struggles to shift starch.

 

Mark

 

[Marky_Mark]

Louis, do you add the Sun powder to the prewash or the main wash?

 

[appnut]

Mark, thank you. I used the Bosch Auto with Sanitize & Crystal Dry options. That combination has the motor running at highest pressure even over the Intensive/Pots cycle. The Intensive ends up having both spray arms operating during main wash and despite the higher wash temp, I think the more intense pressure on Auto yields better results. I have Cascade Complete gel in the dark green bottle that I squirt some on the door for the prewash. My grocery store didn't have Complete powder when I needed to buy some. Thus opting for the gel.

 

[foraloysius]

Mark,

I add the Sun powder to the main wash. I think it’s useless in the prerinse that is done with cold water.

 

[verizonbear]

Question to all the Maytag owners

I have the exact same model of Maytag, I think it was TOL in 2016 or so. No filter, stainless wash arms that run in opposite directions. My question is, does the "PowerBlast" use a higher pressure water than the other cycles ? I think this model has a 1/3 horsepower motor. Lemishine rinse agent is key with my Maryland hard water.

 

[appnut]

Phil, to my knowledge, no WP produced product has any type of variable speed motor, which would result in more intense water pressure if it did. My Bosch is the first dishwasher I've owned that offers variable speed circulation intensity. My previous two dishwashers were WP produced Kenmore Elites, bought in 2006 and 2015.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi Phil. As Bob said, there is no difference in spray pressure, as it’s a single-speed pump.

See reply #4 for my description of the PowerBlast cycle.

Mark

 

[gelaundry4ever]

my dishwasher

My dishwasher varies the speed of the pump therefore changes pressure. It runs at high pressure during the main wash, and sometimes even final rinse at times.

 

[askolover]

Even with softened water I've been using finish ultimate without too much foaming in the KUDI23 KitchenAid I kind of go back and forth between chlorine powder and the new finish packs.