Wow! Cascade, I am FINISHed with you!

[mrcleanjeans]

I am supremely surprised! Ran out of PHOSPHATED Cascade Complete pacs, and now bought Finish powder without phosphates just for kicks. It works far better, as the dishes now sparkle and glisten in a way that Cascade could not acheive. And the water here is quite hard,. No chalky residue as Sun powder left awhile back. Obviously Finish perfected a way without phosphates to get dishes clean,and many say the new Cascade hasn't. I won't even bother with non-phosphate Cascade as the complaints abound! Keep in mind I was a phosphate junky as far as dishwasher detergents were concerned!

 

[rp2813]

I wonder if Finish has already reformulated their powder.  I bought some several months ago and had disastrous results that launched my hunt for phosphated Cascade in the bargain stores.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

Yes they did! The old formula was JUNKY WUNKY! It had a SMALL amount of phosphates, 3.2% and chlorine bleach. Now it has lots of enzymes and no bleach or phosphates.I thought the old stuff sucked!

 

[iheartmaytag]

I kept my stash of phospated Cascade while searching for new detergents. In all honesty as I have posted before, the non-phosphate Cascade Complete is not that bad. I have ran several bags of the Complete packs now and no complaints at all. The Complete packs are a little more expensive, but I'm worth it.

 

[nmassman44]

I bought a box of the Finish Powder last week for a surprising $3.00. It is the enzyme based powder and not the chlorine based. I have to agree it does a much better job than Cascade powder. Very surprising!

 

[laundromat]

I have ,and always will, used Finish (Electrosol) in my dishwashers.

 

[austinado16]

This is good news

Forum member Tim was kind enough to send me 10 boxes of Cascade with phosphate for the KD-12. Prior to that, I was using the Cascade Complete and the glasses were definately chalky. It's back to normal now, but when this current supply is gone, I'll be on the hunt for a different brand. Glad to hear "Finish" is that good. I'll have to keep an eye out for it locally.

 

[westie2]

Ran across about 2 years supply of the Cascade Complete pouchs with the posphates they work ok but the smell is not clean smelling like the Finish we were using.  When these are gone will go back to the Finish.  Our water here is pretty hard.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

I am still "shocked" at its performance. I'm sure adding STPP would further rev it up, though it is doing fine on its own!

 

[mtn1584]

LISTEN TO ME................................................

The BEST, and I mean BEST dishwasher detergent out there is FINISH POWERBALLS. I have recommended them to friends and family, and the results are amazing! I am a former Cascade user as well, thinking that Cascade was the best. I bought a carton in BJ's and tried them, and have not stopped using them since. Take my advice, they may be a little expensive, (not so much at Walmart though) and give them a try. REMEMBER TO PUT ONE IN BOTH CUPS FOR EXCELLENT RESULTS.
MIKE

 

[toploader1984]

yes i agree finish powerball tabs are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! cleans even better than cascade with a bunch of phosphates in it, and the new finish is phosphate free. everything is shinier, my glasses just seem like they are brand new. my dishes always looked clean using cascade but when i tried finish it was like WOW!!! crystal clear... it really is "the diamond standard" in dishwashing lol

 

[whirlcool]

The Finish 3 in one tabs that come in the paper wrappers didn't do all that well for us.  Cascade still works better in our machine then those.  Now the Finish Quantum tabs are the best. But they are soooo expensive. Even at Walmart. So we are just sticking with GreatValue with a boost of STTP for now and our stash of phosphated Cascade for the tougher stuff.

 

[mrb627]

Review

I noticed on Amazon that there is a one-star review of the Powerball tabs that claims they are awful.  Upon further reading, the user puts the powerball in the dispenser still in its plastic baggie wrapper.  Is this correct?  I have always taken mine out of the wrapper.

 

Malcolm

 

[mrb627]

Speaking of which...

What is the best price you have found for the Powerballs?  I thought they were rather expensive at my local grocer.

 

Malcolm

 

[retropia]

If Finish without phosphates is working well for people who have hard water, I'd like to know what Finish is using as a built-in water softener.

 

[nmassman44]

Malcolm you take the wrapper off the Powerballs or it wont work. I am liking very much in fact the Finish Powder. It does very well in my Miele. I have a box of PowerBalls in my stash and I only use 1 per load. 2 is kinda overkill I think. But I will use 2 only if I have a really grungy load and I set the dishwasher on Intensive and a Soak Option. The Powder Finish I find also removes starch film on pots that I use to cook potatoes and pasta. Something Cascade has major issues with and one thing too...you know those pesky brown spots on silverware and mostly on knives that I would find after the dishwasher was done...well with the Finish Powder thats a thing of the past. Everything is clean and gorgeous!!
The other big plus is that the Powder is not that expensive. Its on sale this week at Stop and Shop for $3.00 a box.

 

[mtn1584]

I just did my grocery shopping at Stop & Shop.
Mike

 

[frigilux]

I'm on my last 110-count tub of Cascade Extra Action pacs from Sam's Club. This one is the phosphate-free version. Seems to be cleaning well enough, but I've been so impressed with Finish Powerballs that I'm going to make them my daily driver when the Cascade Pacs are gone.

 

I haven't tried the Finish Quantum tablets, yet.  The Powerballs clean so well in my soft water that I don't know if the Quantum version is worth the extra ca-ching.

 

[labboy]

Our problem with the Finish Powerball Tabs is excess foam. They end up foaming much more than when we just use powder. I can hear the difference when the machine is running when using a tablet versus just using powder. I will try the Finish powder when my stash of phosphated Cascade complete is done.

Another issue with the tablet is (unless you split them) you only get detergent during the main wash. I think it is important for normal or heavily soiled loads to have detergent in both prewash and main wash.