chalstead.....
I think powders are the best ones also so I cannot do else but be with you in your choiche, I just need to make some considerations..... DW tablets usually says on their packaging that 1 tabs is enough for all water hardness and for every dirt level....
As mentioned the amount of detergent should be related to the water hardness....even though as I said for me is necessary in the washing cycle only, BTW I never pre-rinse anything as well, but this is not the point, in USA I know most dishwasher are different from the europeans ones, I mean most of europeans ones have a built-in water softener using salt which you can select based on your water hardness to soft water less or more....in USA not.
Said this, it is true that now in Europe many dishwasher tablets or detergent are called 2 in 1, which means they have integrated the salt function(water softener function) and you actually could get rid of salt and water softener (even though some package says:" on average water hardness only"), I guess this new formula with which they make 2 in 1 europeans detergents now is similar but not identical to the formula with "integrated water softeners" with which in US they always made dishwasher detergents, both powders and tabs....
All this to say that I just do not know the reliability of these tabs about water softening in very hard waters, and also can't speak "internationally" on detergents brands being best or worse, formulas changes from country or better say continent to continent, using european/italian finish or 2 in 1 stuff as for the quantum or powerball I need to keep the selector of the DW water softenr pointed on the selection 3 as our water is quite hard, my model arrives to 8 which is the maximum water softening level you can get, if not so not only I would not get stuff as clean but also a little deposit of minerals on glassware that I recently realized after considerations and reasonings on another thread I opened here, (Arm&Hammer detergent), being due to the sodium carbonate contained in the detergent bonding with minerals and especially calcium, while when I used American DW detergent (I used Sun powder and also some electrasol tabs) I had my salt tank empty and they obviously worked wonderfully and of course no minearals on glassware....
This just to say that in US since you have not the use of the DW built-in water softener, when one haves very hard water and does not have a water softener for the whole house, a greater dosification of detergent in these cases is the only thing you could do or also adding fosphates or water softening agents as well, a greater use of detergent or addciction of TSP and water softeners is a thing that with a pre-sized DW tab is not absolutely required to have, this second the manufacturers, when it is obvious that actually you would have need to do in some cases...so maytagbear said something correct about the fact that everything changes from country to country....
Just wanted to be a little more clear....
[this post was last edited: 8/25/2012-03:55]
Pre-wash is about 7 minutes.
