We just had to get our dishwasher replaced - it was about 10 years old -not ancient, but not worth fixing.
My new Maytag comes with some Cascade tablet “packets” - the ones that are encased in a plastic - and some rinse agent.
I actually was concerned that using these tablets plastic packets might have been part of the issue with the last dishwasher - the plastic not fully dissolving and clogging up the drain (read a lot online about this). And I’ve never really used a rinse/dry agent - I have used a cup of vinegar once a month or so to help clean the dishwasher - the sample that came with the dishwasher says this agent will help the interior of the dishwasher and the dishes dry better and retain less moisture.
True or selling tactic?
What do you use/prefer? Is this rinse/dry agent worthwhile or just a money suck?
I’ve been using Miele dishwasher tablets and rinse agent for a couple of years in my replacement Miele. I never thought the detergent made much difference, but wow…no mineral buildup in the dishwasher at all and everything is sparkling. Well worth the extra $$$.
I was skeptical at first but rinse aid is needed since phosphates have been taken out of the detergent. That being said, I use the Finish all in one power balls (huge box from Costco) and they included rinse aid which is a good thing since my dishwasher is so old there is no extra space for it. Everything is clean and sparkly!
Ironically I own a small bottle of rinse aid since I use it in homemade chandelier cleaner. It helps that rinse off clear and sparkly too.
@abasket I use the Lemi Shine Detergent Booster. Started using it several years ago when they changed the formulation of dishwasher detergents to make them more eco-friendly. My glasses all had a film on them until I started using the Lemi Shine. We have hard water.
We’ve used Cascade in our 15 year old Miele from the get-go. That said, it was having problems, which Meile diagnosed via on-line tech support and we were able to repair the unit ourselves. Turns out most people use way to much detergent (part of our problem). We’ve cut down to 1 tsp, yes TEASPOON. That and regular JetDry turns out spotless dishes.
I wonder if part of the ‘magic’ of the tables and packets is that they enforce portion control. Turns out it’s not good to overfeed the dishwasher ;).
We use the cascade packets in our Bosch, and they work great, and we also put vinegar in because we have very hard water and it really keeps things from spotting.
We use Cascade powder + LemiShine daily, with Borax added every so often. The main things that seem to prevent fish tank funk smell from recurring are turning off the heated dry option and using white vinegar once a week.
We use Cascade powder + LemiShine detergent booster + Jet-Dry (or Cascade) rinse aid. We have very hard water and this combination seems to work very well.
I have a Bosch dishwasher. I usually run it in the express cycle which runs for 30 minutes. When there is not enough rinsing agent the cycle switches to over two hours. Yikes!
I believe I can set the amount of rinsing agent it uses but I have not attempted it.
I use Quantum finish tablets and finish rinsing agent.
I don’t use packets because I vary the amount of detergent I use depending on the condition of the dishes. More if they’re really cruddy, less if it’s mostly glasses and such. I do well with Cascade Complete and whatever rinse agent I happen to buy. The rinse agent container on my machine allows you to vary the opening to control how much you want dispensed in each load–I keep it pretty low and have to refill the dispenser very infrequently.
I use Cascade Platinum packets and Jet Dry. Our old dishwasher had a plastic tub and it never seemed to get hot enough to deal with any detergent. When we replaced the old, gunky, malfunctioning dishwasher, we bought an energy efficient model (Jenn Air) with a stainless interior. I now run the water before running off the dishwasher to make sure it is hot enough. Plumber told us to use the Cascade Platinum. Plumbing, dishwasher, and dishes are now cooperating nicely. PS. We’re on septic with pretty hard water, and run off the dishwasher only when it’s full, often every other day.
Had to replace my old Miele after 13 years. I was persuaded by the appliance store owner to purchase the Miele automatic dishwasher tabs. When the tech came to install the dishwasher he brought the tabs and suggested that I could save money on the the soap if I cut the tabs in half–tech said it would not make a difference in the cleanliness of the dishes. I experimented using a full tab and a half–no difference. The Miele product does a great job on the dishes. The tech said if I was going to use a product like Cascade, I should use 1 tsp.
I like using the tables (we use Finish mostly) but I have wondered if they provide too much detergent.
How can they be cut in half? I have tried and find it difficult to cut them.
I also have very hard water and find that a rinse aid is a must. I tried vinegar and didn’t have much success with it (no idea why since so many seem to find that it works for them) so I use Jet Dry.