<p>Right, you want the QUANTUM powerballs.</p>
<p>But I am still having problems with the blades of my knives pitting. Anyone else? Should I start a new thread?</p>
<p>Dishwasher repairman suggested running the water in the kitchen sink until it was HOT before starting the dishwasher. This definitely helped!</p>
<p>Our label says “Finish Powerball Tabs” (though the words “all-in-one” are also in the upper right-hand corner) and it works great IF we also use Jet Dry. No more white gritty residue. Glasses come out clear and polished. Love it. Our old liquid dish detergent (regular Cascade) was awful, even with Jet Dry. It makes sense that the banning of phosphates accounts for the decreased performance of liquid detergents that in the past use to work perfectly fine.</p>
<p>I add one heaping teaspoonful of TSP (not TSP substitute) to the dishwasher along with the Finish Powerball and the dishes come out much cleaner. It may not be environmentally correct but it can’t be worse than leaving half the dishes in for another cycle or two. I also bought new drinking glasses because the old ones were permanently cloudy.</p>
<p>One day, I was in a Dollar Store and saw this one. I think for a dollar I got 22 packs, I can’t lose…</p>
<p>Tried today worked MUCH better than Finish Powerball All-in-one…</p>
<p>package:
<a href=“http://wan.creforum.info/P1100007.JPG[/url]”>http://wan.creforum.info/P1100007.JPG</a>
Actual tablet/pack:
<a href=“http://wan.creforum.info/P1100009.JPG[/url]”>http://wan.creforum.info/P1100009.JPG</a></p>
![http://wan.creforum.info/P1100007.JPG[/url]](http://wan.creforum.info/P1100007.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
![http://wan.creforum.info/P1100009.JPG[/url]](http://wan.creforum.info/P1100009.JPG%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>The label says NC Outlet, Charlotte, NC</p>
<p>I always run hot water before start dishwasher.</p>
<p>I had never thought of doing that. Our hot water seems to go via China before it comes out of our taps. I should try running it before I do a wash.</p>
<p>edit: just struck me, perhaps I should say via Russia to avoid confusion</p>
<p>I buy whatever is cheap. To me, soap is soap.</p>
<p>My dishwasher repair guy told me something interesting. He said the new dishwashers don’t work very well because of consumer demand for quiet machines. The new machines are quieter partly because of better sound-proofing, but mostly because the water doesn’t flow very powerfully. It used to blast the dishes, now it splashes them.</p>
<p>Lucky you. I’d have gone for the whatever is cheap before enduring several months of living with nasty dirty dishes that came out of the dishwasher looking dirtier than they went in plus had a hard crusty film on them - you could actually feel it as well as see it. We would rewash and it would not help. It was the same washer we had had a while - thought it was a problem with the washer till a local TV station had a clip about how many people were having the same problem.</p>
<p>The newer dishwashers are quieter because of more insulation. Have you noticed how long it takes to run a load of dishes now? The regulations to make appliances more energy efficient have forced the manufacturers to design machines to use less water. While that is good, the machines have to run the water longer in a cycle to get the dishes clean. It takes at least 2 hours or more to run a normal cycle now. Some machines take almost 3 hours. Consumer Reports even complained about the length of cycles.</p>
<p>This is a great topic! My Maytag dishwasher used to work great with Cascade and a rinse agent, but no more. I wondered what the heck was wrong. I switched to Finish powder, but that wasn’t a noticible improvement. I will have to try the powerballs.</p>
<p>HELP! I think that I need a new dishwasher too! My handle broke off and the latch mechanism is probably not worth replacing on an old dishwasher. What kind of dishwashers do people have that do a good job? I am not concerned about it being particularly quiet.</p>
<p>It is more than just hot water…[Dishes</a> Still Dirty? Blame Phosphate-Free Detergent : NPR](<a href=“Dishes Still Dirty? Blame Phosphate-Free Detergent : NPR”>Dishes Still Dirty? Blame Phosphate-Free Detergent : NPR)</p>
<p>“What kind of dishwashers do people have that do a good job?”</p>
<p>I’m perfectly fine with my Miele. It is so quiet that I have to double-check if it is really running. I switched to Finish many moons ago (when it was called Electrasol) for convenience, and I still use it with great results. My Miele dishwasher can heat water to whatever temperature it needs.
We have an Asko dishwasher in our company’s kitchen, and it does a fantastic job with whatever cheapo crapo dish soap we get at Safeway. I’m very impressed with this brand.[Dishwashers</a> with High Efficiency - ASKO](<a href=“http://www.askousa.com/dishwashers/]Dishwashers”>http://www.askousa.com/dishwashers/)</p>
<p>I use the brand the manufacturer recommends: (formerly Electrosol) for my Bosch (old house) and Cascade ready-to-use packets for my GE Profile (new house), with the matching rinse agents. Probably ridiculous, but the dishes seem reasonably clean in both. The Bosch is quieter and has a slightly better loading pattern though.</p>
<p>Ah, the loading pattern. Another major consideration for me since I fill my dishwasher to the max before I run it!</p>
<p>I have read that one should bring the dishes that they use with them when they purchase a new dishwasher. I did not and it wasn’t a problem. However, if you have larger, or unusually thick dishes, I would probably take a few with me just to try them out.</p>
<p>get an adjustable upper rack, most problems solved. the one in my new house does not have that option. (:</p>
<p>I was in Costco today and did look carefully for the Finish Quantum Powerball and did not find any. They only have the Finish all-in-one variety. Well, I guess I have to go online to order some.:(</p>
<p>I find the Quantum Powerball at the local grocery store; have never seen it at Costco. For a short while, the only place nearby that carried it was Walmart.</p>
<p>thank you! I thought it was just ME having this problem. I do think the bigger issue is that lack of phosphates. Our glasses were so cloudy and nothing was getting cleaned. I switched from the generic Cascade from Costco to the Finish All-in-One (there is a Costco coupon this month) AND I refilled my Jet-Dry. HUGE improvement. I have added this to my very short NO GENERICS list of products.</p>
<p>Yes, dishwashers are not designed to use enough water anymore, so we have to go fansy and run them in very long cycles to “save” something, oh, yes, it is water that we are saving. So, dishwahser has a new function, it is not designed to do dishes, it is designed to save water, even at the cost of very expensive and strong detergents and electricity. Our very expensive dishwashe does not work very well, but it is very quiet. Since none of them work, I choose the quietest one. Then H. went on researching the strongest and most expansive detergent, he is using some kidn of kubes. When I start dishwasher, I use detergent from Dollar General, it does not smell. None of them work anyway, might as well choose the one that you do not need to rinse by hands or run non-detergent dishwasher just to get rid of smell. None of it makes any sense to me.</p>