Dishwasher Detergents

[OldFashionedGirl]

Ryan, my fiance, and I are moving this Saturday, and for the first time in my life I will have a dishwasher. I have mixed feelings about this: Ryan's parents have one, and the dishes are NEVER clean. When I take a glass out of the cupboard, I literally take our 3+ before I find a clean one.

So, my basic question is, are all dishwasher detergents basically the same or are some definately better than others? Can I get by with the generic brand, or do I need Cascade/etc...? And what about Jet Dry--need or not?

I have heard mixed reviews about the homemade stuff (1/2 borax, 1/2 baking soda). Some say it works fine, others say it leaves a nasty film. Any one here tried it or use it?

And please tell me that your dishes actually get clean in your dishwasher!

[pbjmama]

Dish washing detergent is one area where I am neither frugal or green. I buy Cascade complete gel because it is the only thing that works to get my dishes clean with out me basically washing them first. I use about half the recommended dose and only in the wash compartment.

I find that overall powders don't work well. I think the rest is dependent on your dishwasher - if you have a new high power dishwasher you may find that the homemade or cheaper stuff works.

[Staceyy]

Independent tests have shown that the Walmart brand of dishwashing detergent rates among the best so this is what I buy. I believe the tests were conducted by Consumer Reports. I use vinegar in the rinse container. I also find it helps to keep a sink full of sudsy water and let the dishes soak in this before placing in the dishwasher. The best of all dishwashing detergents I feel are the 2 In 1 Action paks from Cascade. They are however expensive. I buy these when on sale and I have a coupon. When I have an unusually heavy or soiled load I use these.

[OldFashionedGirl]

Originally Posted by Staceyy

Independent tests have shown that the Walmart brand of dishwashing detergent rates among the best so this is what I buy. I believe the tests were conducted by Consumer Reports. I use vinegar in the rinse container. I also find it helps to keep a sink full of sudsy water and let the dishes soak in this before placing in the dishwasher. The best of all dishwashing detergents I feel are the 2 In 1 Action paks from Cascade. They are however expensive. I buy these when on sale and I have a coupon. When I have an unusually heavy or soiled load I use these.

Okay, to me, this completely defeats the purpose of a dishwasher. If I'm going to run a sink of soapy water and put the dishes in it, that's 1/2 the battle !

[TeaghansMama]

i totally agree

i hate our dishwasher almost as much as washing dishes
it's my most dreaded chore :
even loading and unloading it sucks

i use electrosol tabs or gelpaks
they work pretty well but mainly i use them because i'm cheap.
totally not green of me, i know
i get them super cheap (with .75 coupons and triple coupon day at the grocer) so i rationalize

i wish i could be green but my dishwasher is old and green just doesn't equal clean in it.
i am hoping to redo my kitchen completely soon, including a new dishwasher

maybe then i won't hate washing dishes so much

[KariM]

It's not green, but I buy the Kirkland's dishwasher detergent (found at Costco).

Our dishes ALWAYS come clean! We do rinse off large chunks of food, but don't really pre-wash the dishes.

My son spends time at both our house and his dad's and always comments on how gross their dishes are because they're never clean and their dishwasher smells like rotting food. EWWW...

We run our dishwasher once a day - usually in the late evening, so the dishes never sit in there dirty for longer than about 12 hours at a time.

Our dishwasher is a portable model that we purchased about a year ago. I'm not sure if the age of the machine has anything to do with how well it washes, though.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

First of all, it really really helps if you rinse your dishes right away, even if you're not loading right away. I don't really wash them with soap, but rinse off things that get stuck & crusty like sauce or milk or oatmeal.

Second, depending on your water, I would recommend either Wave, Seventh Generation, or biokleen. biokleen doesn't work well for hard water. Wave also makes a green jetdry like product. And the thing about the green products is that you can use less, so it lasts longer. Like the biokleen, you only need one tablespoon to do the load. That's some serious power.

I had to buy cascade once out of a dire emergency, and it really sucked. It left everything in a nasty coat of film.

And keep in mind too about the glasses, no matter what detergent you use, after a while (like 2 years) they are going to look beat up and filmy & scratched simply from taking the abuse of the dishwasher. Like we've been in our house for 3 years, and I just got new glasses because the old ones were looking pretty bad.

HTH!

[LeahC]

Our dishwasher works great, but it is only 4 years old, so that may be it.

I recently switched from Cascade to Ecover tablets and I am in love with the Ecover! It washes amazing and it is green to boot. I also use white vinegar as the rinse aid and it works amazingly. Plus, no icky chemicals lingering on your plates and glassware.

Definitely do a light rinse on your dishes before you load them in the dishwasher. It also helps to run the tap until warm water is coming out before you start dishwasher.

[mamaheids]

Shaklee! No rinse aid needed! I was using Ecover tablets before, but I like Shaklee better.

[dachshundqueen]

I generally use the Whole Foods brand dishwashing liquid and dishwasher detergent. I was given a huge Shaklee Get Green or Get Clean package that had their products in it. I am satisfied with it, but given its price I am unlikely to purchase it again. I wouldn't mind if we were given it again though.

ETA: We also use vinegar in the rinse aid spot. It also makes great fabric softener if you put it in a downey ball instead of downey (man that stuff stinks).

Liz

[gothnurse3]

I have a really killer dishwasher. I did use the walmart dishwashing detergent and it works great.

I recently switched to 7th generation that I get from Amazon in bulk so free shipping.

Will give the white vinegar a try.

[Ruthiegirl]

Consumer reports did a review of dishwashing detergent. Their recommendation was to get something with an enzymatic ingredient. Their favorite was WalMart's generic brand. Frugal, not green, not friendly.

That said, it works wonderfully.

[BetsyS]

I either use Walmart brand or Aldi brand powder. Both work well. I use vinegar in the rinse aid, too.

[Piglet68]

I use 7th Generation automatic dishwashing gel. I don't use a rinse agent but then we don't wash much glass (kids use sippy cups and I mostly drink from mugs). However, I agree that eventually all glass will look a bit beat up if you put them in the dishwasher. So if it matters to you, then you might want to hand wash them.

I rinse all my dishes before loading for two reasons. First, if there is food that doesn't come off in the wash it gets baked on by the dry cycle and is a royal pain in the neck to get off. Second, there is a filter in your dishwasher to trap food particles that come off the dishes - it can readily get clogged if you aren't good about cleaning it out, and in our model washer (fairly new, but cheap) that is also a royal pain because it's way in the back and trying to lift out the particles with the heating element in the way, etc is just an exercise in frustration.

I recall reading somewhere that rinse agents are generally a scam and a waste of money unless you have very hard water.

[daytripper75]

Originally Posted by mamaheids

Shaklee! No rinse aid needed! I was using Ecover tablets before, but I like Shaklee better.

I like Shaklee too. I tried Trader Joe's brand which got a green stamp of approval somewhere online when I was looking but it leaves white flakes on everything. That can't be healthy!

[alicia622]

I don't really care about the brand as long as it's liquid or a gel pack. We have a new dishwasher so that may be part of why it doesn't matter.

[polyhymnia]

I have been really happy with Seventh Generation powder. Before that, we used Cascade or Safeway store brand powder (whichever was cheaper, and I never get anything scented as it can ruin flatware), but I was never 100% satisfied with it. One day I had a coupon for the Seventh Gen stuff, and it was cheaper than the other brands, so I picked up a box - and I love it! I'm a convert. My dishes are clean!!

The thing I have found that makes the biggest difference though is how you load the dishwasher. Whenever my DP loads it, we always have a few dirty dishes after the cycle, because he does a lousy job. You want to make sure that the jet spray of water reaches all of the dishes, that nothing is facing "up" creating a pocket for dirty water to settle in, etc. So basically - don't put anything on the bottom rack that will block the water from reaching the top rack! Stack like next to like. You'll learn what works best for your dishwasher.

We don't prewash or anything, we just scrape off big chunks of food. We run it every 2-3 days (just two of us).

[ksera05]

we've had to resort to using the dishwashing gel packs along with one of those jet dry things that you hang from your top rack to get our dishes clean. the borax/baking soda trick didn't work (with or without vinegar), neither did any of the other brands we've tried. it's the one area where my crunchy cleaning tips have spectacularly failed

[Attila the Honey]

We just got our first dishwasher when we moved into this house about 18 months ago and I was so excited. Now I just think it's a huge pain. Unloading is my least favorite chore, too.

I like to put hot soapy water in the sink and wash my dishes myself, but put them in the dishwasher on the rinse cycle to rinse and dry them. It's actually not much more work and this way they come out the cleanest and I don't have to buy dishwasher detergent.

The best part of having a dishwasher is having someplace to "hide" the dirty dishes if you aren't ready to wash them.