Dishwasher detergent.

[01rangerxl]

I was inspired by the laundry detergent thread.

My apartment has a really cheap, POS dishwasher. I hate it, but I don't own the place, so I'm not buying a new one. The complex sure as [censored] won't buy a new one. Anyway, we had cheap Target brand powder detergent at first, which turned all of the glasses white and left all the dirt in them. We tried reducing the amount of detergent, but that did not help. Next, we got those rectangular blocks you put in the detergent hole thing. Those are better, but about 1/2 the time they fail to dissolve and just go to the bottom of the dishwasher. So what can we use that will clean the glasses and dishes in one cycle? We do rinse off food before putting plates in and dump out any liquids. The dishwasher still does a [censored] job.

And I know someone will say "handwash everything." I don't want to handwash a bunch of glasses that had beer sitting in them all night. I want the machine to do it. That is what it is there for. And yes, we put everything in it. Even Solo cups for beer pong.

 

[Mr Nice]

Get your wife or GF to wash all the dishes, just kidding.


If your dishwasher is so bad, maybe you can let the dishes soak over night in water and then easily wash them with by hand in the morning.

 

[01rangerxl]

Well, when I say "we," I mean myself and my three male roommates. Being 20 year old guys, we are naturally bad at this kind of thing. However, I think you are on to something. My roommate's girlfriend is very annoying. She is loud, eats our food, and practically lives with us. I think she should do the dishes. If she doesn't, her living room privilidges will be revoked. We have tried smoking her out of the apartment with incense since we know she doesn't like it, but it has not worked yet. Time to make the best of it and make her pitch in I guess.

 

[Johnny]

Cascade dishwashing detergent. Powered version.

 

[74DartSport]

Quote:
We do rinse off food before putting plates in and dump out any liquids.

You're ruining the saponification! Alkaline detergent + grease from food + heat = soap.
Don't prerinse, just wipe the heavy glop off with a napkin into the trash. Use hot water and temp boost if it has it. Use a rinse agent too (Jet Dry).
Adjust detergent for water hardness too. Soft water = less.
I've been using Kirkland (Costco) powder but it's been out of stock so I switched to the gel which reeks but seems to work OK. Consumer Reports rated the powder very highly as well as Wal Mart's powder but I won't shop there.

 

[Gary Allan]

I think we use Cascade ..but they're these little liquid things in a water dissolving packet. They appear to work well enough. I guess you pay for the portion control aspect to it ...and if you leave the resealable package they come in open to air, you'll have a package full of mush.


..getting the un-paying resident guest to chip in would be something to get going if you can pull it off. If you succeed, don't make the mistake of acting like it was "well, it's about time". Do the far more deceptively manipulative action of praise and appreciation/admiration. "how did we manage

"

When ever we got a hotdog operator who was somewhat competitive in his labors ...I'd pump him up as much as possible. GO!! GO!! "Man, I wish I could rebuild that heavy, poorly situated/located, troublesome device as good as you. Thank goodness you're on the job."

 

[eljefino]

electrosol orange gel.

 

[G-MAN]

Cascade gel w/ cascade rinse agent.

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Cascade dishwashing detergent. Powered version.


You want one with enzyme-based detergent.
I agree with the Cascade recommendation.

CR lists follows from their Sep-2006 ratings.
All the following contains enzymes.
Cascade 2 in 1 Action Pacs packet 95/100
America's Choice (A&P) powder 89/100
Ecover Ecological tablet 89/100
Cascade Pure Rinse powder 87/100
Electrasol Jet Dry Powerball tablet 87/100
Cascade Complete gel 85/100
Ecover Ecological powder 85/100
Trader Joe's powder 83/100
Kirkland Signature (Costco) Lemon Fresh powder 79/100
Target powder 79/100
Great Value (Wal-Mart) powder 76/100
Everyday Living (Kroger) powder 76/100
America's Choice (A&P) tablet 73/100
Method Softpac packet 66/100
Electrasol Jet Dry Powerball 2-in-1 Gelpacs packet 63/100

All the following do not contain enzymes
Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day gel 54/100
Trader Joe's gel 50/100
Seventh Generation gel 48/100
Target gel 44/100
Electrasol Deep Cleaning powder 34/100
Kirkland Signature gel 30/100
Palmolive Lemon Grove gel 28/100
Winn-Dixie gel 28/100
Cascade Pure Rinse gel 27/100
Sunlight 2-in-1 Dual Action gel 27/100
Great Value (Wal-Mart) Orange Scent gel 23/100
Everday Living (Kroger) gel 20/100

 

[hr1940]

I use cascade powder and fill the soap cups 1/4 full because too much soap will cause a film. I use jet dry and my dishes always come out sparkling clean. I run the tap until the water is hot before I start the dishwasher. You can also pour some cheap vinegar in the rinse cysle if you think of it. To much soap will also cause a build up inside the dishwasher.

 

[benjamming]

Helen,
I also run the faucet until hot prior to starting the d/w. Our d/w has a fill line for soft water & one for hard water.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
And I know someone will say "handwash everything."


You called? Washing the dishes that I've just soiled takes me less time than loading and unloading a dishwasher. I also don't like the idea of filthy dishes and glassware ripening in the dishwasher until it's worth doing a load.

 

[Pablo]

I agree with the morinator if it's you and a SWMBO.

4+ Families are a different story. Not much you can do about a cheapie dishwasher.......I've owned 7(?) homes......and each one I had to either install a DW for the first time or replace a dead one. (Look up my thread earlier this year)

Anyhow, Cascade is the best. Helen is correct, it's a balance - but about the only thing that will help sometimes is a little extra powder, but if the thing is lousy it won't rinse all that well either. So you'll need to do trial and error....some dishwashers I've owned just needed extra soap no matter what.

Vinegar was mentioned - not bad, but get yourself some citric acid power (brewing/wine making stores, pharmacy, etc) and run the washer right after a load with that. It will clean the basic/salt scum.

 

[benjamming]

It's just me & my wife. We might go 4 days between using the dishwasher. We just wait until it is full. They are always clean. We've only had 1 dish in 7 months that didn't come clean - a casserole dish that cooked a squash casserole & remained in it for 2 weeks. Metal pans, cookie sheets, etc. along with all wood items aren't put in the d/w.

 

[Pablo]

Typo alert!

Quote:
citric acid power


sb:

Quote:
citric acid powder (crystals)

 

[mikeg5]

do what we did in college, use paper plates and stuff.. if not that take turns hand washing dishes or like you said just get the hoe to do it haha...

 

[CBDFrontier06]

You may need to inspect the functionality of the washer arm(s). I took a close look at my lower arm and found that a piece of a child's toy was blocking 2 of the spray holes. Also spin it by hand to make sure it turns freely.

As noted above, make sure to run the hot water in the sink (if its water is sourced from the sink's water supply), otherwise it may be filling mostly with cold water when you start it.

I use Cascade liquid and have great results from it.

If none of this works, try running it on more agressive cycles. I run mine on 'heavy' because the normal cycle doesn't always get everything clean.

 

[Al]

Cascade Complete
Jet Dry..rinse

 

[01rangerxl]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We will give Cascade a shot. I will also look and see if there is actually something broken with the dishwasher. The apartments will have to fix it if there is.

 

[The Critic]

Costco branded powder, fill cup 2/3 full on a Kenmore Elite washer. No other additives.