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The tabs are ridiculously ineffective! I had issues for a year with my dishwasher until one of the handymen looking at it suggested to use the powder detergent

The tabs are ridiculously ineffective! I had issues for a year with my dishwasher until one of the handymen looking at it suggested to use the powder detergent for the compartments instead. Tried it once and it made a night-and-day difference. Never going back to those shitty tabs if I end up with a full-sized dishwasher in the future.

sokoloff 6y ago
We have a Bosch dishwasher and switched over to tablets (Finish brand) when I installed it after using the sample packs. It’s hands-down the most effective dishwasher I’ve ever used; I never imagined I’d have feelings about or brand allegiance to a dishwasher, but Bosch earned it (and Finish is part of it, I guess).
- mypalmike 6y ago
  Beware of their bottom end models. My house came with a Bosch and it does a decent job cleaning but it's very cheaply made. There's a weld that failed that used to hold the upper spray hose in place, the bottom rack falls out of the track most of the time... My Whirlpool at my previous home was far better built.
gambiting 6y ago
Interesting - we have a Bosch Dishwasher, always used Finish (the brand) tablets and everything comes out perfectly clean, every time. I joke that the multiple modes on the machine are just for show because it literally makes no difference if I pick the 50C eco wash or 70C intensive wash - everything comes out super clean anyway.
- barrkel 6y ago
  We have a Miele dishwasher, and there's a difference for some things. The most recent example is some burnt on porridge after a bain-marie double pot had gotten forgotten about on the hob. The 55° wash didn't get that clean but a separate 70° wash did.
- Kaibeezy 6y ago
  New Bosch here too. We stopped using the 30-minute quick cycle which blasts the dishes with a lot of water but doesn’t seem to get them clean, plus leaves a bitter soapy residue, bleh, and all the plastic is wet. I couldn’t believe the eco cycle would take 3 hours, but it does a fantastic job. Also never thought I’d care about rinse aid, but now I’m obsessive about never running a cycle without it or having a spare bottle on hand. This was an excellent post, and zero surprise the secret sauce can be replaced for pence/pennies on the pound/dollar. Remember the ridiculous “fresh squeezed” juice bags? What’s next? DRM petrol/gasoline for hyper-performance (eco + power + range) auto fuel... but it’s regular gas with a couple drops of stuff added? Music player + headphone combo but you can only listen to Neil Young?
  - gambiting 6y ago
    Yeah ok, the 30 minute wash admittedly is very poor. But the quick wash + Vario speed so it's done in 1:05? Still perfect. And we have cheaper electricity between 00:30-4:30am so I just always schedule that 3h long eco wash for then.
  - Tomte 6y ago
    To all the European Bosch dishwasher users: does yours clean starch properly? All my stainless steel pots and pans have a starch layer after cooking potatoes or rice. I've tried all kinds of detergents and am using Alec's "use some detergent for pre-wash" method.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      If UK still counts as "European" - yeah. I put all my pans and pots in the dishwasher after cooking and they come out clean. The specific dishwasher is SMS67MW00G(Series 6 basically) + I use the Finish 0% tabs(I'm very sensitive to strong chemical smells, and those tabs don't leave any fregrance when you open the dishwasher).
- vishnugupta 6y ago
  +1 to Finish. Been using it for an year. BTW being from India and new to using dishwasher I got into the habit of rising the dishes before placing them in dishwasher. I recommend it. It’s a little extra work but the dishes come out sparkling clean every single time.
  - cricalix 6y ago
    The whole point of a dishwasher though, is that you /don't/ need to do that. Strongly recommend watching Technology Connection's video on the subject; the takeaway is to put powder/tab in free for the first cycle, and powder/tab in the compartment for the main wash - first cycle takes away way more dirt that way.
    - raverbashing 6y ago
      Some things do get stuck if you don't rinse, it won't take everything out of it. It is not magical (and filters get clogged)
    - jimktrains2 6y ago
      > The whole point of a dishwasher though, is that you /don't/ need to do that. Our filter clogs really quickly if we leave too much on the dishes, even with prewash detergent.
- sgtnoodle 6y ago
  The last time I took an interest, "Quantum Finish with Powerball" seemed to be the sweet spot for performance vs. cost. That's decade old information, though.
wlll 6y ago
I've used tabs (brand name ones) for nearly 20 years and they're perfect.
zikzak 6y ago
The cleanest wash I have even gotten in a dishwashing machine is using a small dab of liquid dish soap (like you would use to wash by hand) instead of "real" dishwasher soap. I don't use it regularly because others either think it is nuts or would use too much on the few nights I don't load the machine. I have up trying to justify it and just use tabs for political reasons but the fact is I got a great wash for way less product. Something to note: commercial dishwasher machines (food service) use liquid soap (automatically dispensed, of course).
- barrkel 6y ago
  Dishwashing fluids contain bleach and other harsh chemicals that can e.g. remove caked on tea residue from cups, something soap will not do without a lot of direct mechanical action. As a tea drinker, unless you are very fastidious, handwashing generally doesn't remove everything and a layer can build up in cups which needs standing in bleach every so often to clear out.
lupire 6y ago
> compartments Plural. We're you using two tabs per wash? If not, you aren't prewashing with detergent, so you are washing your dishes in the filth.
sgarland 6y ago
The tabs suck. Gel packs (at least, Finish Quantum) work amazingly, though.

sokoloff 6y ago

We have a Bosch dishwasher and switched over to tablets (Finish brand) when I installed it after using the sample packs. It’s hands-down the most effective dishwasher I’ve ever used; I never imagined I’d have feelings about or brand allegiance to a dishwasher, but Bosch earned it (and Finish is part of it, I guess).

mypalmike 6y ago
Beware of their bottom end models. My house came with a Bosch and it does a decent job cleaning but it's very cheaply made. There's a weld that failed that used to hold the upper spray hose in place, the bottom rack falls out of the track most of the time... My Whirlpool at my previous home was far better built.

gambiting 6y ago

Interesting - we have a Bosch Dishwasher, always used Finish (the brand) tablets and everything comes out perfectly clean, every time. I joke that the multiple modes on the machine are just for show because it literally makes no difference if I pick the 50C eco wash or 70C intensive wash - everything comes out super clean anyway.

barrkel 6y ago
We have a Miele dishwasher, and there's a difference for some things. The most recent example is some burnt on porridge after a bain-marie double pot had gotten forgotten about on the hob. The 55° wash didn't get that clean but a separate 70° wash did.
Kaibeezy 6y ago
New Bosch here too. We stopped using the 30-minute quick cycle which blasts the dishes with a lot of water but doesn’t seem to get them clean, plus leaves a bitter soapy residue, bleh, and all the plastic is wet. I couldn’t believe the eco cycle would take 3 hours, but it does a fantastic job. Also never thought I’d care about rinse aid, but now I’m obsessive about never running a cycle without it or having a spare bottle on hand. This was an excellent post, and zero surprise the secret sauce can be replaced for pence/pennies on the pound/dollar. Remember the ridiculous “fresh squeezed” juice bags? What’s next? DRM petrol/gasoline for hyper-performance (eco + power + range) auto fuel... but it’s regular gas with a couple drops of stuff added? Music player + headphone combo but you can only listen to Neil Young?
- gambiting 6y ago
  Yeah ok, the 30 minute wash admittedly is very poor. But the quick wash + Vario speed so it's done in 1:05? Still perfect. And we have cheaper electricity between 00:30-4:30am so I just always schedule that 3h long eco wash for then.
- Tomte 6y ago
  To all the European Bosch dishwasher users: does yours clean starch properly? All my stainless steel pots and pans have a starch layer after cooking potatoes or rice. I've tried all kinds of detergents and am using Alec's "use some detergent for pre-wash" method.
  - gambiting 6y ago
    If UK still counts as "European" - yeah. I put all my pans and pots in the dishwasher after cooking and they come out clean. The specific dishwasher is SMS67MW00G(Series 6 basically) + I use the Finish 0% tabs(I'm very sensitive to strong chemical smells, and those tabs don't leave any fregrance when you open the dishwasher).
vishnugupta 6y ago
+1 to Finish. Been using it for an year. BTW being from India and new to using dishwasher I got into the habit of rising the dishes before placing them in dishwasher. I recommend it. It’s a little extra work but the dishes come out sparkling clean every single time.
- cricalix 6y ago
  The whole point of a dishwasher though, is that you /don't/ need to do that. Strongly recommend watching Technology Connection's video on the subject; the takeaway is to put powder/tab in free for the first cycle, and powder/tab in the compartment for the main wash - first cycle takes away way more dirt that way.
  - raverbashing 6y ago
    Some things do get stuck if you don't rinse, it won't take everything out of it. It is not magical (and filters get clogged)
  - jimktrains2 6y ago
    > The whole point of a dishwasher though, is that you /don't/ need to do that. Our filter clogs really quickly if we leave too much on the dishes, even with prewash detergent.
sgtnoodle 6y ago
The last time I took an interest, "Quantum Finish with Powerball" seemed to be the sweet spot for performance vs. cost. That's decade old information, though.

wlll 6y ago

I've used tabs (brand name ones) for nearly 20 years and they're perfect.

zikzak 6y ago

The cleanest wash I have even gotten in a dishwashing machine is using a small dab of liquid dish soap (like you would use to wash by hand) instead of "real" dishwasher soap. I don't use it regularly because others either think it is nuts or would use too much on the few nights I don't load the machine. I have up trying to justify it and just use tabs for political reasons but the fact is I got a great wash for way less product. Something to note: commercial dishwasher machines (food service) use liquid soap (automatically dispensed, of course).

barrkel 6y ago
Dishwashing fluids contain bleach and other harsh chemicals that can e.g. remove caked on tea residue from cups, something soap will not do without a lot of direct mechanical action. As a tea drinker, unless you are very fastidious, handwashing generally doesn't remove everything and a layer can build up in cups which needs standing in bleach every so often to clear out.

lupire 6y ago

> compartments Plural. We're you using two tabs per wash? If not, you aren't prewashing with detergent, so you are washing your dishes in the filth.

sgarland 6y ago

The tabs suck. Gel packs (at least, Finish Quantum) work amazingly, though.