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For anyone who is upset with the performance of their dishwasher there is a really really easy thing to try. First, replace your pods with a box of powder dete
by enragedcacti 3y ago
For anyone who is upset with the performance of their dishwasher there is a really really easy thing to try.
First, replace your pods with a box of powder detergent, then add some detergent to the prewash cup on your dishwasher in addition to the normal dispenser. If your dishwasher doesn't have one you can just put some on the door before you close the washer. This gives your dishwasher detergent to work with on two of its cycles rather than just one and in my experience it makes all the difference on really difficult dishes.
The pods are effectively identical to the powder detergent but at a huge cost premium and don't give you the ability to adjust your amount of detergent to match the water hardness in your area which can result in a film on your clean dishes.
for more info there is a great Technology Connections video covering it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04
Alternatively you can test this by just throwing an extra pod in the bottom of the dishwasher to start with. If it works well then you can consider switching to powder to save costs.
- eurleif 3y agoAlso helpful: running the sink's hot water before you run the dishwasher, until it heats up, so that the dishwasher has access to hot water from the moment it starts.
- readthenotes1 3y agoWhich can waste a bunch of water. I do mine by hand and am often done before the hot water arrives.
- db48x 3y agoThen your house was built badly. But you can repair it by installing an instant water heater that goes under the sink.
- PeterStuer 3y agoThe world outside the US just hooks dishwashers up to the cold water supply and it washes just fine. Are US machines different?
- chongli 3y agoYes. North American dishwashers don’t heat the water during the prewash cycle because the duration in time is too short and the 120V electrical service can’t supply enough power to heat the water quickly during that time. European dishwashers use 240V (like everything else in the house) and so they can heat water much more quickly. This electrical difference is also reflected in the fact that electric kettles (for boiling water) aren’t nearly as popular in North America as they are in Europe. Technology Connections also did a video on this topic [1]. [1] https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
- dboreham 3y agoAs a former British person I'm not sure this is true now. The 220V supply part is true, but you can buy electric kettles at Costco and they boil plenty fast on 120V and everyone who drinks tea has one in my experience.
- daveoc64 3y agoIt's sort of a physical impossibility. If your kettle is limited to 1500W, it's always going to be slower than a kettle operating at 3000W.
- wongarsu 3y agoJust checking Amazon, most popular local (230V) kettles are 2200W, with some 2400W options. Checking Costco, US kettles are 1500W. Assuming equal efficiency, the European kettle takes between 62% and 68% the time it takes a US kettle to boil the same water Of course equal efficiency isn't necessarily a given. The insulation and the design of the heating element can have a notable impact on heating time. And for small amounts it likely doesn't matter that much. But assuming equal construction it is still a very notable difference.
- zaroth 3y agoIsn’t the problem that they regulated the phosphates out of the powder detergent, so it stopped working too?!
- LilBytes 3y agoI stopped using tablets and started using powder after watching this exact video by Technology Connections. Highly recommend the watch.
- deepspace 3y agoI still use the pods in the main dispenser, for convenience, but after watching the TC video, I started dumping a spoonful of loose Oxyclean into the washer before closing the door. That also provides detergent during both cycles, and the difference in cleanliness is night and day.
- boringg 3y agois oxyclean alright for your dishes / dishwasher?
- kadoban 3y agoIt's fairly hard to find a cleaning product that's not okay for dishes. Glass is very unreactive and quite hard. Dishwasher maybe less so, but they're usually pretty sturdy too.
- boringg 3y agoI'm unclear on the answer -- are you saying it's a product that is probably fine then? And for human consumption if theres residue?
- kadoban 3y agoI would strongly suspect it's not going to hurt anything. If your dishwasher is leaving residue of cleaners, that's another story, that needs to be fixed whatever you're using.
- superseeplus 3y agoAlso worth checking your dishwasher manual to see if it has a minimum temperature requirement for the incoming water. If it does, run the kitchen faucet till the water gets as hot as it can before starting the dishwasher. Many cheap dishwashers have a heating element which cannot heat the water to the required cycle temperature unless the incoming water is hotter than a certain temperature. More expensive dishwashers can work with cold or hot water.
- Scoundreller 3y agoMy belief is that manufacturers use the same heating elements between europe (240V, but often piped to the cold water line) and North America (120V, but usually piped to the hot water line). No matter what, North American dishwashers will only be able to draw 1500w, and probably less because they're not always on a dedicated circuit, and have other power needs than just heat. So it's probably not a "cheap diswasher" vs expensive one issue.
- c0pium 3y agoI’ve seen no models that are the same across the US and EU market, do you have any evidence for this?
- superseeplus 3y agoThe amount of water heated up in each cycle is small enough that 1500W is not the limiting factor. Maytag recommends connecting to the hot water outlet and recommends a minimum temperature of 120F [1]. The Miele user manual for their USA models recommends connecting to the cold water inlet unless the hot water is known to be heated by a very efficient source [2]. [1] https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dishwasher_Tips_and_Tricks/How_Water_Temperature_Affects_Cycle_Time https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dish... [2] https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB7BB8B663D4905C4.pdf#page84 https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB...
- perryizgr8 3y ago
- Sebguer 3y agoThere's an entire follow-up video to this that points to errors in his original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU&t=2223s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU&t=2223s
- ravi-delia 3y agoNone that go against the thesis- though there's a lot of additional information that's pretty interesting.
- gpt5 3y agoThat's incorrect - 1. He points out that a powder Detergent by itself is less effective than a combination of powder and gel. Something that the pods provide built in. 2. His own experiment with the prewash were completely underwhelming, showing nearly identical results in addition to not proving any different in the final result.
- ravi-delia 3y agoI couldn't find where he says the powder alone is worse than powder and gel. There is a section discussing how any gel detergent will have at most one out of enzymes and bleach- is that what you're thinking of? The actual test you refer to happened in the first video. I don't think it's too surprising. Dishwashers work pretty well!
- ComputerGuru 3y agoThe follow-up to the video is worth linking to, if only because it explains why liquid detergent is crap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU
- Blackthorn 3y agoAmerica's Test Kitchen, back when it was good (AKA when Chris was in control), said that the easiest thing to do was just use the pods that had as many colors of liquid as possible. With that advice, I've had good results 100% of the time.
- gruez 3y ago>said that the easiest thing to do was just use the pods that had as many colors of liquid as possible. With that advice, I've had good results 100% of the time. this seems like bad advice. Setting aside the question of whether the colors actually do anything, once this "advice" is known it's only a matter of time before inferior brands add a mix of food coloring to their detergent pods to look more premium.
- throw0101b 3y ago> America's Test Kitchen, back when it was good (AKA when Chris was in control), said that the easiest thing to do was just use the pods that had as many colors of liquid as possible. 1. I don't see any/much difference in pre- and post-Christopher Kimball ATK. The rest of the senior staff is basically the same, so I'm not sure what would have changed. 2. What exactly is so special about the colored liquids? What is the chemical make-up of them and their purpose? And are the liquids the same between difference brands? Is the red of one the same as the red as another? Or is the red of one have an equivalent to another (brandA->red = brandB->blue)? Because unless you know what the liquids are/do, you're just cargo culting. By some account the liquids to nothing practical: > Chemistry expert and former detergent chemist here, chiming in. Modulo some small semantic differences, you're 100% spot on. Functionally, there is zero difference in the formulations. Every powder dish detergent on the market comprises the same functional components, though the exact chemicals selected may vary. It's always some combination of detergent, anti-deposition agent, water conditioners, strong base, oxidizers, enzymes, buffers, "processing aids", and what I call "foo foo juice" - colors and fragrances. * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU&lc=Ugxn7pFkryB_j-mLhoh4AaABAg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU&lc=Ugxn7pFkryB_j...
- Blackthorn 3y ago
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- 0cVlTeIATBs 3y agoTechnology Connections' videos are a bit long for my taste. This one and its follow up really only have a few takeaways: Dirt sensors might mean that deliberately leaving crud on the dishes (rather than rinsing first in the sink) leads to longer and better washes Run your kitchen sink hot water a little before starting to get warmer water into the dishwasher The first cycle is just water, before the detergent tray pops open, so put detergent into the pre-wash tray or just straight into the tub to make it do more cleaning in that cycle But don't put two pods in, i.e. one in the detergent tray, and another detergent pod into the tub because these pods are very concentrated and harsh and will damage plates. Only add a little extra powder
- ramraj07 3y agoI really don't understand why people espouse this channel. If you watch it for entertainment sure, I suppose this video is better than watching some guys video essay about Man of Steel, but if I just want to learn about something asking me to watch 30 minutes of drivel makes no sense.
- fortran77 3y agoDifferent people have different tastes. I like his videos.
- legobridge 3y agoI love his videos. They are not tutorials and so do not need to be concise and to the point. They are video essays from which I learn many things in a good amount of detail, and i have a fun time doing it because he writes entertaining scripts.
- p1necone 3y agoI almost always learn things for fun, not because I'm deliberately trying to better myself (turns out self improvement comes easily for me when I don't overthink things). I'd much rather watch a 30 minute video that's entertaining and teaches me something than skim read a document for a few minutes. He also tends to go into all sorts of interesting tangents that I probably wouldn't have even found out about if I was researching this stuff myself.
- pottertheotter 3y agoI think that this advice from Technology Connections is bad advice. I was having huge problems getting my dishes clean in early-mid 2020. I thought my dishwasher was broken and needed to be repaired, and then it started working again. What made it stop washing? I had switched to powdered detergent because I couldn't find pods due to COVID shortages. When I found pods again, I bought them. I've never had problems since.
- wwweston 3y agoThis doesn’t make a lot of sense to me if it’s true that pods are just water-soluble wrappers around the same detergent. Is there a case that they’re something else?
- fnordpiglet 3y agoI don’t know if this happened here, but sometimes if the soap door is time released water infiltrated the chamber and it cakes up and doesn’t release properly. My observation is this happens less often with pods likely because they don’t dissolve rapidly enough.
- exmadscientist 3y agoThe colorful liquids (or equivalent) in the pods are surfactants and other fun things that are not practical to formulate as powders. So they really do clean differently. Of course, there are other ways to formulate things, but they all have tradeoffs.
- InSteady 3y agoDishwashing powder 100% has surfactants in it.
- Izkata 3y agoI can't find any pods that are just water-soluble wrappers of the powdered detergent. All of them have additional compartments in the pods for other chemicals, and all the pods do clean a hell of a lot better than just powdered detergent. I had switched earlier this year after seeing the Technology Connections video, and I'm ready to switch back. The pods are just better.
- jader201 3y ago> to match the water hardness in your area which can result in a film on your clean dishes. Or invest in a water softener. They’re a one-time expense and almost no maintenance (aside from a small expense/maintenance for salt), and are beneficial for a number of things: - improved appliance longevity - eliminating scale buildup on toilets and faucets - improving the health of your skin and hair - everything cleans more easily
- lolinder 3y agoI wouldn't say almost no maintenance—the water softener is the single highest maintenance appliance I own. I can never manage to stay on top of the salt input that's required.
- jader201 3y agoI fill mine twice a year, with about 5-6 bags each fill. Maybe there are different sizes, but when I was shopping around, most seemed to have about the same capacity. So for me, I'd say something that takes me about 30 minutes to do (including the trip to get the salt) twice a year is fairly low maintenance.
- willis936 3y agoNot an option for renters, who also don't have the luxury of the option of fixing or replacing bad dishwashers. Also, when I lived in the Midwest I could barely tell the water softener was there. I would descale my kettle and the first pot already had a thick layer on it. I now use a countertop RO system.
- jader201 3y ago> when I lived in the Midwest I could barely tell the water softener was there I guess it depends on how hard the water is, I suppose, but could also be the type of softener. I'm not sure, I haven't done a lot of research on it, as it seems to just work. But in my experience, I can tell a huge difference (vs. the house we moved from that didn't have a softener). I never see any scale on our appliances, faucets, shower doors, etc. When showering, I can tell when I've forgotten to refill the salt just from the feel of the water.
- UncleOxidant 3y agoI've heard that adding a teaspoon of TSP can be helpful because a lot of the dishwashing detergents are now phosphate free.
- hh3k0 3y agoI'm not sure how I would go about adding a teaspoon of Thrift Savings Plan.
- bl4kers 3y agoActually they mean a teaspoon of a teaspoon
- DiggyJohnson 3y agoN.b. TSP == Trisodium phosphate. Available at many stores.
- ericjmorey 3y agoIf your water is hard, this will prevent water spots or scale from forming.
- jcampbell1 3y agoDo not use TSP! Use sodiumtrippolyphosphate, aka STP, STPP. TSP is as caustic as lye. You can find STP on Amazon. Mix 30% STPP with powder for hard water. 10% for soft water.
- mrmincent 3y agoThe advice from that video to put powdered detergent in the prewash has been a huge improvement to our dishwashing. We now put the powder in the prewash section, but keep using tablets for the main wash just because of inertia I suppose, but it works great.
- WalterBright 3y agoI switched to buying powder from Amazon because the local supermarket only carries pods now. Huge cost premium is right. The same for washing machine detergent. Why anyone would pay $$$ to have water come with their detergent is beyond me. In the same vein, antifreeze now comes "premixed" with water. Gaaaaah. I just keep looking till I find the lonely 100% antifreeze jug.
- deprecative 3y ago> Why anyone would pay $$$ to have water come with their detergent is beyond me. I pay so that I don't have to add yet another thing to my increasingly limited free time. The older I get the happier I am to pay extra so I have to do less.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- mschuster91 3y ago> The same for washing machine detergent. Why anyone would pay $$$ to have water come with their detergent is beyond me. Because powder detergent (no matter if for laundry or dishes) has a nasty tendency to pull in moisture from the air, leading to it clumping up and getting ineffective. If you have a family with small children that produce a lot of dishes and laundry, you may get away with it but if you're single / DINK no way. > In the same vein, antifreeze now comes "premixed" with water. Gaaaaah. I just keep looking till I find the lonely 100% antifreeze jug. That one is because most people don't use distilled water to dilute, but tap water instead... which can carry serious issues, either because it dissolves the piping (see e.g. Flint water crisis) or because limescale builds up in the engine where it's hot and eventually clogs up, leading to engine failure.
- WalterBright 3y agoI've never had any trouble with either of your points.
- didntcheck 3y ago
- jiggawatts 3y agoMany people also don't clean their dishwashers regularly. You need to remove the filter on the bottom and wash it clean once a month, at least. Also, the nozzles on the spray arms can become clogged. The easiest method to clean everything is to add one of those "cleaning" tablets to a normal wash. These are just Sodium Hydroxide, which chemically converts accumulates fats and greases into soap.
- DiggyJohnson 3y ago> need […] once a month, at least This strikes me as an abuse of the word “need”, in my opinion.
- jiggawatts 3y agoI keep telling my customers that they don't "need" to patch their Internet-facing Windows web servers in the same sense that they don't "need" to replace the oil filters in their car. Look, yes, you ought to replace the filter every six months to a year, but will your car stop dead the very next day if you don't? No! It also won't stop the day after, or the day after that. Ergo, by induction, we come to the conclusion that the 2012 R2 server on RTM patch level is not professional negligence. It's just simple logic.
- DiggyJohnson 3y agoIt’s a difference of degree, doses of magnitude of degrees. In fact, you should patch your serve on the order of years, just the same as your should patch your fridge filter.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Erik816 3y agoI have owned my current dishwasher for about 15 years, and I have never once cleaned it. It's working just fine.
- hammock 3y agoThe pods are not the same, in a modern detergent formulation there are some chemicals that can only exist in liquid form and others in powder form. You can get hybrid pods. ( Myself I prefer Whole Foods 365 brand pods because they have all the detergent + enzymes but none of the ethoxylated alcohols or the worst chemicals)
- wodenokoto 3y agoWhere I live you cannot get powder dishwashing agents in super markets and Amazon suggest weird imports at 10 times the premium. I smash between a quarter and half the pod for prewash and the rest in the compartment following that technology connection video where he talks about the problem. I find little life of quality change.
- dreamcompiler 3y agoAlthough I generally like Technology Connections, I've always found that particular TC video hilariously wrong. Every dishwasher I've ever owned has been basically a sterilizing machine, not a cleaning machine. I always wash all my dishes by hand to the point where there is no visible food on them before I put them into the dishwasher, because if I don't do that half my dishes come out of the dishwasher with food crud still on them. And no, I'm not talking about crappy, dirty, worn-out dishwashers. I'm talking about state-of-the art modern dishwashers. I thought it was normal for everybody that you had to wash all your dishes by hand before putting them in the dishwasher. I thought TC was basically making a big joke, but after TFA I'm thinking maybe dishwashers do exist (or did exist?) that actually ... wash dishes?? And don't take 4 hours to do it??
- tass 3y agoDid you test the recommendations? I’m able to put dirty dishes in mine and have them come out clean.
- manojlds 3y agoWhat are you talking about? This is either a US thing as usual or you are being duped.
- dreamcompiler 3y agoI've always thought clothes washers washed clothes but dishwashers don't actually wash dishes and everybody knows it. I thought it was just a universally shared joke that everybody was in on, like "Grape Nuts contain neither grapes not nuts, and dishwashers don't actually wash dishes because of course they don't." Only now I'm beginning to think I've been out of the loop.
- willis936 3y agoI use powder in both trays, pre-heat the water, clean my filters, and run citric acid regularly. I still had issues when I lived in a place with hard water. I still sometimes get an occasional garbage smelling result now that I don't. No amount of "aww shucks" and tier 1 support level of suggestion changes or downplays my observations.
- jjeaff 3y agoI have found that the bad smell is usually a result of water sitting in the bottom of the dishwasher. and I think it may be due to water dripping off all the dishes after it has finished draining. I try to remember to push the drain button a few times a few hours after a cycle has completed to get all the water out of the bottom.
- blamazon 3y agoDoes anyone turn the powder into tablets at home? I want to do this because I like the convenience of just grabbing a thing out of a bucket rather than dealing with loose powder. Do you do a mechanical press, or make a slurry in an ice cube tray and wait for the water to evaporate, or some other thing?
- Johnny555 3y agoEither one sounds like more effort than just pouring the powder into the detergent compartment. I can understand the convenience factor of pre formed pods, but if I have to spend 15 minutes a week making my own pods from powdered detergent, it seems like I’d be better off just using the powder as intended.
- blamazon 3y agoThe convenience for me would be in time shifting the labor. Sometimes (read: often) I want to sit and zone out for 15 minutes, but I almost never want to deal with transferring a powdered substance from one container to another, especially not after the rigamarole of loading the dishwasher. In theory the powder could go in first, or at some other time, but my brain just isn't like that.
- jagaerglad 3y agoI poured mine in an old plastic soda bottle which makes pouring into the compartment very quick and convenient
- PeterStuer 3y agoIn my experience it is not the amount but the composition of the pod/tablets that makes a huge difference. My machine (Miele) on the same cycle program has excellent results with Dreft pods, Ok'ish with Sun tablets and very poor with Finish.
- bilsbie 3y agoGood advice! What are they thinking when they get rid of the pre wash cup?
- r00fus 3y agoPods aren't just "effectively identical to the powder detergent" they contain the rinse agent in the pod. Using just detergent without rinse agent has always had poor results, and it's frustrating running out of rinse agent. Pods don't really cost that much more unless you're buying the ultra family size from Costco.