Are you about ready to throw in the towel on your dishwasher? Well, check out this simple tip for how to get your dishwasher cleaning again. Before you go shopping for a replacement try this out.
I have never lived in a home or apartment with a new dishwasher. I have always been aggravated by how unclean my dishes are. They always have spots or small food particles stuck all over them. I almost went and bought a new dishwasher, even though mine isn’t that old. Until, by accident, I found a product that turned my dishwasher into my new best friend.
It started with my love- hate relationship with the rinse aid compartment. You see, I can’t hit that thing for the life of me. I always end up with rinse aid all over the washer door because no matter what I do, I can’t pour that blue goo straight. So in desperation, I started looking for an easier way and I found the answer. It comes in a tiny pod with green and blue liquid swirled on top. I discovered Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs Dishwasher Detergent pods. I was excited because the rinse aid is built in. No more pouring…or dumping in my case.
After my first wash with these I noticed a total difference. You just drop it right into the normal detergent compartment and close the little door. Not a single dish had residue or food left on it. After I started using it regularly, I never have to re-wash glasses or plates. I’ve always been a person that cheaps out on these things. I always bought the cheapest gel possible. But now, I’m willing to pay a little more for a consistently clean load of dishes. These little babies kept me from hassling with buying a new dishwasher. Now I can live with and love my dish washer.
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| Just put it right into your detergent compartment. |
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| Then shut the little door! |
So, if you have a slightly older dishwasher, or even a dinosaur, give this product a try before you run down and buy a brand new one. It might just save the day and help you tolerate your day to day dish washing. To make sure you get the right ones, be sure the package says “Complete” on it and the pods have a blue and green liquid swirl on top. They have also come out with one called Cascade “Platinum” which work just as well. I didn’t notice a huge difference in the pods so I won’t pay a little more for the Platinum ones. If these don’t work, and you’ve tried everything else, it may be time to throw in the towel. If you need a new dishwasher and want to save some money look for a Sears Outlet or scratch and dent store near you. Good luck!
If you want to try these little pods before you “invest” in whole pack, you can get a sample pack at Target for around $1.
Let me know if this works for you or if you have found other great dishwasher savers!
Kim’s is the party planning, thrifty life-loving, intentional living catalyst behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. Kim was a pro event planner for over 7 years before she became a full-time blogger. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more! Kim aims to inspire you to create, celebrate, and live life intentionally!
Hannah says
Tried these and several other brands of these and they left my dishes with streaks and white goop
Kim Anderson says
Hannah, it might be your dishwasher. How old is your dishwasher and have you tried running a vinegar based cleaning cycle through the washer to remove any build up? If you’ve done all that and it doesn’t work, it might be time to bite the bullet and get a new washer. Thanks for providing feedback about your own experience!
Janet says
i had been using the electrsol power ball. Hate the way my dishes come out. I’m going to switch to cascade n see. Thank you! I do run vinager once amother or so ! Also after each load I wipe the hinge area where gunk gathers.
Kim Anderson says
Janet, it works for some and others are beyond hope. I think there are lots of great tips in here from using the right detergent to cleaning the bin at the bottom and using vinegar. I’m a fan of Target’s Up and Up brand and they made a “knock off” of this product and my dishes went back to having residue when I tried them out. I’m not switching again after that.
Evelyn says
tried all of the above, finally found a You Tube video on how to remove the lower filter, spent about 2 hours scrubbing the interior with parts removed and dishes come out sparkling once again-
Kim Anderson says
Eveylyn, that is excellent information! I hope that if someone else finds that the lower filter is their issue that this route works for them like it did for you!
Fran Robinson says
I’m in South Texas with really hard water. But, besides Lemi Shine taking care of the hard water, it takes care of spots and havn’t had a dirty dish in forever. They have detergent balls now too!!
Kim Anderson says
Fran, thanks for sharing your Lemi Shine tip because I’m sure lots of people are battling the “hard water” fight just like you!
Beth McIntire says
Premium detergent didn’t do the trick for my dishwasher. I ended up having to replace parts on it, but it was still a lot cheaper than buying a new one. Running an empty load with 1/2 cup of white vinegar or Lime-Away might also help, or cleaning out the filter under the sprayer arm.
Kim Anderson says
Beth, so sorry that didn’t work out for your washer. I’m glad you were able to replace a few parts and not have to just go out a get a new one. Thanks for the cleaning formula, I’ll have to give that a try in January when I do some major cleaning around my house.
Laurie Plummer says
The Cascade packs definitely work. But, I found that the chemicals used in them reacted with any aluminum items and wore away the copper on my Revereware. I quit using them.
My husband used to be a “Maytag Man” . For optimum cleaning, simply do not overload the dishwasher. Be aware of the spray pattern of your washer, and do not block the spray. Make sure the drain and filter on the bottom are not clogged with gunk. Rinse off any food that you know won’t be dissolved by detergent. When I follow these rules my dishes come clean no matter what I use as a detergent. My dishwasher is 27 years old by the way.I am currently using Oxyclean DW detergent. I also like Cascade gel.
Kim Anderson says
Laurie, thanks for all the tips from a real expert! I’ll have to look into each one of these!
Kellie says
I’ve been having really good luck with the Target brand dishwasher tabs and pouring a little vinegar in the dishwasher with each load. The only things that ever have to get rewashed are things that have baked on gunk that didn’t get rinsed prior to washing. But after working in food services, I like to think of my dishwasher as a “dish sanitizer” instead of a “dish washer”.
Kim Anderson says
Thanks for those thrifty tips Kellie! I love me some Target up and up brand stuff so I might have to test this out!
Teri says
I love the replies! Ladies, I am looking for something to clean out my dishwasher, as well as yo clean off my dishes. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Can you give me an idea? I am going to start using the Cascade pods, but just needed to get this poor guy cleanish before.
Thanks!
Kim Anderson says
Teri, I think running vinegar through the machine does a good job. Thanks for leaving a comment! Good luck!
Regina says
To clean out dishwasher, run a packet of lemon kool aid through the cycle. Also there is a product you can buy that is usually in the dishwasher detergent area called lemi shine. It is an excellent product that is basically just citric acid. It breaks down hard water and lime deposits, even gets rid of rust on dishes, fabrics etc. I discovered it when I lived in the mountains and had poor well water.
Kim Anderson says
Regina, I’ve never heard the lemon kool aid trick before! Thanks for sharing all your knowledge with us!
Alicia Hicks says
We have super hard water in Albuquerque. I use Cascade and Lemon Shine as well as jet dry. One thing I found out was when you pour the jet dry in the hole in the door if you look closely you will find number around the ring. Where ever it’s set is where the factory set it and You can change it if you need too. I cranked it up all the way to the top range and that helped too. Low flow energy efficient dishwashers are a problem. I think everybody has issues with them.
Kim Anderson says
Thanks for sharing your special recipe!
Margaret says
My dishwasher in my apt. Is so old nothing. Worked not even this tabs. Untill i made my own dishwashing detergent now it gets clean and i save alot of money… i made the detergent 4 months ago and i doubled. The recipe and it is almost gone now i only payed a dollar.. because i had the other ingredients. But all in total it would be around 10 dollars or less. For 4 months not bad not bad !!
Kim Anderson says
Margaret, so glad you were able to come up with a solution without having to ditch the washer. At my old apt I used to call maintence and ask them to switch out the washer but I’d always get a “new” one that I’m pretty sure wasn’t “new” and it never got stuff clean either. Would you Mind sharing your detergent recipe for people in the same spot as you?
tanya says
Look at Target for a great product I found for $4…Lemi shine powder. Just sprinkle a tbsp. Into the dishwasher and run it through once empty…after that just add a tbsp. At the bottom of the dishwasher anytime you use your dishwasher. The dishes will come out sparkling 🙂
Kim Anderson says
Thanks for the suggestion Tanya! I love hearing what works for people because it could help someone else too! Appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Brittany says
It did work! I finally got some and I haven’t seen gunk on my dishes since.
Kim Anderson says
Hey that’s great! Happy that it worked for you. Thanks for coming back and leaving a comment. Sorry I didn’t see this until now….
Brittany says
My dishwasher leaves little sticky, nasty, gray globs on my dishes, do you think it would help with that, too?
Kim Anderson says
If you live near a Target, go check out the dish detergent isle and pick up a sample pack of the Cascade Complete packs which is like 3 or 4 for $1. Give those a try and see if it works. Also, if you haven’t already consider running a cycle without dishes with vinegar as your detergent and then try using the cascade complete packs with your dishes after you run the vinegar cycle.
Kim Anderson says
http://www.ehow.com/how_8102073_clean-dishwasher-using-vinegar.html?ref=Track2&utm_source=ask
Check out this guide to cleaning out the inside of your dishwasher!
Brittany says
I have tried running my dishwasher empty with vinegar. I will get the sample pack at Target, thank you for the suggestion!
Kim Anderson says
Please let us know if they help your dishes get cleaner!