The price of the eco-friendly detergent they're advertising is way too high to justify (17x the cost of my store brand). It's cool to know that a more powerful powder is possible, though.
this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2025
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Have to agree, it's cool that they donate 100% of their profits, but I can't really justify the cost of that stuff compared to bog standard cascade powder.
Technology connections is the reason I buy basic powder. I got a small little countertop dishwasher, and it with the cheap powder gets my dishes so fucking clean it's insane! Had a badly burnt pan that came out looking factory fresh.
I can't even buy powdered detergent around home. I've tried about 20 stores now.
I ended up getting some Nellie's cubes, but honestly they kind of seem to suck.
Oh my god the legend dropped another 45 minute long dishwasher video. Unironically stoked.
two 46 min videos. check connextras.
I was just informed on another thread there are 5 dishwasher related ones.
As someone who doesn't watch this guy, what's the TL;DR?
Purging cold water from the pipes to your dishwasher with hot water before using it (by running the kitchen faucet on hot) can dramatically increase cleaning efficiency (Edit: though depending on if your dishwasher preheats the pre-rinse water with the heating element, may be a waste of water).
Powder detergent is better than pods because it allows you to put detergent in the pre-rinse cycle, and avoids adding microplastics to the water supply (the pods are contained in a dissolveable plastic).
The different modes on a washer can dramatically change its behavior and effectiveness (but seems to use a lot more water to do so).
I knew the pods were sus. It's dissolveable plastic around them? Fucking excellent idea, right after leaded gas!
He pinned a comment in the Connextras video pointing out that if you’ve have a decent dishwasher (yeah, I know he says any dishwasher works, but I’m an appliance elitist), running the water beforehand is probably a waste of resources as they have heaters in them. He alludes to this in the Connextras video too, noting that the water temp was rising.
I have solar water panels on my roof so hot water costs nothing except just the water. Having the machine warm up cold water would cost electrical power. Glad to see this confirmed so I don't feel as nerdy about it.
Ah well in that case, definitely.
Have you considered a recirculating pump?
I really wish powder detergent worked with the fucking rock hard water we have here, but it creates a godawful crust on everything on the first wash. I just use an enzyme based liquid detergent instead, and it works perfectly well if I otherwise follow the same steps he recommends.
Have you tried dishwashing salt?
I have a dishwasher with a water softener, but have no idea where to buy the salt for it. (and I ain't looking on Amazon)
Lowe's
I also have hard water where I live, and I've found that leaving a cup (or two, if it's really bad) right-side up in the top rack and filling them with white vinegar before a wash will completely prevent any mineral buildup from forming in the load, as the acidity in the vinegar allows the minerals to dissolve into the water.
(if your water is only kinda hard, you can try only adding vinegar every second or third load, once you notice the mineral build-up. Even if you're in a really hard-water area, worth experimenting with how much you really need).
I’ll have to give that a try! I use citric acid for cleaning cycles, but vinegar is cheaper.
Acid no bueno for the aluminum basket spindles on all modern washers. Better off sending in softened water.
Citric acid is the primary ingredient in most dishwasher cleaners. Of course, not a good idea to use it in every load. However, my DW manufacture suggests up to 20% citric acid solution as an alternative to rinse aid.
I haven’t seen any aluminum in a dishwasher, and I have noted that if I send any aluminum through it tarnishes like crazy and pits on repeat offenses. I don’t think that hot caustic water is any environment in which to design an aluminum part.
That said, again, dishwasher detergent is basic, so you’re right in that adding acid probably won’t improve the efficacy of the wash cycle.
That said, again, dishwasher detergent is basic, so you’re right in that adding acid probably won’t improve the efficacy of the wash cycle.
Though I can't confirm this, I suspect that the vinegar is mostly removed with the the pre-rinse water, which may negate or disrupt an added pre-rinse detergent, but should be mostly gone by the main wash to not effect the main load of detergent released at that time.
Is there a way to do that with a sink hookup that also allows my sink hookup dishwasher to attach to it? I rent and don’t have access to the water heater, or the OK to mess with the guts of the sink, or open up a wall or anything like that.
Either way it’s not a big deal, worst case scenario I keep doing what’s been working fine.
https://www.mcmaster.com/product/8986T16
You could try something like that, then you would have to also pick some fittings to match whatever your dishwasher supply line uses. You would also need another short hose between the filter housing and your dishwasher. I think you could recharge the cartridge by soaking it in salt water occasionally, but otherwise they sell replacement cartridges.
Sweet! I dunno if it’ll fit, but I’ll look into it.
Have you varied the dosage? It may take some effort to overcome the chemistry. My DW manufacturer suggests as an alternative to rinse aid using a solution with no more than 20% citric acid, which may be an option.
Another option is to keep an eye out for used European style dishwashers; they often have softeners built in with a salt reservoir in the base. That assumes you can change the dishwasher which you may not be able to.
Yeah but pods are delicious.
Thanks ProdigalFrog! Good to know. I switched to pods a while back since they seemed to work better, but going on the conversation I may have to try the vinegar method.
