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I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

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Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American dishwashers don't have their own heater? Some do, some don't. The ones that do vary in ability by overall dishwasher quality. The ones that don't are hooked up to the kitchen's hot water line. This is considered more energy efficient because a home's hot water heater (whether electric, gas, or another fuel) is better at heating the water in a bulk capacity than a tiny heater in the dishwasher. The downside i…

Hot water from the house supply isn't that hot though? My dishwasher gets MUCH hotter than the hot water supply... and I don't think the heater is "tiny" I think it's a rather substantial element. The dishwasher also doesn't need to heat up a "bulk" amount of water, just the amount of water used for washing the current load of dishes.

Watch the video; it makes a huge difference even though the hot water input is not as hot as the water can get when the dishwasher runs its heating element.

Also the size of the heating element is irrelevant. What matters is the power dissipated. Most dishwashers in the US will use only about 900 watts of power even when plugged into a circuit that supports 1500 watts. In the EU they often hit 3000 watts. Even when just heating up a gallon or two of water that makes a huge difference.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you check the manual you might find that you can hook the single inlet pipe up to the hot water tap.

I feel like it's probably pointless. The dishwasher will be full of water before the hot water starts coming out the pipe. Depending on how far the dishwasher is from the water heater I guess.

You should actually watch the video so that you can see the graphs; it’s not pointless.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#63
post #43
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't remember if it was main video or second channel one, in which Alec states with confidence that big brands make powder worse on purpose to push their higher margin pods. The opinion is based on his experience (horrible residue left by big-name powder in contrast to store-branded great-value powders being problem-free) and lab results.

i used cascade powder to refill miele cartridges. there was 0 difference with regards to residue/etc. also SDS was very similiar. i just went to check amazon. cascade complete powder has 4.6 with 9k reviews. if it was subpar, pretty sure that rating would have reflected it. for example plant based detergents hover around 4.

I have used Kirkland pods for years and have never noticed residue.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#64

I watched the video, but may have missed this, but shouldn't the testing have shown that the powder was substantially better? Or did they not test the "putting some powder into the prewash" thing and so it was just "powder released all at once" vs "tablet released all at once". Even there I'd expect some mild improvement from the powder mixing more easily than a plastic wrapped tablet (though maybe if the content ins…

I believe expensive pods do have a chemical advantage, in the form of some enzymes that help break things down.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#65
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the summary. American dishwashers don't have their own heater? All dishwashers I've seen in Australia only have cold water supply.

Some US washers don't but many do. However, US washers tend to not heat water as quickly or to as high of a temp. The video cites two reasons: 1. US power being 110V vs 220v. 2. US dishwasher heating elements being limited to 800 or 1000 watts because many are designed to potentially share one 20A residential circuit with an oven and/or fridge due to possibly being retrofitted into a kitchen built before built-in dis…

> share one 20A residential circuit

15, dishwasher manufacturers can't assume the dishwasher is on a 20.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#66
post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the summary. American dishwashers don't have their own heater? All dishwashers I've seen in Australia only have cold water supply.

They do. I didn't realize this until my natural gas supply company decided to replace my meter on a Friday. Without alerting me ahead of time so that I could, you know, plan to be gone while my house had no hot water. Whenever natural gas supply is turned off in the US, for any reason, only the gas company can turn it back on. And they can't do so if there's a leak at all. You have to call a plumber to come out, dete…

> Whenever natural gas supply is turned off in the US, for any reason, only the gas company can turn it back on

Doesn't match my experience. My colleagues and I are able to turn on or off the gas supply to our houses at will.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you check the manual you might find that you can hook the single inlet pipe up to the hot water tap.

I feel like it's probably pointless. The dishwasher will be full of water before the hot water starts coming out the pipe. Depending on how far the dishwasher is from the water heater I guess.

I don't think the dishwasher will be "full of water" as it doesn't actually fill up - rather, it only uses 2 gallons maximum per cycle, about the amount that would be the bottom of basin of the washer.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#68

I watched the video, but may have missed this, but shouldn't the testing have shown that the powder was substantially better? Or did they not test the "putting some powder into the prewash" thing and so it was just "powder released all at once" vs "tablet released all at once". Even there I'd expect some mild improvement from the powder mixing more easily than a plastic wrapped tablet (though maybe if the content ins…

I believe expensive pods do have a chemical advantage, in the form of some enzymes that help break things down.

The powder in the video has enzymes as well.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#69
post #35
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His stance is less that pods don't perform, and more that powders perform just as well and are less wasteful.

pods are about convenience. exactly same reason that i got dishwasher with detergent cartridges and washing machine with build in container for detergent. but if we talk about powders, they can be very different with different performance. There are commercial powders (for restaurants and such where dishwashers run on very short cycles) that I afraid to put in my dishwasher and there are eco powders that are made fro…

How is fiddling a thing out of a box more convenient than putting a spoon in a box? I don't get that argument.

Re: I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video]

#70
post #32

I thought that the multi-solution pods - they're usually have differently-colored, for I presume marketing reasons - have pockets with different dissolve rates, so that the solutions are dispensed in sequence. I've not tested that, though.

Alec actually looked at that in a previous video of the dishwasher series. There is no "different dissolve rate" or "dispensed in sequence".

https://youtu.be/Ll6-eGDpimU?t=718

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