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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]

#141

Post by jeffbee »

Youden wrote: post #122
jeffbee wrote: post #74

I was a long-time adherent of powder for all the reasons in the video. I used the Seventh Generation powder that is widely available, or once was. One day I couldn't find it, so I got Cascade Free & Clear Pods. I was completely blown away by how much better the pods work. And they work faster, too, because my dishwasher cycles are based on water clarity and they end sooner if the detergent is working faster. So I per…

In the video he ran a similar test and had similar results. IIRC his conclusion was that the manufacturer is deliberately sabotaging the performance of powders in order to direct more sales to the higher margin pods. It's also why he's endorsing a new powder product he was involved in developing: it performs as good or better than the pods.

I don't think the difference in my anecdote was due to sabotage. I think it was the difference between Hippie Bullshit® and Motherfucking Chemistry®

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

#142

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

SchemaLoad wrote: post #29
Titan2189 wrote: post #17

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.

Thus the video's advice (also in my dishwasher's manual) is to run the water from a nearby sink until it's hot before starting the dishwasher. Because it helps significantly to get hot water at the input when US dishwashers are limited to 1200W of heating.

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

#143

Post by Groxx »

tonymet wrote: post #100
emtel wrote: post #80

Pods work great for me, and I love not having crumbs of powder under the sink, or a bottle of liquid detergent with encrusted drips down the side. It's just gross. They are more expensive, but I buy them on sale at Costco for about $16/100, so at $0.16 per load I really don't care if powdered detergent is only $0.03 per load or whatever. There is clearly a revealed preference for pods among consumers for these things…

The issue of letting consumers choose the worse product is that the good products get pushed out of the market. Grocery floorspace that was once primarily staples and whole foods is mostly now junkfood. Proper razors have been replaced with disposables. Skincare & toothpaste products contain sodium laureth sulfate , which lathers well, but causes mouth sores and skin irritation. Letting consumers choose usually ends…

giant, bright red, almost-flavorless strawberries

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

#144

Post by warkdarrior »

gpt5 wrote: post #127
tonymet wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

his dishwasher detergent videos are a good example of an "improved" product being more expensive and less effective (like disposable razors). With better understanding you can achieve far better results. I no longer rinse or even scrape dishes. with the right approach my dishwasher performance has been stellar. The user manual also includes proper tuning to local water hardness levels. Poor dishwashing also discourag…

I find his videos to have quite a bit of hand waving and poor methodology together with being overly verbose. For example, he kept on saying that pods are not better in previous videos, but in the study he presented in this video, it showed that pods are performing significantly better than powders in every category. The study (which was not linked and I couldn't find it) was sponsored by a powder maker which the vid…

Nobody expects better results from a higher-priced product!

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

#145

Post by Groxx »

tguvot wrote: post #135
russdill wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like it would be trivial for the machine to pump water in, turn on the heating element, and wait until it reaches optimum temperature before beginning the cycle.

This is what most (all?) of machines do. Heat water when they need hot water

depends very much on where you are, unfortunately. in USA, this is definitely not the case, they're almost all incredibly dumb. especially the cheapest-possible models that most renters are forced to use (and renters account for about a third of all households).

as a concrete example, the video has a section in it where he shows that his doesn't so any sensing - hot or cold water have exactly the same timing on the heater's use (and resulting water temperature graphs).

so like. I agree with you that it should be true, it's simple and cheap to implement and it obviously works better. unfortunately it's not a sane reality for tens (hundreds?) of millions of people.

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

#146

Post by recursive »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #124
ruraljuror wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a bad habit of not fully drying my hands when retrieving pods. The pods all clump together if they get wet. This is one of the many reasons I prefer powder.

"if they get wet". Ok, so don't get them wet. If not wet, did you ever consider using chopsticks to pick one out of the bag/container? That might work well.

Sounds like a technique improvement. But wait, I was just told there "was no technique to improve".

I find it easier to just use the powder.

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

#147

Post by TiredOfLife »

tguvot wrote: post #134
a_wild_dandan wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His specific thesis is that pods fundamentally clean worse than powder because they're inherently single-stage releases of detergent in machines designed for two-stage releases. Despite this, he still explicitly says that pods have their uses. So I'm unclear on how his goal is "proving that everyone is wrong." Did we watch different videos?

Is there list of machines that designed for two stage releases?

All of them

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

#148

Post by macintux »

devilbunny wrote: post #7
suprjami wrote: 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…

> And this is how I ended up showering at work for three days that week after not having had one over the weekend.

I discovered the unexpected value of a YMCA membership when my hot water was offline for a while.

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

#149

Post by olyjohn »

tguvot wrote: post #131
doubled112 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not just the shut off. My dishwasher's drain hose goes up into the sink's drain plumbing much higher than I would have thought. This almost made a mess when the sink was clogged and the dishwasher tried to pump the water out but had nowhere to go.

You can install airgap for this. In usa building code mandates it on multiple states

Is that the point of the air gap? I can't even get a straight answer from plumbers on what it's for. I don't see how that could possibly help with a clogged drain, just seems like a secondary point for the drain water to come out.

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

#150

Post by [deleted] »

basscomm wrote: post #86
ErroneousBosh wrote: post #12

I wonder if that's why my now something like nearly 40-year-old dishwasher is so bad for leaking, on certain cycles? Maybe the pods foam up too much, because it seems hell of a foamy inside. At some point, I'll maybe post up the pics of repairing the door hinges - previously it was leaking badly because the chunky metal hinges had cracked and bent, pushing the door up enough to not squash the bottom lip seal. Unobtai…

> Maybe the pods foam up too much, because it seems hell of a foamy inside. Dishwasher detergent doesn't make suds. Dish soap does. Are you sure you're using the correct stuff? Or prewashing the dishes for some reason and not getting all the soap off?

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