I was right about dishwasher pods and now I can prove it [video] • Hacker News Board

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

#161

Post by SchemaLoad » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:27 AM UTC

olyjohn wrote: post #149

tguvot wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm fairly sure the point of air gaps on drainage is to prevent sewerage water from backing up in to appliances if the sewerage line is blocked. It will instead spill on the floor where it will be more easily noticed and cleaned.

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

#162

Post by slackpad » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:28 AM UTC

arjie wrote: post #130

I love that there are people who will go into this much detail on stuff. It's really cool that they do. But the whole thing is that if you follow some sequence of steps, powder will clean as well as or better than pods for a third the cost. All right, this isn't a significant portion of my expenses so I'll pay the 3x cost since my dishes come out clean anyway. I wish the description of the video was like an abstract.

It's interesting - YouTube does show AI summaries now - here's the one for this video:

This video explores dishwasher detergent, focusing on a new powder formulation. The creator details the science behind effective dishwashing, including pre-wash cycles and water temperature. Independent testing results comparing the new powder to leading pods are revealed.

I've noticed that they all seem to not give away too much so you still have to watch the video to get the conclusion. It makes sense why they do this for creators, but I do agree it would be awesome to just read the conclusion on many of these.

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

#163

Post by potsandpans » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:31 AM UTC

hammock wrote: post #137

spondyl wrote: post #84

Hah! I had watched this just last night. I have a Fisher & Paykel Dishdrawer so this prompted me to check the instruction manual and sure enough, I had been putting Rinse Aid in the pre-wash area. I don't even really know what Rinse Aid is honestly but it's fun having some things be a black box. Turns out the correct spot is turning a knob, pulling it out and pouring it down a hole containing a glowing red light. I h…

I wouldn’t use rinse aid. It’s not good for you - damages your gut and may contain dioxane byproducts. I also would avoid detergents with ethoxylated alcohols (AEs). What to look for is any powder or powder-filled pod with a) no AEs and b) does contain amylase and protease , two food-eating enzymes that are often omitted for who knows why. 365 Whole Foods brand pods are my go-to

The guy in the video disagrees with you. From his other video, 23 mins in,

> next, rinse aids. use them. this isn't a scam.

I'll trust the dishwasher expert until there's some proper citations.

You have to realize that every time you sip a glass or eat off a surface that's provided by a commercial entity, you're getting items that have come in contact with industrial appliances that dispense rinse aid.

I have a difficult time believing that something so ubiquitous is as harmful as you claim, but I'm open to being convinced.

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

#164

Post by lurking_swe » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:31 AM UTC

johnfn wrote: post #99

lurking_swe wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if you have powder crumbs under your sink you might need to improve your technique. This reminds me of how some of my house guests will accidentally splash water all over the bathroom counter and even the mirror when they wash up in the morning. I don’t say anything, to be polite, but they clearly lack technique lol. This works for me: 0. store the dishwasher powder (box) under sink. 1. Open dishwasher door 2. grab b…

> if you have powder crumbs under your sink you might need to improve your technique. With a pod there is no technique to be improved. They just work, every single time.

And I totally get the appeal of paying for “convenience”! But saving a few seconds a week? Very weak argument i’m afraid.

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

#165

Post by pineaux » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:31 AM UTC

tonymet wrote: post #98

woodpanel wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pods have become so ubiquitous that many companies ditched that powder compartment altogether. But you don't need one anyways just pour it into the cabin. The video explains why there always is a pre-wash step. Regardless of whether it comes with a pre-wash-powder compartment or not. I will try his solution.

it's inverted. the closing soap compartment is the washing step, the pre-wash tray contents can just be dumped.

I have installed several dishwashers for friends and find them fascinating. All of the ones I have seen basically dumped the contents of the closing soap compartmens as soon as it started washing. Some dishwashers (looking at bosch) even have a little tray in the upper drawer that catches the pod.

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

#166

Post by fsckboy » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:32 AM UTC

tonymet wrote: post #98

woodpanel wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pods have become so ubiquitous that many companies ditched that powder compartment altogether. But you don't need one anyways just pour it into the cabin. The video explains why there always is a pre-wash step. Regardless of whether it comes with a pre-wash-powder compartment or not. I will try his solution.

it's inverted. the closing soap compartment is the washing step, the pre-wash tray contents can just be dumped.

omg thank you. my dishwasher has a prewash compartment so it's fine, but my clothes washer has a prewash step but no prewash detergent place. this elegant solution never occurred to me

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

#167

Post by totallymike » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:46 AM UTC

losvedir wrote: post #83

383toast wrote: post #2

summary: The creator argues that most dishwashers are designed to use a pre-wash dose and a main wash dose of detergent, a fundamental often ignored by single-dose pods, and presents independent ASTM testing confirming the new powder matches or exceeds the performance of a leading premium pod. The video also features a detailed demonstration using temperature logging and peanut butter to stress the importance of purg…

This has been his stance for a long time. He has a lot of dishwasher videos for some reason! One thing I can't get a good answer to is whether the "prewash" step is universally the case or not. I have a good Bosch dishwasher and there's no compartment for a bit of pre-wash detergent. I don't even know if my dishwasher cycle has a pre-wash step. I would assume the dishwasher manufacturer knows what's best. The owner's…

What your manual says is common to most dishwashers.

You can tell if your dishwasher has a pre-wash cycle if it does a short run, then you hear it draining, and then it does a longer full run. I expect it probably does.

Also, you can always add a bit of detergent to the main compartment of the dishwasher for prewash. The normal detergent compartment has a lid so the the detergent stays dry until the main wash cycle, and most prewash compartments are just an open tray.

Come to think of it, if there is a latching door on the detergent tray, your dishwasher definitely has a prewash cycle, or else they’d skip the door entirely

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

#168

Post by kiwijamo » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:47 AM UTC

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…

That has not been my experience with pods. When we switched back to powder the difference was night and day. Even my husband who used to swear by pods eventually gave in and agreed powder is much better. It is a bit fiddly yes but powder getting 99.9% of our dishes getting cleaned on the first run sealed the deal for us -- previously we were always having to add dishes to the next run or falling back to doing it manually. What makes it even more intersting is that even the cheapest powder beats every brand of pods etc we've tried. And we have a shitty cheap dishwasher that came standard with our new build house.

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

#169

Post by kiwijamo » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:50 AM UTC

pineaux wrote: post #165

tonymet wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's inverted. the closing soap compartment is the washing step, the pre-wash tray contents can just be dumped.

I have installed several dishwashers for friends and find them fascinating. All of the ones I have seen basically dumped the contents of the closing soap compartmens as soon as it started washing. Some dishwashers (looking at bosch) even have a little tray in the upper drawer that catches the pod.

It depends on the cycle for some. Mine one doesn't do a prewash for the 45mins QUICK cycle. But the ECO cycle does follow the normal prewash-then-wash process as described in the video. Hence I normally use the ECO cycle and put the correct amount of powder in both components. However in a hurry I sometimes just use the QUICK cycle and only use the main component as I know there is no point in adding more. The manual explained all this.

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

#170

Post by kurttheviking » Thu, Nov 06, 2025, 1:50 AM UTC

redundantly wrote: post #158

arjie wrote: post #130

I love that there are people who will go into this much detail on stuff. It's really cool that they do. But the whole thing is that if you follow some sequence of steps, powder will clean as well as or better than pods for a third the cost. All right, this isn't a significant portion of my expenses so I'll pay the 3x cost since my dishes come out clean anyway. I wish the description of the video was like an abstract.

My kids would routinely put in too much powder, which would gunk up the dispensing mechanism, requiring my time and effort to clean it out and fix it. Eventually the dispenser broke entirely and had to be replaced. We since switched to pods and haven't had any problems with the dispenser. The pods are worth every extra cent.

My issue is the pods fail to dissolve ~5% of the time and leave a gunk that clogs the dispenser which again requires time and effort to clean. I'm convinced by the video to try powder again but I've had the filming issue with almost every powder I've tried. So, we'll see what happens...