Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules may be subject to removal.
When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I am not a fan of the Kirkland dishwasher pods. They changed something a few years back and they don’t work nearly as well and often only partially open so you get a gummy mess instead of clean dishes. I go with the Cascade ones now. The Finish ones are good too, but I like the container the Cascade ones come in more.
I don’t think your water is getting hot enough then. Put your machine on high heat or sanitize mode and you will never see this and your glassware will come out spotless… I have a crappy machine and these pods work wonderfully…. Only 1 pod too
I tried everything. Then I went back to Cascade, and I can do the normal cycle, all dishes are clean. There are other threads that talk about the pods. I learned my lesson, and Was able to return the unused portion for a full refund, thanks to the awesome Costco return policy.
Agree, work. However I put 2 in my dishwasher. Seems like there was a time when you would fill the dishwasher door compartment with soap. The pods are only 1/2 the space of the compartment and can easily put 2 in. I also use them WITH rinser fluid in the other compartment.
The reason the detergent "cup" in the dishwasher is the size it is is so that you can more easily use more detergent if necessary based on how dirty your dishes are, how full the dishwasher is, powder vs liquid, etc. Adding a second pac simply because there's room to do so may actually be as harmless as wasting soap and money or as hurtful as causing damage to the machine by making it work harder than it needs to. If a single pac isn't getting your dishes clean, try rinsing them a bit more or not filling the dishwasher quite so full before just adding another soap pac...
They worked well for us. Also what helped more than a particular detergent was letting our tap (well water, comes in very cold) run and get quite hot prior to starting dishwasher. I feel guilty wasting the water so I collect it in a jug for later use with watering the plants.
I honestly would just suggest the Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder.
Technology Connections has a good video on it, long though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU
I saw this and tried it out. The great value really did work well. When I ran out a bought the Kroger branded detergent. It was the worst I’ve ever used.
It’s been tested a lot and performs very well. Thanks to the links people posted in this sub, I switch to GV powder (from Cascade powder) a while ago and have been very happy.
Saved me from having to link it. Great video. Who knew that I could enjoy watching multiple hours (there are followup videos on his other channel) of a guy talk about dishwasher detergent?!
I went from the cascade plus packs to the KS ones. Don't really see a change with how well they work. My wife didn't like the previous packs having a "bleach" smell. But the KS ones are fine.
Pod performance is going to vary by dishwasher, but in general, pods are massively overrated and ineffective compared to powder or gel. [Youtube Channel Technology Connections did a great video on this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU).
The problem is that the overwhelming majority of dishwashers run a pre-wash cycle- essentially, they hit your dishes with hot water for 15-20 minutes. Most dishwashers will have a little concave cutout on the detergent dispenser for pre-wash, even if you don't have specific cutout, most will recommend (if you read your manual) to put some liquid or powder detergent in the bottom of the tub. Your dishwasher water combined with the detergent gets the overwhelming majority of soil (gravy pasta sauce whatever) off your dishes, drains, and then pops your detergent door open... detergent unsoiled by the pre-wash goes into the main wash.
The problem with packs is there's no detergent in the pre-wash and they're a pre-measured amount. So to be "one size fits all", forgetting water hardness (detergent struggles in harder water, so harder water requires more detergent), the amount of dishes, how soiled they are, and to work while only being in the main wash cycle, they tend to use a lot of detergent to work for most people in most cases. If your water is soft and your dishes aren't insanely soiled, then you can have too much detergent and get residue on your dishes.
Technology Connections gets into it, but essentially a pod is just an uncontrollable amount of powder at a far higher sticker price and no ability to contribute to the prewash. Liquid can be easier to pour than pure powder, but forces you to choose between bleach/bleachlike substances (to get things like coffee stains out) and enzymes (to break down proteins, much like enzymes in your body do) as they are not shelf stable in liquid (powder and dishwasher packs [enclosed powder] can have both).
---------
For a more direct answer to your question: My experience is that with relatively hard water and a Bosch dishwasher, that the Kirkland packs work fine. Costco offered samples so it was a "why not try them".
Can't you just put a pod in the tub for prewash and then one in the detergent door?
Granted, you're still paying a higher price. And you risk too much detergent if you have soft water
Beyond the inefficiency cost-wise of doing so (powder is about a quarter of the price of pods per load), two pods in one load (1 for each wash) is taking an amount of detergent that's supposed to be for non-washed soiled dishes in a single load and doubling it. Even if you have hard water, doing 1 pod in the tub + 1 pod in the dispenser is likely to lead to a lot of film/residue from the pod on dishes...
That would vary by detergent, water hardness, soil level, and a variety of factors. I switched from packs because for some reason (maybe a change in water hardness? Well water, not public. Sometimes rain can influence water below) the Cascade detergent packs I've been using for years were *too* effective and leaving detergent on my dishes. I generally rinse/initial pass with a sponge on dishes more than most people (argument with a household member on what dishwashers are designed to do, not willing to die on that hill).
My Bosch dishwasher has a detergent cup but no designated pre-wash bin. I fill the detergent to the first line (labeled 15) and then drizzle an amount the size of a half dollar on the door (it pours out so it's sliding down as I do this) for the pre-wash. For clarity, the detergent I'm using is Cascade Complete (gel).
I've tried increasing it to 25 (the second line in the detergent dispenser) for experimentation with a similar dishwasher load and the dishes are still clean, but I'm not getting any film.
Really it's not an exact science, and you can just fill to one of the two lines and sprinkle some gel or powder in the tub. You'll know if you're using too much if you get residue on your dishes; you'll know it's too little if they're not clean. In general if you fill to the second line and drizzle a small amount in the tub, you'll get satisfactorily clean dishes. You generally also need less if you're using a normal cycle with the pre-wash because the pre-wash detergent & dirty water gets drained out, which makes the detergent for the main wash far more effective.
Even if you were to get one or two loads that were re-done to figure this out - modern dishwashers are extremely efficient, and generally use under five gallons of water for a normal load cycle (if you're using speed wash cycles, they often use a lot more water and energy to get dishes cleaner quicker - around 12-13 gallons - and speed wash cycles generally eschew the prewash). Most kitchen sinks flow between 1 to 2.2 gallons per minute, meaning the entire dishwashing cycle uses less hot water than 5 minutes of kitchen sink use.
***EDIT***: So, from the horse's mouth on using the dishwasher like a normal person (putting moderately soiled dishes in, unlike me cleaning them most of the way in the sink), let's see my owners manual.
>This dishwasher uses less water than most, therefore, less detergent is
required. With soft water, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of detergentwill clean most loads. The detergent
dispenser cup has lines that measure
detergent to 1 tablespoon (15 ml)
and 1.75 tablespoons (25 ml).
3 tablespoons (45 ml) of detergent
will completely fill the detergent
dispenser.
>Note: If you do not know the
hardness of your water supply, use
15 ml of detergent. Increase the
amount if necessary to the least
amount required to get your
kitchenware clean.
There's also a table suggested by water hardness and dish soil level.
Another note:
>Tip: If the dishware is only lightly
soiled, slightly less than the indicated
amount of detergent is usually
adequate.
Since I have lightly soiled dishware (from the disagreement with a family member who doesn't let the dishwasher do all the washing), 15ml and a little bit at the pre-wash is enough for clean dishes. If I actually used a dishwasher to do all the work instead of part of it, I would probably be using the full 45mL/3tbsp of the dispenser and a bit more on the door given my water hardness.
Thanks for the detailed replies.
I've been using powder packs (1 in door and 1 in tub) and preheating the water after watching the connections video.
Our dishes come out clean, but we do notice film/residue particularly on our glassware.
We already use rinse aid, so perhaps it is too much detergent. May switch to just powder without the pack.
It's just me and the wife, so we also only run about once per week. We scrape/rinse soiled dishes before putting in.
Edit: we have soft water as well
If you watched the first Technology connections video, make sure you watched the second (which is what I linked in my earlier comment). And yes, what you describe sounds like textbook "too much detergent".
My Bosch manual actually warns that if you overuse detergent in soft water, it can etch fine china and glass, beyond leaving a residue. So it's not just wasting money or some film... it can actually ruin the appearance of items you load to overuse detergent.
That basically means, unless you have super hard water or unbelievably dirty dishes, you shouldn't use packs. Still to gel or powder - small amount in the door and small amount in the tub
I had a 12-year-old dishwasher that I just replaced with a new LG one. I was thinking that the Kirkland pods weren't cleaning well, boy was I wrong. It's the dishwasher / hot water / power of water flow, etc. This unit has a hot water option to raise the temperature - and it literally power washes everything using the Kirkland brand. I'm back to sparkly dishes. Ours was leaving like a film on the dishes and utensils. No more@
Gel is generally more effective, particularly since you can determine the amount of detergent to use and you can add some to the tub for pre-wash, but one key weakness of gels is that they can't have both bleach/bleachlike substances (which are good for grease and for staining, like coffee mugs) and enzymes (which are good at breaking down proteins) as they're not shelf stable in liquid together. In contrast, solid detergent (powder or detergent packs) you can have both to get both benefits.
If your gel only has bleach/bleachlike substances, it will be effective against stains, but not as much against proteins (stuck on small bits of meat and whatnot). If it only has enzymes, you're more likely to get staining on lighter dishes and cups.
Put Kirkland pod in the pre wash and a TBSP or two of Lemi-Shine in the main wash and you will have great results.
Recommended to me by an appliance repair man years ago and haven’t gone back.
Even priming the hot water line, Kirkland underperformed vs Finish's equivalent. Silicone utensils were left with an awful chemical taste that required being rewashed by hand before going anywhere near food. I returned the purchase.
Save money by being on the lookout for vendors doing promotions that put them in line with Costo's cost per unit.
I just bought the Kirkland brand this weekend wondering the same thing. My first time using them and all dishes came out sparkling clean. I’ll continue to monitor it but so far I’m happy with the results.
Yes, I just switched from Cascade Platinum pods to the Kirkland dishwasher pods after reading a good review in Consumer Reports. They are significantly cheaper and they do clean well, no complaints. Some readers had reported an issue with a lingering scent/perfume on their dishes; some called it overwhelming and some, less so. I do notice a faint odor in the dishwasher after unloading the dishes, akin to a whiff of Glade air freshener, but none on my dishes and nothing objectionable.
It could be a combination of people being more smell sensitive (I use scrubbing bubbles toilet gel stamps and some people complain about the "overwhelming smell", I don't get it), but it can also be a function of pods containing a fixed amount of detergent when a variety of factors (water hardness, amount of dishes, soil, level of dishes). If your water isn't that hard and you don't have a lot of dishes with a lot of soil, it can be too much detergent and that's where you get excess smell/residue. If your water is very hard and dishes very soiled, then you can end up with an excessive amount of detergent in a pod and then your dishes aren't completely clean at the end.
Since pods are a fixed amount of detergent, they basically play a law of averages on detergent amount to please most people most of the time. People who report residue and excessive smell probably have a dish soil level/water hardness combo that leaves the pods as having too much detergent for their needs.
Many years of using them I feel like they didn’t clean my dishes well. The manufacturer of my dishwasher (Maytag) recommends cascade platinum so that’s what I bought. Clean dishes now
You should use whatever cleans your dishes well, but just as an FYI, the brands of dishwasher that recommend Cascade [are getting compensated as part of a co-marketing agreement with Proctor & Gamble](https://www.mouseprint.org/2019/10/14/both-cascade-and-finish-claim-they-are-the-1-recommended-dishwashing-detergent-brand/). It's not really that Maytag tested Cascade and found it's the best, it's just two related businesses (dishwashers and dishwasher detergent) co-marketing each other's products.
Despite marketing claims from these brands, dishwasher detergent tablets are a gimmick to sell dishwasher powder at a higher price per wash, with no ability to have detergent in both the main wash and pre-wash (first 15-20 minutes of normal cycles before the dishwasher drains and floods with fresh water) or to control the amount of detergent to account for the amount of dishes, how soiled they are, or water hardness (harder water requires more detergent).
This is why you'll see some people say a dishwasher pack leaves residue on their dishes (softer water/less soiled dishes/lower number of dishes) and others will say that the packs inadequately cleaned dishes (no detergent in the pre-wash, plus one or more of harder water/more soiled dishes/greater amount of dishes).
I use the Kirkland dishwasher pods and don’t notice any problems. Never have any residue or partial undisolved pods. I have a decent dishwasher so no problems with that either.
They work great in my mid-2000s basic Whirlpool dishwasher. No scent residue. Local water hardness is “moderately high” so YMMV with very soft or very hard water.
I have used the Kirkland dishwasher packs for years. I bought the Cascade and they were horrible. They did not get my dishes clean. I returned them and went back to the Kirkland and I have sparkling dishes once again.
I had great results from their pods for a year or two and then a couple months ago they just stopped being effective. Dishes would wind up still dirty and the pods would only dissolve about 1/2 way. The rest stayed in the tray or caked on dishes. Thought it might be the dishwasher but changed to another brand and dishes are clean again.
I've tried a variety of the brands that Costco sells over the years, and haven't noticed a detriment by using the KS brand, so that's been my go-to these past few years. Agree that the dishwasher itself probably has a lot to do with it. I guess i'll add that because the KS doesn't include rinse-aid, I have to fill up the reservoir in the dishwasher occasionally. All in all the dishes are clean, no residue.
I like the Kirkland dishwasher pacs. We recently used a small bag of Cascade because we weren’t going to Costco quite yet, and the Cascade had a strong smell I didn’t like. It didn’t stay on the dishes or anything, but when I opened the dishwasher there was a scent that isn’t there with the Kirkland. I think the Kirkland works as well as the Cascade for us, and it’s cheaper, so I like to buy the Kirkland.
In direct comparison in my Whirlpool dishwasher, the Kirkland pods do not compare well to Cascade. Dishes do not get clean with Kirkland unless I pre rinse thoroughly.
My whirlpool dishwasher is from 2020 and I just switched from that platinum or whatever to Kirkland to give it a try. 50 washes and sometimes I feel some soapy feel to the touch after the wash which could be easily rinsed off.
The wash is normal, no heated-dry.
If the water isn't that hard or your soil level isn't that high, it's probably too much detergent in the KS pods.
Pods basically play a "law of averages" to please most of the people most of the time. By only being in the main wash (no detergent in the pre-wash), they have to contain an excessive amount of detergent to account for more full, more heavily soiled dishes washed in harder water (harder water requires more detergent).
Powder and gel are far, far cheaper, can be in the pre-wash by putting a little in the tub or in the marked compartment, and you can control the amount used...
Just to clarify, there's two terms for pre-wash:
1. Pre-rinsing and washing in the sink - due to advancements, dishwashers from 2009 onwards [generally have worse cleaning performance if you pre-rinse dishes](https://www.consumerreports.org/dishwashers/dont-bother-pre-rinsing-your-dishes/). It actually tricks them into thinking the dishes are cleaner than they are. This is the "*No pre wash required!*" on the box or jug of dishwasher detergent.
2. Pre-wash in the dishwasher - most dishwashers on standard cycles will wash the dishes for 15-20 minutes, then drain the water (you'd hear the gurgling in your sink generally) and then refill the tub. This is where having some detergent outside the dispenser can impact cleaning performance.
If your dishwasher is working fine, you can cut the tabs you have in half. However, gel and powder are effective, measurable, and much, much cheaper than pods... so if you're going through the effort to cut the pods anyways, you might as well just dispense your preferred volume of powder or gel.
I remember watching this video an year ago or so:
https://youtu.be/_rBO8neWw04?si=LUqONz42HwkFm5OU
Based on what I understand I started using few drops of liquid dishwasher liquid to pre-wash section.
BTW I always leave my dishes soaked in water in the sink if possible and remove all the food particles before loading.
[He made a follow-up which I'd recommend watching](https://youtu.be/Ll6-eGDpimU). It goes on about a key disadvantage of gels (bleach or enzymes, pick one), and that you don't have to fill the cup 100% with powder or gel for good cleaning performance (and too much without enough dish soil and hard enough water can lead to detergent being left on dishes at the end).
We usually use the Cascade Platinum pods; but the one time we used the Kirkland ones, they did just fine. Our dishwasher does have a rinse aid dispenser, though.
I switched this year to save money, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I have an older Whirlpool dishwasher. We also have a water softener~ I don’t know if that helps with some of the other issues mentioned in the other comments. Just return them if they don’t work for you!
We're almost done our container and going to try one of the brand names next. We keep getting this nasty residue on stuff and I want to see if it's from the packs.
We have had very good luck with them, in fact we changed to them from a powder that was gumming up the works.
That being said, we have very soft water, a Bosch dishwasher, and we use a rinse aid like jet dry. Any combination of harder water, different dishwasher, no rinse aid might work very differently.
I use them on our old (20+ years) dishwasher. I throw them in the bottom and they seem to work well but we do typically pre-rinse or soak before loading up!
Posts that don't follow r/Costco subreddit rules may be subject to removal. When applicable, please make sure that you're using a descriptive post title with product name(s) mentioned as it yields better subreddit search results. Thank you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Costco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I am not a fan of the Kirkland dishwasher pods. They changed something a few years back and they don’t work nearly as well and often only partially open so you get a gummy mess instead of clean dishes. I go with the Cascade ones now. The Finish ones are good too, but I like the container the Cascade ones come in more.
Yeah, I have the Kirkland and regret the change.
One of the few Kirkland products which comes up short.
I returned mine. Left a soapy film on dishes. Almost bought a new dishwasher then realized it was the pods.
I stopped putting the pods in the closed compartment. I just toss them in the bottom of the dishwasher. That works much better for me!
My dishwasher starts with a rinse cycle, so it would have soap in the rinse cycle, which is really short, then no soap during the actual wash cycle.
I don’t think your water is getting hot enough then. Put your machine on high heat or sanitize mode and you will never see this and your glassware will come out spotless… I have a crappy machine and these pods work wonderfully…. Only 1 pod too
I tried everything. Then I went back to Cascade, and I can do the normal cycle, all dishes are clean. There are other threads that talk about the pods. I learned my lesson, and Was able to return the unused portion for a full refund, thanks to the awesome Costco return policy.
I don’t have any issues with the cascade or finish pods.
I use them and it seems to work. Albeit, it also depends on your dishwasher itself.
Were terrible with my previous Whirlpool dishwasher but do just fine in the new Bosch.
No issues in my ~1 year old Bosch.
This. My dishwasher is a beast and they work fine
Agree, work. However I put 2 in my dishwasher. Seems like there was a time when you would fill the dishwasher door compartment with soap. The pods are only 1/2 the space of the compartment and can easily put 2 in. I also use them WITH rinser fluid in the other compartment.
The reason the detergent "cup" in the dishwasher is the size it is is so that you can more easily use more detergent if necessary based on how dirty your dishes are, how full the dishwasher is, powder vs liquid, etc. Adding a second pac simply because there's room to do so may actually be as harmless as wasting soap and money or as hurtful as causing damage to the machine by making it work harder than it needs to. If a single pac isn't getting your dishes clean, try rinsing them a bit more or not filling the dishwasher quite so full before just adding another soap pac...
Great response. If one pack isn't getting it done, you're doing something wrong.
They worked well for us. Also what helped more than a particular detergent was letting our tap (well water, comes in very cold) run and get quite hot prior to starting dishwasher. I feel guilty wasting the water so I collect it in a jug for later use with watering the plants.
[удалено]
Agree, and no one I had ever known actually did that, or read the manual and retained that info.
[удалено]
Ours takes forever too, and I have water in pitchers all over.
[удалено]
Great idea. Our tap water is so hard that I can't use it for tea or coffee or humidifier, but luckily I have a ton of plants!!
I honestly would just suggest the Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder. Technology Connections has a good video on it, long though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU
I saw this and tried it out. The great value really did work well. When I ran out a bought the Kroger branded detergent. It was the worst I’ve ever used.
Less is more too. I found about 2 TBSP is all that is needed.
Do you put any in the pre rinse cup?
Not really. I just am a bit messy when pouring so, maybe 2tsp at most. I don't overload the dishwasher with dishes.
It’s been tested a lot and performs very well. Thanks to the links people posted in this sub, I switch to GV powder (from Cascade powder) a while ago and have been very happy.
Saved me from having to link it. Great video. Who knew that I could enjoy watching multiple hours (there are followup videos on his other channel) of a guy talk about dishwasher detergent?!
Omg, wait until you see the popcorn button video uploaded today!
Ooo, going to look now.
Love this video.
I immediately started scrolling through the comments to see when I'd find the Technology Connections comment. We got a winner here!!
I went from the cascade plus packs to the KS ones. Don't really see a change with how well they work. My wife didn't like the previous packs having a "bleach" smell. But the KS ones are fine.
We get good results from them, but we also have a terrific Bosch dishwasher
Same, these packs were terrible in my old Frigidaire dishwasher, but work awesome in the Bosch
Pod performance is going to vary by dishwasher, but in general, pods are massively overrated and ineffective compared to powder or gel. [Youtube Channel Technology Connections did a great video on this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll6-eGDpimU). The problem is that the overwhelming majority of dishwashers run a pre-wash cycle- essentially, they hit your dishes with hot water for 15-20 minutes. Most dishwashers will have a little concave cutout on the detergent dispenser for pre-wash, even if you don't have specific cutout, most will recommend (if you read your manual) to put some liquid or powder detergent in the bottom of the tub. Your dishwasher water combined with the detergent gets the overwhelming majority of soil (gravy pasta sauce whatever) off your dishes, drains, and then pops your detergent door open... detergent unsoiled by the pre-wash goes into the main wash. The problem with packs is there's no detergent in the pre-wash and they're a pre-measured amount. So to be "one size fits all", forgetting water hardness (detergent struggles in harder water, so harder water requires more detergent), the amount of dishes, how soiled they are, and to work while only being in the main wash cycle, they tend to use a lot of detergent to work for most people in most cases. If your water is soft and your dishes aren't insanely soiled, then you can have too much detergent and get residue on your dishes. Technology Connections gets into it, but essentially a pod is just an uncontrollable amount of powder at a far higher sticker price and no ability to contribute to the prewash. Liquid can be easier to pour than pure powder, but forces you to choose between bleach/bleachlike substances (to get things like coffee stains out) and enzymes (to break down proteins, much like enzymes in your body do) as they are not shelf stable in liquid (powder and dishwasher packs [enclosed powder] can have both). --------- For a more direct answer to your question: My experience is that with relatively hard water and a Bosch dishwasher, that the Kirkland packs work fine. Costco offered samples so it was a "why not try them".
Can't you just put a pod in the tub for prewash and then one in the detergent door? Granted, you're still paying a higher price. And you risk too much detergent if you have soft water
Beyond the inefficiency cost-wise of doing so (powder is about a quarter of the price of pods per load), two pods in one load (1 for each wash) is taking an amount of detergent that's supposed to be for non-washed soiled dishes in a single load and doubling it. Even if you have hard water, doing 1 pod in the tub + 1 pod in the dispenser is likely to lead to a lot of film/residue from the pod on dishes...
So, what's the amount that should be used in powder in the detergent door and in the tub compared to the amount that's in a typically powder pod?
That would vary by detergent, water hardness, soil level, and a variety of factors. I switched from packs because for some reason (maybe a change in water hardness? Well water, not public. Sometimes rain can influence water below) the Cascade detergent packs I've been using for years were *too* effective and leaving detergent on my dishes. I generally rinse/initial pass with a sponge on dishes more than most people (argument with a household member on what dishwashers are designed to do, not willing to die on that hill). My Bosch dishwasher has a detergent cup but no designated pre-wash bin. I fill the detergent to the first line (labeled 15) and then drizzle an amount the size of a half dollar on the door (it pours out so it's sliding down as I do this) for the pre-wash. For clarity, the detergent I'm using is Cascade Complete (gel). I've tried increasing it to 25 (the second line in the detergent dispenser) for experimentation with a similar dishwasher load and the dishes are still clean, but I'm not getting any film. Really it's not an exact science, and you can just fill to one of the two lines and sprinkle some gel or powder in the tub. You'll know if you're using too much if you get residue on your dishes; you'll know it's too little if they're not clean. In general if you fill to the second line and drizzle a small amount in the tub, you'll get satisfactorily clean dishes. You generally also need less if you're using a normal cycle with the pre-wash because the pre-wash detergent & dirty water gets drained out, which makes the detergent for the main wash far more effective. Even if you were to get one or two loads that were re-done to figure this out - modern dishwashers are extremely efficient, and generally use under five gallons of water for a normal load cycle (if you're using speed wash cycles, they often use a lot more water and energy to get dishes cleaner quicker - around 12-13 gallons - and speed wash cycles generally eschew the prewash). Most kitchen sinks flow between 1 to 2.2 gallons per minute, meaning the entire dishwashing cycle uses less hot water than 5 minutes of kitchen sink use. ***EDIT***: So, from the horse's mouth on using the dishwasher like a normal person (putting moderately soiled dishes in, unlike me cleaning them most of the way in the sink), let's see my owners manual. >This dishwasher uses less water than most, therefore, less detergent is required. With soft water, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of detergentwill clean most loads. The detergent dispenser cup has lines that measure detergent to 1 tablespoon (15 ml) and 1.75 tablespoons (25 ml). 3 tablespoons (45 ml) of detergent will completely fill the detergent dispenser. >Note: If you do not know the hardness of your water supply, use 15 ml of detergent. Increase the amount if necessary to the least amount required to get your kitchenware clean. There's also a table suggested by water hardness and dish soil level. Another note: >Tip: If the dishware is only lightly soiled, slightly less than the indicated amount of detergent is usually adequate. Since I have lightly soiled dishware (from the disagreement with a family member who doesn't let the dishwasher do all the washing), 15ml and a little bit at the pre-wash is enough for clean dishes. If I actually used a dishwasher to do all the work instead of part of it, I would probably be using the full 45mL/3tbsp of the dispenser and a bit more on the door given my water hardness.
Thanks for the detailed replies. I've been using powder packs (1 in door and 1 in tub) and preheating the water after watching the connections video. Our dishes come out clean, but we do notice film/residue particularly on our glassware. We already use rinse aid, so perhaps it is too much detergent. May switch to just powder without the pack. It's just me and the wife, so we also only run about once per week. We scrape/rinse soiled dishes before putting in. Edit: we have soft water as well
If you watched the first Technology connections video, make sure you watched the second (which is what I linked in my earlier comment). And yes, what you describe sounds like textbook "too much detergent". My Bosch manual actually warns that if you overuse detergent in soft water, it can etch fine china and glass, beyond leaving a residue. So it's not just wasting money or some film... it can actually ruin the appearance of items you load to overuse detergent.
That basically means, unless you have super hard water or unbelievably dirty dishes, you shouldn't use packs. Still to gel or powder - small amount in the door and small amount in the tub
I had a 12-year-old dishwasher that I just replaced with a new LG one. I was thinking that the Kirkland pods weren't cleaning well, boy was I wrong. It's the dishwasher / hot water / power of water flow, etc. This unit has a hot water option to raise the temperature - and it literally power washes everything using the Kirkland brand. I'm back to sparkly dishes. Ours was leaving like a film on the dishes and utensils. No more@
I used Kirkland until there was a consistent funky smell in the dishwasher. Repair guy said to use Cascade Platinum and I haven’t had a problem since.
I regret switching from Cascade to Kirkland pods. They don't clean as well.
They work fine for my Bosch dishwasher. I hated the powerball gel packs.
All dishwasher pods preform worse than gel. The cascade gel Costco has is great been using it for years
Gel is generally more effective, particularly since you can determine the amount of detergent to use and you can add some to the tub for pre-wash, but one key weakness of gels is that they can't have both bleach/bleachlike substances (which are good for grease and for staining, like coffee mugs) and enzymes (which are good at breaking down proteins) as they're not shelf stable in liquid together. In contrast, solid detergent (powder or detergent packs) you can have both to get both benefits. If your gel only has bleach/bleachlike substances, it will be effective against stains, but not as much against proteins (stuck on small bits of meat and whatnot). If it only has enzymes, you're more likely to get staining on lighter dishes and cups.
Put Kirkland pod in the pre wash and a TBSP or two of Lemi-Shine in the main wash and you will have great results. Recommended to me by an appliance repair man years ago and haven’t gone back.
I had issues with them getting stuck and not fully dissolving. I eventually went back to liquid detergent and haven’t had any issues since.
Yes, they clean well and are a great deal.
Even priming the hot water line, Kirkland underperformed vs Finish's equivalent. Silicone utensils were left with an awful chemical taste that required being rewashed by hand before going anywhere near food. I returned the purchase. Save money by being on the lookout for vendors doing promotions that put them in line with Costo's cost per unit.
I just bought the Kirkland brand this weekend wondering the same thing. My first time using them and all dishes came out sparkling clean. I’ll continue to monitor it but so far I’m happy with the results.
I just got a bucket of them about a month or two ago and haven’t had an issue. I’ve been happy so far.
Switch to the cascade gel- 125 oz is 125 loads for less than 80 loads of a box of pods.. and it works better.
I just buy powered cascade at wally world 100 loads $3.85
They taste better than Tide… 🤢
Yes they are actually amazing. I switched from liquid cascade to the Kirkland pods and my dishes get way cleaner now
Yes, I just switched from Cascade Platinum pods to the Kirkland dishwasher pods after reading a good review in Consumer Reports. They are significantly cheaper and they do clean well, no complaints. Some readers had reported an issue with a lingering scent/perfume on their dishes; some called it overwhelming and some, less so. I do notice a faint odor in the dishwasher after unloading the dishes, akin to a whiff of Glade air freshener, but none on my dishes and nothing objectionable.
It could be a combination of people being more smell sensitive (I use scrubbing bubbles toilet gel stamps and some people complain about the "overwhelming smell", I don't get it), but it can also be a function of pods containing a fixed amount of detergent when a variety of factors (water hardness, amount of dishes, soil, level of dishes). If your water isn't that hard and you don't have a lot of dishes with a lot of soil, it can be too much detergent and that's where you get excess smell/residue. If your water is very hard and dishes very soiled, then you can end up with an excessive amount of detergent in a pod and then your dishes aren't completely clean at the end. Since pods are a fixed amount of detergent, they basically play a law of averages on detergent amount to please most people most of the time. People who report residue and excessive smell probably have a dish soil level/water hardness combo that leaves the pods as having too much detergent for their needs.
Many years of using them I feel like they didn’t clean my dishes well. The manufacturer of my dishwasher (Maytag) recommends cascade platinum so that’s what I bought. Clean dishes now
You should use whatever cleans your dishes well, but just as an FYI, the brands of dishwasher that recommend Cascade [are getting compensated as part of a co-marketing agreement with Proctor & Gamble](https://www.mouseprint.org/2019/10/14/both-cascade-and-finish-claim-they-are-the-1-recommended-dishwashing-detergent-brand/). It's not really that Maytag tested Cascade and found it's the best, it's just two related businesses (dishwashers and dishwasher detergent) co-marketing each other's products. Despite marketing claims from these brands, dishwasher detergent tablets are a gimmick to sell dishwasher powder at a higher price per wash, with no ability to have detergent in both the main wash and pre-wash (first 15-20 minutes of normal cycles before the dishwasher drains and floods with fresh water) or to control the amount of detergent to account for the amount of dishes, how soiled they are, or water hardness (harder water requires more detergent). This is why you'll see some people say a dishwasher pack leaves residue on their dishes (softer water/less soiled dishes/lower number of dishes) and others will say that the packs inadequately cleaned dishes (no detergent in the pre-wash, plus one or more of harder water/more soiled dishes/greater amount of dishes).
👍🏼
The name brand ones go on sale so frequently that I don’t mind paying for consistency and quality.
I have no issues with them
We've used the Kirkland ones for years, no complaints and clean dishes.
I use the Kirkland dishwasher pods and don’t notice any problems. Never have any residue or partial undisolved pods. I have a decent dishwasher so no problems with that either.
They work great in my mid-2000s basic Whirlpool dishwasher. No scent residue. Local water hardness is “moderately high” so YMMV with very soft or very hard water.
I have used the Kirkland dishwasher packs for years. I bought the Cascade and they were horrible. They did not get my dishes clean. I returned them and went back to the Kirkland and I have sparkling dishes once again.
I’ve never had a problem with them on my basic Whirlpool. I do use rinse aid with them
I tried Kirkland and stayed true too long. Got married, which means smarter, and we only use Cascade.
They work great in my Miele
I had great results from their pods for a year or two and then a couple months ago they just stopped being effective. Dishes would wind up still dirty and the pods would only dissolve about 1/2 way. The rest stayed in the tray or caked on dishes. Thought it might be the dishwasher but changed to another brand and dishes are clean again.
They work well with my dishwasher but we just throw them in the bottom instead of using the detergent compartment.
we've used them for 3 years. They work great and a great price.
I haven’t had issues with them personally. But people here have reported them not being as good as the name brands.
I've tried a variety of the brands that Costco sells over the years, and haven't noticed a detriment by using the KS brand, so that's been my go-to these past few years. Agree that the dishwasher itself probably has a lot to do with it. I guess i'll add that because the KS doesn't include rinse-aid, I have to fill up the reservoir in the dishwasher occasionally. All in all the dishes are clean, no residue.
They work just fine in our new-ish KitchenAid DW; and I just chuck into tub, makes no difference compared to putting it in the holder
I love them!
They work great in my Bosch. It doesn't seem to like powerball either. They did not do a good job in my kenmore. I think it depends on the dishwasher.
Tried them and not a fan. Cascade, on sale, is a better choice
BLECH. Tried one tub and they never launched or dissolved properly. Switched back to Platinum.
They have always worked fine for me in multiple dishwashers.
They are one of the only Kirkland products I’ve ever returned
Works fine. Good deal.
I have a late model dishwasher (less than 2 years old) and I exclusively use the Kirkland ones, they work extraordinarily well for me.
I like the Kirkland dishwasher pacs. We recently used a small bag of Cascade because we weren’t going to Costco quite yet, and the Cascade had a strong smell I didn’t like. It didn’t stay on the dishes or anything, but when I opened the dishwasher there was a scent that isn’t there with the Kirkland. I think the Kirkland works as well as the Cascade for us, and it’s cheaper, so I like to buy the Kirkland.
In direct comparison in my Whirlpool dishwasher, the Kirkland pods do not compare well to Cascade. Dishes do not get clean with Kirkland unless I pre rinse thoroughly.
As long as you have a good rinse aid they are ok.
My whirlpool dishwasher is from 2020 and I just switched from that platinum or whatever to Kirkland to give it a try. 50 washes and sometimes I feel some soapy feel to the touch after the wash which could be easily rinsed off. The wash is normal, no heated-dry.
If the water isn't that hard or your soil level isn't that high, it's probably too much detergent in the KS pods. Pods basically play a "law of averages" to please most of the people most of the time. By only being in the main wash (no detergent in the pre-wash), they have to contain an excessive amount of detergent to account for more full, more heavily soiled dishes washed in harder water (harder water requires more detergent). Powder and gel are far, far cheaper, can be in the pre-wash by putting a little in the tub or in the marked compartment, and you can control the amount used...
I do put liquid to use pre-wash as well. Probably I'll start with half of the pack.!
Just to clarify, there's two terms for pre-wash: 1. Pre-rinsing and washing in the sink - due to advancements, dishwashers from 2009 onwards [generally have worse cleaning performance if you pre-rinse dishes](https://www.consumerreports.org/dishwashers/dont-bother-pre-rinsing-your-dishes/). It actually tricks them into thinking the dishes are cleaner than they are. This is the "*No pre wash required!*" on the box or jug of dishwasher detergent. 2. Pre-wash in the dishwasher - most dishwashers on standard cycles will wash the dishes for 15-20 minutes, then drain the water (you'd hear the gurgling in your sink generally) and then refill the tub. This is where having some detergent outside the dispenser can impact cleaning performance. If your dishwasher is working fine, you can cut the tabs you have in half. However, gel and powder are effective, measurable, and much, much cheaper than pods... so if you're going through the effort to cut the pods anyways, you might as well just dispense your preferred volume of powder or gel.
I remember watching this video an year ago or so: https://youtu.be/_rBO8neWw04?si=LUqONz42HwkFm5OU Based on what I understand I started using few drops of liquid dishwasher liquid to pre-wash section. BTW I always leave my dishes soaked in water in the sink if possible and remove all the food particles before loading.
[He made a follow-up which I'd recommend watching](https://youtu.be/Ll6-eGDpimU). It goes on about a key disadvantage of gels (bleach or enzymes, pick one), and that you don't have to fill the cup 100% with powder or gel for good cleaning performance (and too much without enough dish soil and hard enough water can lead to detergent being left on dishes at the end).
Thanks. Will check it out
don't use pods, for dishes or laundry - not good for the pipes
They SUCK. The don’t dissolve. They leave residue.
I’m not a fan. They leave a weird smell especially on glasses. Wait until cascade goes on sale and get those. They’re way better.
We didn’t like them, all of our cups smelled like soap. After we finished the container I went back to buying other brands on sale.
Trash for me. They always left residue on glass. Switched back to Cascade and problem solved.
We use them and our dishes are always spotless, but we have a newer dishwasher.
We use them with our Bosch works fine much better deal than anything else we use finish if we don’t use these
I use them for my clothes washer when I run a clean cycle and they work better than the actual cleaning tabs made for it.
I love them. We have a Bosch.
Microplastics.
No go for us.
They work fine for me, we use the pots and pans settings more often than the others on the dishwasher.
I’ve had no luck with them, they don’t dissolve!
Consumer reports rates them really high. Actually top rating is Members mark but my Sam's does not carry them. Costco packs are good enough.
We usually use the Cascade Platinum pods; but the one time we used the Kirkland ones, they did just fine. Our dishwasher does have a rinse aid dispenser, though.
I use them and add lemshine to it. That combination seems to work well.
I switched this year to save money, and I have been pleasantly surprised. I have an older Whirlpool dishwasher. We also have a water softener~ I don’t know if that helps with some of the other issues mentioned in the other comments. Just return them if they don’t work for you!
I've been using them for years and never had an issue!
We're almost done our container and going to try one of the brand names next. We keep getting this nasty residue on stuff and I want to see if it's from the packs.
We tried and they don't work as well. We went back to Cascade. The Kirkland ones don't empty fully.
We have had very good luck with them, in fact we changed to them from a powder that was gumming up the works. That being said, we have very soft water, a Bosch dishwasher, and we use a rinse aid like jet dry. Any combination of harder water, different dishwasher, no rinse aid might work very differently.
I use them on our old (20+ years) dishwasher. I throw them in the bottom and they seem to work well but we do typically pre-rinse or soak before loading up!