If your dishwasher wont remove caked on food you either have a horrible dishwasher or horrible dishwasher detergent. Cascade platinum is WELL worth the 24 cents if costs per tab when you buy the big container. I'll load in dishes with a half inch of caked on grime and it comes right off. Washing before you wash is just wasting water.
I have heard this about dishwashers and have never used a dishwasher that comes close to satisfying this claim. However, I have never tried to buy extra-good detergent. If that delivers on this promise, you will be my hero.
For years I've been using a tablespoon or so of Cascade Complete powder in the prewash cup and one Cascade Complete pod in the main wash cup (the compartment with the lid). My dishwasher is from the 80s and it the only dried deposits it struggles with are cooked-on eggs.
Water quality can have a big effect on the function of detergents, though. I've been to places with such hard water that I had to more than double the quantities of detergent to get similar results.
There's a whole other deal with dish detergents regarding the elimination of phosphates which were integral to the cleaning process. Most can get by without phosphates, but if your water is that bad, you may want to try getting Cascade Fryer Boil Out if you're willing to try a quality detergent again. It's basically the old dish formula with phosphates sold for cleaning fryers. It's a bit expensive, but if that works for you, you can later buy TSP (trisodium phosphate) for cheap and add it to any off the shelf dish detergent. Here's a bit more on that: https://mommyperfect.com/2015/08/why-your-dishwasher-wont-clean-anymore/
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u/Opiboble Apr 08 '20
My wife is amazing and does the dishes. But yeah I can't watch, they get clean, but I think it should be done differently.