How to load a dishwasher?

Hi there! Nice to have you here.

If you are anything like me, who is using Dishwasher for the first time, then I know any number of tips are not enough. If your home is using one from generations, then may be you can skip this post :)

Its natural to get questions like how does a dishwasher wash the dishes? Does it clean the dishes as good as hand washing the dishes? Does it increase water usage? power usage? I feel knowing how it works is going to answer a lot of questions. After you load the dishes, use detergent and turn it on, water is drawn in to the dishwasher  and water is forced through the jet at bottom. The force of the water is so high that it causes the jet to rotate (just like sprinklers on lawn). After one cycle of cleaning, the water is drained out of the dishwasher and more water is pumped in to rinse the dishes.The dishwashers are programmed to load the detergent from the dispenser at right time.

If you did not care much about the little detail on 'how does' stuff, then let me tell you straight up, that in most of the cases, it does clean the dishes at par with dishes hand washed. Only thing is you need to make sure you are using a right cleaner and loading the dishes right!

Top Rack :
I highly recommend the dishwasher safe plastics to be loaded on the top rack of the dishwasher. This is because most of the dishwashers have heating element on the bottom. If yours is one which has concealed heating element, then you can load them anywhere. You can load glasses, cups, bowls, long spatulas that dont fit in the cutlery compartment etc. Make sure that all these are loaded face down. This will ensure there is no water retained in them after the wash.

Bottom Rack :
Dinner Plates, Cutting boards, pans, any odd shaped bowls can go in the bottom rack. Here also place your pans and bowls facing down to ensure there is no water remaining in them after wash. Also make sure the bottom rack is not too full of big pans/bowls faced down. This will block the water forcing up and the top rack dishes might not come out clean. Also make sure no dishes are restricting the movement of the water jet. If you have two jets then make sure the top rack is also not restricting the top jet's movement.

Cutlery compartment :
Spoons in a compartment shouldn't all be facing the same way. This will ensure that they dont get stuck to one another and compromise the cleaning. For safety reasons, place forks and knives facing down.

What I have mentioned above for top and bottom rack are only directions, but if you have extra bowls than what top rack can take, should you wait for the next load of dishwasher? No! If there is space in bottom rack, go for it. If it fits, put them there. On a high level I would say :

• Load only the dishwasher safe dishes
• bowls/glasses/deep dishes should all face down to make sure they clean and also dont retain water after wash
• None of the dishes should block movement of the water jet
• None of the dishes are blocking opening of the little detergent door

Thanks for stopping by. Do let me know if you have any tips and tricks related to this. Would love to hear some from you too.

See ya,
Ritz

Finish Quantum Dishwashing Powerball

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by. I have a review of Finish PowerBall today.

Finish has many different ranges of products and this is their most efficient product yet (according to the specs mentioned on their website). I am yet to try the other products from them, but here is what I felt about Quantum PowerBall.

Packaging : 4.5/5 -- I wish they came in an easy to store containers like the Cascade ones.

Depending on the claims made by Finish, here is my verdict.

Claim : Our quick dissolving Power Gel washes away residue for an amazing shine, even in the hardest water conditions

Verdict : I dont have hard water, so cannot really comment on this. If any of you have used this with hard water, then let me know, so that I can update it here with reference to your name/blog

Claim : pre-soaking Powerball® penetrates, breaks down, and lifts away even 24-hour dried on food.

Verdict : Yes this is TRUE! Arent you happy? If you are like me who has burnt cheese in the oven dish, milk stuck to the bottom of your pan with boiling, rice cooking bowl, dish in which oats were made and half eaten and not soaked(ya happens when you have kids!) dish used for deep frying, I have tried them all, and this claim stands completely valid!

Claim : Advanced powder with bleach seeks out and cleans tough stains like tea and coffee
Verdict : Yes again! The vessels in which I make tea and coffee are very clean every time after the wash, whether I wash it with soaking or without pre soaking.Only time I felt it failed when I had too much milk stuck in my steel vessel, it did not come out as clean as I wanted it to. But otherwise, its all good.

Claim : Available in the following scents: Original, Lemon Sparkle, and Baking Soda
Verdict : I have only used the Original ones, dont really thing the scent in dishwasher stays any longer than when you open the dishwasher! And if it does, I dont want it to! So dont care about trying them. If you have, let me know what you thought.

I want to add some other things too : There are no white spots on my non stick dishes anymore. The glasses are spotless too.This power gel definitely leaves my dishes very clean, and leaves me no extra work other than taking the cleaned ones out!

In the past I have used some store brand liquid dishwashers. I felt that it did not help me take out greasiness completely from the dishes. There were times when the dishes still smelled like the food that were made/ate in them. I dont think I have it anymore, but if I find them anywhere in my storage, I will put a picture of it and review it in detail too.

Rating : 4.5/5 until I find something that can clean the burnt milk from the steel dishes too!

But should you get it? I wouldnt recommend this if you dont do a lot of cooking/baking, or you dont have very greasy dishes. You can safely skip getting this and stick to the lesser expensive ones may be from Finish itself or other brands too. But if you are just not feeling everything is alright with your current dishwashing gel/liquid/powder, then try these for sure. I really dont think the Quantum power gels can disappoint anyone.

Also if you are not satisfied with your current dishwashing method, then make sure you are loading your dishes properly. You can check my post on loading dishwasher here

Have you used this or any other products from Finish? Let me know what your experience has been with them.

Hope to catch you all with my next post

See ya,
Ritz

p.s : I was not paid for this post. Its completely my experience and views.