Customer Reviews

Finish Powerball Tablets, Fresh Scent, 100 Count

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I love this product. I've used powder and liquid dishwasher soaps and these tabs are by far the easiest to use. So easy, in fact, that I've made 'starting the dishwasher' one of my 7 year-olds chores. Because it's solid and lightweight, there's no worry about him using too much detergent, nor spilling. Basically, all he has to do is reach under the cabinet, pull out one tab, unwrap it, and put it in the dishwasher (closing the little soap door).

As you no doubt gathered from that description, the tab comes in a sealed package. Personally, I find it wasteful that every tab has it's own sub-packaging and I've actually detracted a star based on this. The packaging though is easy to rip open (nothing like a bag of chips).

As for how well it works::: it works as well as any product we have ever used. The 'jet-dry' portion of the tab keeps glasses spotless, and it scours dishes and pans much better than the regular Electrasol powder did for us.

Summary:::
Easy to use product that gets dishes clean. The jet-dry portion of the tab keeps glasses spotless and it's nice not to have to remember to buy the jet-dry liquid and refill the reservoire.

A definite nice convenience when it's hectic.

Pam T~
(#1042)

Short review. We had used these many times in the past, so we knew they worked very well in our dishwasher. We were just looking for a larger and (hopefully) most cost-effective supply. They showed up well packed, still sealed within their container, and in good shape. No complaints, we'll be ordering more in the future.

I read in the comments to a previous reviewer where someone stated that they had been told that powdered detergents were unstable and lasted only a short period. I'm not a chemist with expertise in that area, but I've got a chemistry background and I find that hard to believe. If the detergent is stored open, in a very humid area, perhaps it might be unstable. Anywhere else, I would think that these detergents would last for years. Just my opinion.

I am a Cascade baby, meaning the only thing growing up that we used was Cascade. Yes, we did try the cheaper stuff and my sister 1 time bought a cheaper brand that didnt work. All I knew was I was never going to use anything but Cascade. Well, my boyfriend kept complaining that are dishes weren't coming clean enough and I thought it was just because he didnt know how to do dishes, I mean when I did them they were a little spotty but it didnt bother me to much. So he brought home Electrosol to try, I was hooked after the first use. After we ran out he tried getting a similar brand which didnt work the same. So I ordered Electrasol in the 100 count from Amazon. No more Cascade for me, It I guess pays to change once in awhile.

These poweball tabs work great.
I ordered the 100 count that ships in a cardboard can. Arrived with lid open about a third of the tablets are broken.
The individual packaging of each tab has allowed them to still be usable.
Love the product. Bad manufacturer packaging combined with Amazon's infamous one thing in an oversized box with little to no packaging contributed to the problem.

These tabs work great if you break them in half. Your dishwasher is meant to have soap in two cycles - that's why there is a flap and an open dish for soap.

Break these tabs in haf and toss the powerball (presoak) half into the wash, the other half in the flap compartment. This works great.

I deducted a star because the Jet Dry component doesn't work so well. In our dishwasher there is a reservoir for Jet Dry which we just keep topped off.

Costco sells these by the drum and it is probably the cheapest good solution even counting the Jet Dry.

I bought these tablets when the generic giant bucket of Kirkland dishwasher detergent was not available at Costco. I will not be making that mistake again!
I have never had as many dishes come out of the dishwasher dirty. In fact, I have had dishes go through several cycles and still not get clean. This is especially true of flatware.
When I would use dishwashing powder, I was always conservative and only put a bit in each dispenser, so this is not about volume. I now have to resort to using 2 tablets in each cycle and I still have to cross my fingers that my dishes will come out clean. That means it is costing me over 35 cents for each load of dishes I have to do.
I could not be more dissatisfied!

I tried Finish Powerball Tablets because of their high rating by a leading consumer organization. I was pleased and a bit surprised that the brown tea stain was removed from my plastic container in one washing. Previously, I had to scrub it with a long brush every few weeks to remove the stain. Overall, I have been very pleased with the performance of the Finish product.
However, I have found that a sizeable percentage of the tablets in the container were broken and spilled out of their plastic wrappers when opened. This is very annoying. I was surprised that the cylindrical container didn't protect the tablets better in shipping. I don't know if this happens frequently, since this was my first purchase. I do plan to continue using the product, and I have recommended it to others.

Those of you who live in homes can choose your dishwasher; those of us who live in apartments get the $200 dishwasher chosen for us. I have been using the cascade complete packages for maybe 2-3 years. Any dishes which were just used would be cleaned well, any dishes with stuck-on food would need to be scrubbed first, then put in dishwasher. I would occasionally get left-over food particles on the upper rack on glasses and plasticware which I would rinse and then let dry after the wash cycle... better than washing by hand, but still not an ideal washing situation.

I switched to Finish Powerball about 3 months ago; I wash a load of dishes about every-other day. With the Finish Powerball, I can put dishes right in the dishwasher. The bowls and plates often have stuck on food like oatmeal, eggs, melted cheese, etc. I try to make sure I don't put anything too big on the bottom, since there is only one wash arm (not one under the top rack). My dishes come out perfectly clean, even the stuck on messes come clean. I have clear dishes, so I can definitely tell when they are clean or when there is a residue.

Bottom Line: Finish Powerball is the best dishwasher detergent I have used; It allows cheap dishwashers to clean effectively.

My Bosch dishwasher did not work well with Finish powder, so I switched to Cascade powder. It washed well enough, but did not clean pots and pans well at all. Then when the phosphates were removed from the detergents, even the dish cleaning was not as good. The only reason I used the dishwasher was that less water was consumed than if I hand washed.

I read on an appliance repair forum that the Finish Powerball Tablets worked great and were the best detergent since the phosphate elimination.

I tried them and was very impressed. I decided to try washing a dirty pan and it came out sparkling. Now I put all of my pots, pans, and casserole dishes into the dishwasher and, except for the stickiest, starchiest burnt stuff, they come out great. Even dried on egg and melted cheese come off of plastics! Scrambled cheese eggs are much less work now. The wash cycles are shorter, too.

I bought the expensive, top-of-the-line Bosch dishwasher and I feel like it is finally giving me the cleaning I paid it to do.

I happened to read a Consumer Reports magazine while waiting somewhere, and they recommended several Finish products as the best for dishwashers. I am not that happy with Cascade, so I found these on Amazon for a decent price (and my favorite, free shipping!) and am very happy with this product. I like the convenience of opening a tablet and putting it in the dispenser cup, and just can't really find any negatives about this product at all. I wish I had known about this product years ago because I haven't had clean dishes and glassware like I've had from Finish. I plan to use these from now on, and whenever I see them offered with free shipping I will order and stock up.