Hi sjhf,

A lot depends on your water softness. I've had to really experiment with getting the right combo for our Miele, that doesnt etch the glassware or leave food residue/film on the dishes/pots/pans. We have a whole house softner, which softens down to less than 1. This greatly reduces the amount of detergent you need to use.

I am also only interested in the least toxic, chemical laden products I can find. So if you want to go the "natural" route vs. the Cascade/Jetdry route you should specify.

~Savvy

I use Quantum Finish tabs and Jet Dry in my KA DW and everything comes out great - I do have heated dry on mine.
I used to use Cascade Complete powder but gave up on it after they removed the phosphates.

Ecover Natural Dishwasher Powder: see the link below.

Somat Rinse Aid B1639: http://www.amazon.com/Somat-Rinse-Aid-Sparkling-Optimal-Drying/product-reviews/B000ASO878/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1/

Here is a link that might be useful: (not the tablets)

i use miele tabs and rinse aid

It's a DW morning! We use Quantum Finish tabs and Jet Dry in our 800 Plus. Haven't used anything but since we installed it in March. Perfect results, better than expected, first time run and ever since. Love the quality and results.

I ended up using the Finish Powerballs that came with the machine and it worked great.

I only use Finish brand tabs in our Bosch 800-plus series DW. I tried some old Cascade I had, and it sudsed up a lot. I called Bosch, and they told me they only recommend Finish. I buy it at Costco for a very good price. I use the Finish rinse-aid, too.

I'm in the process of researching this as well for a new Miele that will be installed next week.

Our Costco only has the finish non-quantum version. The problem that some report on these is that you can't break down the tabs and it's a lot of very strong detergent...some use it only for highly soiled loads.

I have both the finish quantum and non-quantum versions that I plan to experiment with.

I'm also looking at:
- Cascade all-in-1 actionpac
- Miele tabs
- Method Smarty tabs - these split nicely in half, but are rated pretty low by the latest CR stuff...obviously, highly dependent on water softness.

I'm also doing a lot of wine glassware, so I may end up preferring something w/glassware vs. regular loads vs. heavy soil loads.

I just purchased and rec'd my Tach water hardness testing kit...That is step 1.

BTW, people recommend that you scrape, but not pre-rinse, else the detergent will eat up the plates/glassware.

-mark

markdavis: "I'm in the process of researching this as well for a new Miele that will be installed next week.

"Our Costco only has the finish non-quantum version. The problem that some report on these is that you can't break down the tabs and it's a lot of very strong detergent...some use it only for highly soiled loads.

"I have both the finish quantum and non-quantum versions that I plan to experiment with.

"I'm also looking at:
- Cascade all-in-1 actionpac
- Miele tabs
- Method Smarty tabs - these split nicely in half, but are rated pretty low by the latest CR stuff...obviously, highly dependent on water softness."

In other words, you are limiting your choices to what is on the shelf at your local supermarket. That's o.k., but it is a pretty severe limitation.

"I'm also doing a lot of wine glassware, so I may end up preferring something w/glassware vs. regular loads vs. heavy soil loads.

"BTW, people recommend that you scrape, but not pre-rinse, else the detergent will eat up the plates/glassware."

We have VERY soft water in Portland (Oregon). That means that very aggressive dishwasher detergents will etch just about anything you put into the dishwasher. However, in our Miele dishwasher, we wash quality crystal wine stemware every night with Ecover powder dishwasher detergent. Some of our glasses have been through 2,000 or more cycles in our Miele dishwasher, without even a hint of etching.

Nevertheless, our dishes come out of the dishwasher every morning spotlessly clean.

I have a Miele dishwasher and use the following detergents and rinse aids:
1. Miele dishwasher tabs
2. Somat dishwasher tabs (from amazon)
3. Method Smarty tabs Plus. These are wrapped in plastic, come fragrance free and cannot be split. I usually find them at Target but I think Amazon has them too. They are different from the regular smarty tabs that are shaped like disks. The non Plus Method tabs did not work very well for me and left a scent.
4. Somat rinse aid
5. Miele rinse aid
The rinse aids work equally well, are clear in color and leave no scent on the dishes. I never understood why other rinse aids have color.

This collection of products have worked reliably for 8years in my Miele dishwasher.

Good luck!

For the last week, I have continued to use the Finish Powerball tabs (not the Quantum version) and only one spatula has failed to come out spotlessly clean (scrambled eggs ). I am intrigued by the comments to split the tabs in half. Was that just by experimentation that you found that half a tab works well and a whole tab just isn't necessary?

@sjhockeyfan - I forgive the occasional hardened, dried egg and rice that won't come off spatulas & cooking spoons, but that's me. If it happened regularly, that would be another story.

I have broken the PowerBall Tabs in half and it works fine on a small load. The biggest drama was whether to try to cut the red 'ball' in half, or decide which load gets it, sort of like like King Solomon.

In the end, what works best for our smaller loads is the box of Finish powder. No more drama over that red ball (the enzymes?) and it works fine.

I have a Miele and switched to the Miele tabs about 2 years ago at the recommendation of the service guy.
I don't know if Bosh has a recommended item or a propriety soap.

Definitely better than Cascade - maybe downstream, when I have time, I might try splitting them or trying something different.

I also use the Miele rinse aid and sometimes Lemon shine
I have 2 filters and swap them when the machine belly aches - It is great to put the dirty one in the next load and not have to deal with all of the brushing.

I put all of my high end stemware (Riedel and Waterford) and so far they look just fine.

I might look into Herrings ideas - sounds interesting

I like finish Quantum. Mine's the European stuff, though, with >30% phosphates.

Here is a link that might be useful: Finish Quantum Test Video

I have a Miele in an area with water hardness around 25 (not hard). I use the Miele tabs and rinse aid. I typically use 1/2 tab on lightly soiled loads and a whole on heavy soil. Everything has come out very clean and no etching thus far (even with some cheap glass vases on a normal load).

I have 2 eight year-old Bosches. They have the original sticker endorsing Cascade and Cascade Clear. Cascade has changed, and so has the performance of my dishwasher. I never even see Cascade Clear anywhere anymore. I have whole house soft water (no choice), and now I have two etched glasses. Why none of the others have etched is a mystery. To top it all off, occasionally our water company changes water supply resources, so the water goes from soft to much harder without notice and with no means for me to make any adjustments. I do not have access to the European Finish Quantum, nor would it be a good idea here, I fear. Still, I am frustrated that the heretofore miraculously performing Bosches no longer are.