I love having a clean house with all the laundry finished and all the dishes clean. Unfortunately, the dishes are probably my absolute least favorite “chore” to tackle. Sure, I have a dishwasher that actually takes on the job for me (a dishwasher was a must when we looked for our house) but considering I have to rinse all the dishes off to the point that they are practically already clean before loading them in the dishwasher then usually have to run them at least twice before they are really clean…well, it just takes forever and wastes quite a bit of my time. Plus, the dishwasher kinds stinks so when I open it to unload the clean dishes, the smell makes me feel like my dishes are not clean at all.
Of course I blame it on our old dishwasher. Yep, it’s old but what can I say, this is a rent house and you know in rent houses you’re lucky to even have a working dishwasher so I don’t complain about it’s age. I’ve had hubby look into it and see what could be done but really, it’s just old. I also thought maybe the dishwashing detergent I currently used just wasn’t getting the job done. Correct me if I’m wrong but when you put dishes in the dishwasher dirty, run the dishwasher through the cycles, you expect to unload nice clean dishes right? Well, our dishes would have spots, look cloudy, still have bits of food stuck to them, overall just look dirty, it was like the dishwasher only half washed them so I would have to insert more detergent and start the cycle again. Not only was it wasting my time but also wastes tons of electricity. So I switched detergents, tried this and that and yet nothing worked. Was it my dish washer? The detergent I was using? The water we have out here in the country? I couldn’t figure it out and it was definitely wearing me down. Come to find out, I’m not the only one that thinks like this either. The top three things people believe cause spots/cloudy dishes are the dishwashing detergent (50%), hard water (34%), and their dishwasher not working well (30%)! Finally I just started completely rinsing the dishes off after use to the point that there was nothing on them, sitting them in the sink until I had a full load and then running a load of dishes just so that they were cleaned with soap. Definitely a pain and I had to find a better solution.
Here’s a little known industry secret I recently learned – in 2010 dishwashing detergents received a mandate to rework their formulas and remove phosphates (the industry’s chosen grime fighter) leaving consumers wondering why their dishes came out not as clean and spotless as they use to. Yeah, that definitely helps explain what’s going on! At least I have an answer to the problem, now to find a solution. That solution for me is OxiClean Dishwashing Booster! OxiClean Dishwashing Booster helps boot the performance of the dishwashing detergent to remove cloudy film, food particles, spots and streaks that detergent alone can leave behind! And what I love most of all, it also cleans the dishwasher! I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try out OxiClean Dishwashing Booster, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. Along with the bottle of OxiClean Dishwashing Booster I also received this awesome serving tray that is perfect for grilling out and summer parties!
The day my package arrived I put it to the test. I had to break my habit of rinsing the dishes off to almost clean before loading them in the dishwasher, I ended up with a full load and included the serving tray to see how it looked after a run through our dishwasher.
Considering loading the dishwasher is my least favorite part of my cleaning routine, I was pleased with how easy the OxiClean Dishwashing Booster was to use. Since this was my first time ever using a rinse aid I made sure to read the directions carefully. With the first wash, you fill the rinse aid cup with the Booster and add two squirts of the Booster into the bottom of the dishwasher. Then simply add the detergent as normal. After that you only need to fill the rinse aid cup as needed (for really tough stains, add two squirts into the bottom of the dishwasher again).
The very first thing I noticed when I opened the dishwasher once it was finished was the smell … the nice, clean refreshing smell! My dishwasher had not smelled that great in so long! Then I got busy unloading all my clean dishes, and boy do I mean clean! I have not seen my dishes this clean coming out of the dishwasher since moving here! Thanks to OxiClean Dishwashing Booster, I was able to get all of the dishes washed and put away in one day. We definitely saw a huge improvement and we are quite happy with the results.
Just for fun, here are a few interesting statistics:
- 69% of respondents either do not know what phosphates are (14%) or that they were banned from dishwashing detergents (55%)
- 49% feel frustrated because they don’t know what’s causing the spots on dishes
- Top three things that consumers believe cause the spots/cloudy dishes are dishwashing detergent (50%), hard water (34%), dishwasher not working well (30%)
- Over half (56%) have switched their detergent 2-5 times
- 88% agree or strongly agree that it is embarrassing to serve on dishes that have spots or are cloudy
- Almost 1 in 3 (32%) say their biggest kitchen challenge is achieving sparkly dishes; 30% say spots on dishes are their biggest kitchen complaint
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of OxiClean and received a product sample and serving tray to facilitate my review, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
I def don’t know what phosphates are, and I also feel its embarrassing to serve on dishes that have spots or are cloudy.
I dont think my dishes have ever been sparkling so I will have to give oxiclean a try!