Asda (Dishwasher Products) > Reviews > Asda 5 in 1 Citrus Dishwasher Tablets

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Good value
Do you need to use much for each clean?	The suggested amount produces best results
Irritable to skin?	Fine
Longlasting effects?	Keeps things looking clean for longer than average

Advantages:	Gleaming dishes, glasses and machine
Disadvantages:	None as yet

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is a review of Asda 5 in 1 Citrus dishwasher tablets.

We have had our dishwasher for a few years now and have come to the conclusion that you get what you pay for where dishwasher tablets are concerned.We prefer the tablet form of detergent purely for ease of use and less mess than powder. We have tried a few budget ranges over the years but find that the tablets do not dissolve or the dishes, especially glasses are left with a film of residue when the wash is finished, and there were many occasions when our food tasted of detergent due to the plates not being cleaned properly. For this reason, we have stuck to Finish for at least the last 10 months. Between Christmas and January pay day, we were watching our pennies and noticed that Asda had a 5 in 1 product which was on offer for £2.79 for a box of 30 instead of £3.30, and this was quite a bit cheaper than the Finish equivalent so we decided to give it a go. This works out at less than 10p per wash.

The packaging was one of the reasons that we first noticed the box. It is a vibrant blue colour with the words "5 in 1" in bright red, and a large picture of a gleaming clean glass on the front. There are also 5 claims on the front of the box:

Powerful Cleaning Action
Built In Rinse Aid
Built In Salt Action
Odour Eliminations
Glass Care

So, are these claims true? On opening the box, I expected to be met with a lemony scent but this was not the case, even when the tablet was taken from it's plastic wrapper there was no scent. I can only assume the citrus smell is hidden deep in the tablet. The tablet looks like a sandwich with white on the top and bottom and a yellow centre, which I presume is the aforementioned citrus. As with all dishwasher tablets, you place the tablet in the detergent compartment inside the dishwasher and then set the dishwasher off on whichever cycle you have chosen. I did this and waited to see the results, but I was so keen I nearly burnt my fingers not waiting for the dishwasher to cool down! Patience has never been one of my qualities. My first observation was how clean the inside of the machine looked. All of the watermarks had gone. Normally it takes a specific dishwasher cleaner to get this kind of result, so I was hopeful about the dishes and glasses inside. There was a slight hint of a lemon smell, and on pulling out the glasses tray I was pleasantly surprised to see a row of gleaming glasses without even a hint of residue. They were literally sparkling and felt sqeaky clean, so much so that they felt and looked brand new. If I do not have a full load in the dishwasher I have found that I can halve a tablet and it does not affect the results at all, and can even remove some pretty heavy duty stains on oven trays and pans on a standard wash cycle.

I am now a convert to the Asda product, and even if my previously preferred Finish product was on offer I would not go back as the results were never as impressive as the ones I get now with the so called budget product. It has also saved me money, as whilst it has not elimated the need for separate rinse aid and salt products, it has certainly reduced the amount I was using of each of them and the associated cost by at least half.