Finish Gel

...I then decided to try Finish Liquid Gel.

This liquid gel is excellent! As it is liquid it is ready to start work immediately and I am very impressed with the results. I can't say that it is perfect every time, but a lot of that has to do with my stacking and how dried on the food is. The dishwasher smells quite good too after each wash (lemony), but you can certainly smell the bleach in the liquid.

A word of warning, ...
...the bleach will stain them as I found out to my cost. There is a mention of this in the small print, so the manufacturers refuse to give you any money back. When I complained about ruining a pair of my best jeans and asked what on earth the gel was doing to my dishes, if it could make such as mess of my clothes, the manufacturers explained that all traces of the gel would definitely be rinsed off by the end of the wash. As I am still alive to tell ... more

I had waited for months and months for D Day - Dishwasher Day - and I was so excited! I carefully stacked the plates, saucepans and cutlery, added a dishwasher tablet in the dispenser, and pressed start. The machine started whirring as I (sadly) watched. About 1.5 hours later I opened the door expecting clean, glistening items (you know, they way they have shiny stars on them in the adverts), and instead found a powdery, soggy mess in the bottom of the machine. The tablet, rather than disolving, had gone soggy and plopped to the bottom of the machine, therefore not cleaning the dishes properly.

I tried another couple of makes of tablet, but the same kept on happening. I then decided to try Finish Liquid Gel.

This liquid gel is excellent! As it is liquid it is ready to start work immediately and I am very impressed with the results. I can't say that it is perfect every time, but a lot of that has to do with my stacking and how dried on the food is. The dishwasher smells quite good too after each wash (lemony), but you can certainly smell the bleach in the liquid.

A word of warning, be careful not to spill it on your clothes as the bleach will stain them as I found out to my cost. There is a mention of this in the small print, so the manufacturers refuse to give you any money back. When I complained about ruining a pair of my best jeans and asked what on earth the gel was doing to my dishes, if it could make such as mess of my clothes, the manufacturers explained that all traces of the gel would definitely be rinsed off by the end of the wash. As I am still alive to tell the tale 3 years on, it must be true!

It comes in a 1 litre yellow bottle (lemon) with a child proof lid. It does last quite a long time as you can vary the amount put into the machine if it is a half load or not so dirty, which you can't do with tablets. It is available from all supermarkets, but small outlets will probably only have tablets as these seem far more popular (why?).

Try the liquid gel if you have any problems with the tablets not dissolving properly or if you want to vary the amount of detergent used - it does work. Remember you do still need to put salt and rinsing agent in your dishwasher as it doesn't include them, unlike some of these new tablets. I never found out why my dishwasher doesn't like them, it wouldn't answer me!
 

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