WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.179 Hello and welcome to No Effort November, 00:00:03.179 --> 00:00:08.016 a series of videos for the month of November where no effort is made. 00:00:08.016 --> 00:00:11.221 And you know where I never make any effort? 00:00:11.221 --> 00:00:12.826 Washing my dishes. 00:00:12.826 --> 00:00:17.298 That's because I have an automatic dishwasher at home which does that for me! 00:00:17.298 --> 00:00:21.654 And when it comes to the detergent products which are sold for use in home dishwashers, 00:00:21.654 --> 00:00:23.354 I would like to say the following: 00:00:23.979 --> 00:00:27.046 I was right! 00:00:27.046 --> 00:00:29.605 And thanks to the work of a bunch of cool people, 00:00:29.605 --> 00:00:32.111 today I can prove it. 00:00:32.111 --> 00:00:33.450 How? 00:00:33.450 --> 00:00:35.002 With this. 00:00:35.002 --> 00:00:38.436 That's right. There's a new dishwasher powder in town! 00:00:38.436 --> 00:00:43.609 And I was... very slightly involved in its development. 00:00:43.609 --> 00:00:47.307 Now, of course, I will tell you where  and how you can get your hands on this, 00:00:47.307 --> 00:00:51.428 but this video isn't just to announce the existence of a new product. 00:00:51.428 --> 00:00:58.343 You see, sending this formulation to an independent testing lab has vindicated all of my hot takes 00:00:58.343 --> 00:01:04.429 and crotchety Midwestern stubbornness when it comes to pre-dosed dishwasher pods and tablets. 00:01:04.429 --> 00:01:09.039 And because of that, I would very much like to tell you the story of how this came to be 00:01:09.039 --> 00:01:15.257 and what we have learned through sending it and some big name products through blind ASTM testing. 00:01:15.257 --> 00:01:21.879 I'll also show you why it's so important for those of us in North America to purge the cold water from the pipes 00:01:21.879 --> 00:01:28.074 by running the kitchen faucet until the water comes out piping hot before starting the dishwasher. 00:01:28.074 --> 00:01:32.061 I've only ever explained that and never demonstrated the difference it makes. 00:01:32.061 --> 00:01:34.440 And I've cooked up a great demo to show you. 00:01:34.440 --> 00:01:38.621 It involves temperature logging and copious amounts of peanut butter. 00:01:38.621 --> 00:01:40.000 So, stick around for that! 00:01:40.334 --> 00:01:42.939 But first, let's talk detergent. 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:49.352 For those of you who may not be familiar with why I strongly prefer loose powders for dishwashers, 00:01:49.352 --> 00:01:55.447 well, quite simply, that's because the standard washing program in the vast majority of dishwashers out there 00:01:55.447 --> 00:01:59.934 is designed to accommodate two separate doses of detergent. 00:01:59.934 --> 00:02:03.662 A small one first and a bigger one later. 00:02:03.662 --> 00:02:05.111 Why might that be? 00:02:05.111 --> 00:02:08.859 Well, you know that little compartment you're supposed to put the detergent in? 00:02:08.859 --> 00:02:17.069 The entire reason your dishwasher has that thing is so that it can delay when detergent gets added to the washing water. 00:02:17.069 --> 00:02:20.640 It wants to do that because when the machine starts washing, 00:02:20.640 --> 00:02:24.651 food particles which dissolve easily in water like sugars and syrups, 00:02:24.651 --> 00:02:30.661 or that are easily knocked off your dirty dishes, like those chunks of tomato and the sauce from your pasta dinner, 00:02:30.661 --> 00:02:35.288 will cause the water inside the dishwasher to get dirty very quickly. 00:02:35.288 --> 00:02:40.629 And this means your dishwasher will have to drain that water out and replace it with clean water 00:02:40.629 --> 00:02:46.503 after a relatively short period of time, often just 10 or 15 minutes. 00:02:46.503 --> 00:02:52.418 That initial fill of water is called the pre-wash because it happens before the wash. 00:02:52.418 --> 00:02:56.632 It will handle the easiest to clean stuff, but that's it. 00:02:56.632 --> 00:03:01.830 And so it's the detergent dispenser's job to make sure the product you added to the machine 00:03:01.830 --> 00:03:07.725 so it can mix with the water and create a cleaning solution to tackle the really difficult stuck on food 00:03:07.725 --> 00:03:12.312 doesn't get sent down the  drain right away with the pre-wash water. 00:03:12.312 --> 00:03:14.451 That's the whole point of the dispenser! 00:03:14.451 --> 00:03:18.815 The dishwasher needs to control when the detergent actually gets released. 00:03:18.815 --> 00:03:26.566 And in doing so, it can assure there's  detergent in the water during the longest, hottest part of its wash program. 00:03:26.566 --> 00:03:29.125 Now, here's my little bugaboo: 00:03:29.125 --> 00:03:31.709 the pre-wash water can do a lot, 00:03:31.709 --> 00:03:38.280 but some food soils, particularly oils and fats,  don't like to mix with plain water. 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:45.123 And because of that little incompatibility problem, those soils will be relatively unaffected by the pre-wash. 00:03:45.123 --> 00:03:52.807 But, what if you were to put a little extra detergent in the machine outside of the dispenser? 00:03:52.807 --> 00:04:00.010 That detergent would mix with the pre-wash water and thus it would allow it to absorb those fats and oils right away. 00:04:00.010 --> 00:04:03.517 Then when the machine drains the pre-wash water away, 00:04:03.517 --> 00:04:12.697 at least some of the fats and oils on your plates will have left the machine before the main part of the wash cycle has even begun. 00:04:12.697 --> 00:04:17.028 That's going to reduce the amount of work the main wash detergent has to do, 00:04:17.028 --> 00:04:20.933 potentially allowing for a smaller main wash dose. 00:04:20.933 --> 00:04:25.193 Well, it turns out that's exactly what you're supposed to be doing! 00:04:25.193 --> 00:04:28.690 Notice how this detergent dispenser has two cups. 00:04:28.690 --> 00:04:31.056 One is labeled main wash, 00:04:31.056 --> 00:04:34.397 and the other smaller cup says pre-wash. 00:04:34.397 --> 00:04:37.869 The pre-wash cup isn't actually sealed by the lid. 00:04:37.869 --> 00:04:39.854 In fact, it's got holes in the lid 00:04:39.854 --> 00:04:46.569 so whatever you put in there is just going to fall right out once you close the door and mix with the pre-wash water. 00:04:46.569 --> 00:04:51.856 Sometimes instead of two separate cups like this, you'll find a little divot for extra detergent. 00:04:51.856 --> 00:04:58.228 And other times, you won't find a marked spot for it because dishwasher manufacturers have, for some reason, 00:04:58.228 --> 00:05:02.859 decided to stop helping people understand what their machines actually do. 00:05:02.859 --> 00:05:08.878 And if they make any mention of pre-wash detergent at all, it's buried in the owner's manual somewhere. 00:05:08.878 --> 00:05:13.730 But let me just state this plainly: If your dishwasher has a detergent dispenser, 00:05:13.730 --> 00:05:15.729 which I'm fairly certain it does, 00:05:15.729 --> 00:05:20.855 then it's going to be doing a pre-wash on at least some of its cycles. 00:05:20.855 --> 00:05:25.626 Because if it didn't, there would be no reason for that detergent dispenser to be there! 00:05:25.626 --> 00:05:29.212 It would just have a spot which says, "Put detergent here." 00:05:29.212 --> 00:05:35.133 You know if they could get away with removing that costly moving part, they absolutely would. 00:05:35.200 --> 00:05:41.176 But they haven't because the fundamentals of  automatic dishwashing have not changed. 00:05:41.176 --> 00:05:48.447 Yet, most detergent products on the market today by forcing people into a single predetermined dosing structure 00:05:48.447 --> 00:05:50.413 disrespect those fundamentals. 00:05:50.413 --> 00:05:55.200 And that is just one of the reasons I'm so cranky about the dang pods. 00:05:55.200 --> 00:05:59.067 That's why I made my first video on dishwashers. 00:05:59.067 --> 00:06:02.738 There's a lot of people out there who think dishwashers can't clean well, 00:06:02.738 --> 00:06:07.385 often to the point of refusing to use them even if they have one at home. 00:06:07.385 --> 00:06:13.109 Yet, I have never had a dishwasher  which couldn't clean practically anything I threw at it! 00:06:13.109 --> 00:06:16.850 And I've used all kinds: from old machines from the early '90s 00:06:16.850 --> 00:06:19.422 to landlord specials of various vintages 00:06:19.422 --> 00:06:21.826 to mediocre machines like this Frigidaire 00:06:21.826 --> 00:06:25.979 and to high-end machines like the KitchenAid I now have at home. 00:06:25.979 --> 00:06:28.108 And with just a single exception, 00:06:28.108 --> 00:06:33.479 all it took to get great results was using cheap store-brand powders, 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:39.811 using them as the machines expected with a little bit of pre-wash detergent in addition to the main detergent dose 00:06:39.811 --> 00:06:42.939 and selecting the normal wash cycle. 00:06:42.939 --> 00:06:49.617 The single "bad" machine in my life required the use of its heavy wash cycle for consistent results, 00:06:49.617 --> 00:06:53.236 but it could still wash great so long as you selected that. 00:06:53.236 --> 00:07:00.821 And hence explains my skepticism that the supposedly superior pods are really any better or worth the extra cost. 00:07:00.821 --> 00:07:02.687 Yet, after making those videos, 00:07:02.687 --> 00:07:09.087 while many people reported that switching to powder and using some pre-wash detergent made a huge difference for them, 00:07:09.087 --> 00:07:16.319 others couldn't get satisfactory results with powder but could with the higher-end detergent pods out there. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:19.770 The biggest issue seemed to be a residue left at the end of the wash. 00:07:19.770 --> 00:07:23.193 That can be a sign of using too much detergent, 00:07:23.193 --> 00:07:27.708 but when the same people reported they don't have that problem with pods... 00:07:27.708 --> 00:07:33.614 well, that gives some credence to the idea that the pods are a superior product. 00:07:33.614 --> 00:07:35.426 But here's my issue: 00:07:35.426 --> 00:07:37.942 Detergents are just chemicals! 00:07:37.942 --> 00:07:41.413 The way those chemicals are packaged shouldn't matter, 00:07:41.413 --> 00:07:46.250 especially in a dishwasher which violently churns up the water as it runs. 00:07:46.250 --> 00:07:52.624 And lots of pods out there are nothing more than a small quantity of powder in a dissolvable membrane. 00:07:52.624 --> 00:07:56.628 So if loose powders perform worse than pods, 00:07:56.628 --> 00:08:01.302 that's probably because the manufacturers want them to. 00:08:01.302 --> 00:08:03.956 Which brings me back to this. 00:08:03.956 --> 00:08:08.394 When I was working with Good Store on the Technology Connections socks campaign 00:08:08.394 --> 00:08:11.906 (which by the way, thank you so much to everyone who purchased them. 00:08:11.906 --> 00:08:18.357 Numbers aren't final yet, but it's looking like we'll have raised close to $200,000 for the Maternal Center of Excellence, 00:08:18.357 --> 00:08:19.446 which is awesome! 00:08:19.446 --> 00:08:22.154 And by the way, it just had its ribbon cutting. 00:08:22.154 --> 00:08:27.186 Truly, thank you all so much and I can't wait for the socks to start arriving at your door). 00:08:27.733 --> 00:08:28.708 ... 00:08:29.255 --> 00:08:32.049 Okay, that was too long of a parenthetical, so let me restart. 00:08:32.049 --> 00:08:37.290 When I was working with Good Store, an old idea of John Green's was resurrected. 00:08:37.290 --> 00:08:40.201 Back in 2022, John contacted me and said, 00:08:40.201 --> 00:08:46.885 "You know what would be funny? If you made your own dishwasher detergent and we sold it to raise money for charity." 00:08:46.885 --> 00:08:53.302 I frikkin loved that idea, but we weren't sure how to pull it off so we decided to shove it for a while. 00:08:53.302 --> 00:08:59.466 Fast forward a few years and Good Store now exists and they've been selling eco-friendly cleaning products 00:08:59.466 --> 00:09:04.010 in partnership with Green Llama to raise money for the Coral Reef Alliance. 00:09:04.010 --> 00:09:06.899 While they were offering dishwasher tablets, 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:11.245 lots of people were writing in to ask for a powder option. 00:09:11.245 --> 00:09:13.800 Weird. I wonder why that might be. 00:09:13.800 --> 00:09:16.614 Maybe they saw some YouTube videos. 00:09:16.614 --> 00:09:18.697 So, since the demand was there, 00:09:18.697 --> 00:09:20.877 I got connected with Matt Keasey. 00:09:20.877 --> 00:09:25.435 And after explaining my whole deal and the importance of the pre-wash, 00:09:25.435 --> 00:09:29.875 he was excited to work on his own loose powder formulation. 00:09:29.875 --> 00:09:32.978 And this is the result of his work. 00:09:32.978 --> 00:09:35.752 And folks, this is fantastic. 00:09:35.752 --> 00:09:39.467 And best of all, you don't have to take my word for it. 00:09:39.467 --> 00:09:46.635 See, the team at Green Llama wasn't satisfied with simply coming up with a great formulation and calling it done. 00:09:46.635 --> 00:09:50.737 Matt arranged for independent, blinded ASTM testing 00:09:50.737 --> 00:09:54.923 where this product was put through a series of standardized scientific tests 00:09:54.923 --> 00:09:59.072 to measure its cleaning performance in several food stain categories. 00:09:59.072 --> 00:10:02.357 And it was compared against both a big name powder 00:10:02.357 --> 00:10:07.692 and the most premium detergent pod on offer by the same big name brand. 00:10:07.692 --> 00:10:11.306 The tests revealed two very interesting things. 00:10:11.306 --> 00:10:17.905 First, the powder that big name brand sells is in fact worse at cleaning than their pods. 00:10:17.905 --> 00:10:22.814 So, you are at least getting a better product when you buy their more expensive option. 00:10:22.814 --> 00:10:25.575 Which is good... I guess. 00:10:25.575 --> 00:10:32.443 But second, we also confirmed my long-held suspicion that the performance difference between Big Powder and Big Pod 00:10:32.443 --> 00:10:38.608 has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that one is a powder and one is a fancy pants pod. 00:10:38.608 --> 00:10:46.772 Because you see, Matt's powder formulation meets or exceeds the cleaning performance of the best pods that brand sells 00:10:46.772 --> 00:10:49.099 in nearly every category tested. 00:10:49.099 --> 00:10:54.985 The only test where this lost to the pod was the tea stain removal test, but it came in second. 00:10:54.985 --> 00:11:01.331 And the overall score for this formulation was slightly higher than the pod it was tested against. 00:11:01.331 --> 00:11:04.516 So, this is good stuff. 00:11:04.516 --> 00:11:09.509 Oh, and for the folks out there who have had problems with powders leaving some kind of residue, 00:11:09.509 --> 00:11:13.846 well, part of the testing procedure evaluated spotting and filming. 00:11:13.846 --> 00:11:20.182 And sure enough, Matt's formulation  is just as good as that brand name pod. 00:11:20.182 --> 00:11:22.695 No spotting was observed at all, 00:11:22.695 --> 00:11:27.320 and when it comes to filming, this got a slightly better score than the brand name. 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:32.978 It's almost like powders actually  can be excellent detergent products or something! 00:11:32.978 --> 00:11:35.563 I have also tested this myself, of course - 00:11:35.563 --> 00:11:37.165 Yeah, that's right. 00:11:37.165 --> 00:11:40.950 I got early access to a dishwasher detergent formulation. 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:44.668 Way cooler than something boring like the latest phone or laptop. 00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:52.850 Anyway, Matt's formulation passed my standard several-days-old-dried-out-cheese-and-bean-dip challenge with flying colors, 00:11:52.850 --> 00:11:58.102 and it took care of that hazelnut spread container, too, along with everything else in the machine. 00:11:58.102 --> 00:12:00.856 In fact, after using this a few times, 00:12:00.856 --> 00:12:07.051 I am pretty confident this is the best dishwasher detergent product I have personally used. 00:12:07.051 --> 00:12:13.706 Most of my dinnerware is glass, and while I've never had any washing issues using my cheapskate store brand powder, 00:12:13.706 --> 00:12:20.159 I did notice the glass seemed to be a little bit  clearer after using the Green Llama formulation. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:23.704 And just a single run through the dishwasher with this stuff 00:12:23.704 --> 00:12:30.733 cleared up a faint ring of white hazing that had built up on the sides of that same bean dip pan over time. 00:12:30.733 --> 00:12:36.521 I truly did not expect that, and I wish I had taken a photo of that hazing before I made the dip. 00:12:36.521 --> 00:12:40.031 This really does a fantastic job at cleaning. 00:12:40.031 --> 00:12:41.817 And you know what's even better? 00:12:41.817 --> 00:12:44.698 Because this is a loose powder, 00:12:44.698 --> 00:12:51.076 if you want to try and use different amounts of detergent based on how dirty your dishes actually are - 00:12:51.076 --> 00:12:53.096 YOU CAN! 00:12:53.496 --> 00:12:56.315 The standard dose is just a single tablespoon, 00:12:56.315 --> 00:13:03.373 which as independent testing has confirmed is just as good as the most premium pod products out there. 00:13:03.373 --> 00:13:08.990 But you may very well not need that much all the time, or perhaps ever! 00:13:08.990 --> 00:13:12.492 Maybe you've got soft water which makes detergents more effective. 00:13:12.492 --> 00:13:18.863 Or perhaps you've got a particularly good dishwasher model that just doesn't need so much detergent no matter what. 00:13:18.863 --> 00:13:21.490 Or even if you're not in either of those boats, 00:13:21.490 --> 00:13:28.856 perhaps tonight's load of dishes just isn't that dirty and won't need a whole pod's worth of detergent. 00:13:28.856 --> 00:13:31.312 That's why I like loose powders. 00:13:31.312 --> 00:13:34.143 You're in control of how much detergent you use! 00:13:34.143 --> 00:13:37.358 Not some executive at some company who thinks they know what's best for 00:13:37.358 --> 00:13:40.849 your dishwasher and your water supply and what you're washing right now. 00:13:40.849 --> 00:13:44.554 And if you've been persuaded  by the power of the pre-wash, why, of course, 00:13:44.640 --> 00:13:45.990 you can do that, too. 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:53.163 In fact, you could split the single tablespoon into three teaspoons: use one in the pre-wash and two for the main wash. 00:13:53.163 --> 00:13:57.560 That might very well work better for you than putting the whole tablespoon in the dispenser, 00:13:57.560 --> 00:14:00.640 especially when you're washing greasy, oily stuff. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:07.367 So, obviously part of why I'm telling you about this new detergent product is because it's available for sale. 00:14:07.367 --> 00:14:13.363 And as a Good Store product, all of the profit from its sales will be donated to the Coral Reef Alliance. 00:14:13.363 --> 00:14:17.276 There are links in the description and the pinned comment which will take you to its product page, 00:14:17.276 --> 00:14:18.763 and I hope you check it out. 00:14:18.763 --> 00:14:22.273 I even made an instructional video for those who choose to buy it! 00:14:22.273 --> 00:14:30.719 But the other part of why I'm telling you about this detergent is because its development has proven that powders can be great. 00:14:30.719 --> 00:14:35.995 So good detergents absolutely don't have to be sold like that. 00:14:35.995 --> 00:14:37.382 They don't need pretty colors. 00:14:37.616 --> 00:14:39.299 They don't need fragrances - 00:14:39.299 --> 00:14:44.104 honestly, what is even the point of a fragrance in automatic dishwasher detergent? 00:14:44.104 --> 00:14:45.707 They don't need to be pre-dosed. 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:47.969 They don't need any weird gimmicks. 00:14:47.969 --> 00:14:51.040 And they don't need wasteful packaging. 00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:59.312 I can't stand that in order to buy value quantities of detergent pods, you get a giant plastic tub thrown in for some reason. 00:14:59.312 --> 00:15:02.971 Get this, detergent could just come in a paper bag! 00:15:02.971 --> 00:15:07.768 And even though this one is resealable, it's made from compostable materials. 00:15:07.768 --> 00:15:09.184 Pretty neat. 00:15:09.184 --> 00:15:18.200 And let's not forget those detergent pods are often held together by PVA, a kind of dissolvable plastic which uh... 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:24.466 perhaps we shouldn't be dumping down the drain and into our environment every time we run the dishwasher. 00:15:24.466 --> 00:15:26.733 I get that those products are more convenient. 00:15:26.733 --> 00:15:29.989 I really do, and some folks out there truly need them. 00:15:29.989 --> 00:15:33.253 So, honestly, I'm glad they exist. 00:15:33.253 --> 00:15:37.633 But for what it's worth, Green Llama's  dishwasher tablets also prove 00:15:37.633 --> 00:15:42.740 you don't actually need that PVA wrapper to make a pre-dosed product. 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:48.887 But personally, I will always want to control how much detergent I use and how I use it, 00:15:48.887 --> 00:15:53.167 which is why I'm so happy there's a new powder option out there. 00:15:53.167 --> 00:15:59.622 Thanks so much to Matt for developing this formula and of course for sending it to be tested in a lab. 00:15:59.622 --> 00:16:02.960 It's nice to know that the bad powders out there 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:08.431 are only bad because whoever makes them isn't putting their best foot forward. 00:16:08.431 --> 00:16:12.502 And we can only wonder just why exactly that might be. 00:16:12.502 --> 00:16:14.351 All right. And for my next trick, 00:16:14.351 --> 00:16:17.116 it's time to show you why it's so important 00:16:17.116 --> 00:16:25.363 that you open your kitchen faucet and run the hot water until  it's actually coming out piping hot before you start your dishwasher. 00:16:25.363 --> 00:16:31.701 Again, for those of you who live where household voltage is 230 volts, you almost certainly don't need to do this. 00:16:31.701 --> 00:16:36.970 But for those of us with 120 volt power on tap, we do. 00:16:36.970 --> 00:16:46.079 Why? Well, with very few exceptions, domestic dishwashers sold here are meant to be hooked up to a hot water supply. 00:16:46.079 --> 00:16:50.416 Usually, it's connected to the  same hot water line as your kitchen faucet. 00:16:50.416 --> 00:16:57.942 And we do this because thanks to our lower voltage,  our dishwashers don't have very powerful heating elements. 00:16:57.942 --> 00:17:01.988 Side note, that's not technically because of our lower voltage. 00:17:01.988 --> 00:17:05.543 Our dishwashers could have 1,500 watt heating elements 00:17:05.543 --> 00:17:11.322 or even 2 kilowatt heating elements if they were wired to a dedicated 20 amp circuit. 00:17:11.322 --> 00:17:17.173 But dishwashers sold here usually have heating elements in the neighborhood of 800 to 1,000 watts. 00:17:17.173 --> 00:17:19.796 And there's a simple and pragmatic reason why. 00:17:20.734 --> 00:17:25.093 See, there are plenty of homes that were not built with a dishwasher. 00:17:25.093 --> 00:17:32.454 So, if someone wants to add one later, it's probably going to end up sharing its circuit with something else in the kitchen, 00:17:32.454 --> 00:17:36.749 like the outlets above the countertop or perhaps the refrigerator. 00:17:36.749 --> 00:17:41.184 And so rather than make specific models for retrofits, 00:17:41.184 --> 00:17:47.512 manufacturers limit the current consumption of all their dishwashers to something like 10 amps. 00:17:47.512 --> 00:17:51.628 This gives some overhead  which reduces nuisance trips of circuit breakers, 00:17:51.628 --> 00:17:58.385 but it means North American dishwashers just aren't very fast at heating the water inside of them. 00:17:58.385 --> 00:18:04.093 But if they fill with water that's already hot, then the heating element gets a head start. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:07.502 That's the entire reason they're hooked up to hot water. 00:18:07.502 --> 00:18:14.059 However, they won't necessarily get hot water when you start the machine unless you've purged the pipes 00:18:14.059 --> 00:18:20.090 between your water heater and the kitchen faucet of the cold water that's currently resting in them. 00:18:20.090 --> 00:18:26.375 That's what I'm telling you to do when I say "run the kitchen faucet until the water comes out piping hot." 00:18:26.375 --> 00:18:31.734 That will clear the cold water from the line before the dishwasher starts filling itself. 00:18:31.734 --> 00:18:34.274 And just in case you think I'm making that up, 00:18:34.274 --> 00:18:39.529 here is that exact advice in the owner's manual of this Frigidaire dishwasher. 00:18:39.529 --> 00:18:43.961 How important this is to do depends on your dishwasher and your home. 00:18:43.961 --> 00:18:48.862 But this is the only way to get consistent performance out of your machine. 00:18:48.862 --> 00:18:54.035 Otherwise, it may start filling or completely fill with room temperature water, 00:18:54.035 --> 00:18:58.846 which not only defeats the point of being hooked up to hot water in the first place, 00:18:58.846 --> 00:19:04.300 but more importantly will  dramatically hurt its cleaning performance. 00:19:04.300 --> 00:19:07.538 And it hurts cleaning performance in two ways. 00:19:07.538 --> 00:19:14.368 First, many food soils need the help of high temperatures to soften and detach from what they're stuck to. 00:19:14.368 --> 00:19:17.528 That's why you use hot water when handwashing. 00:19:17.528 --> 00:19:24.014 But dishwashers especially need hot water because of how modern detergent products work. 00:19:24.014 --> 00:19:28.583 The phaseout of phosphates from automatic dishwasher detergent was a messy ordeal 00:19:28.583 --> 00:19:34.967 and there was a brief period of time where dishwasher detergents really were pretty awful. 00:19:34.967 --> 00:19:38.232 Some folks are still hung up about that. 00:19:38.232 --> 00:19:46.485 But modern detergents use enzymes, usually protease and amylase, which chemically break down starches and proteins. 00:19:46.485 --> 00:19:53.545 In a sense, those enzymes digest the food on your plates and stuff and allow it to dissolve into the water. 00:19:53.545 --> 00:20:00.641 However, in order for those enzymes to be maximally effective, the washing water needs to be quite hot, 00:20:00.641 --> 00:20:05.084 ideally 60° C or 140° F. 00:20:05.084 --> 00:20:11.094 And here's where the trouble lies: if your dishwasher doesn't actually fill with hot water, 00:20:11.094 --> 00:20:18.229 then because of its slow heating element, it may not be able to reach that temperature before it drains the wash water away 00:20:18.229 --> 00:20:20.116 and moves on to rinsing. 00:20:20.116 --> 00:20:26.846 Or even if it does make it, it may very well spend less time washing at the optimal temperatures 00:20:26.846 --> 00:20:30.682 before its wash program calls for moving to the next step. 00:20:30.682 --> 00:20:33.803 And with the help of my trusty temperature data loggers, 00:20:33.803 --> 00:20:38.470 a plastic bag, some rubber bands, a zip tie, and a dishwasher with a hole in its side, 00:20:38.470 --> 00:20:43.405 I can show you the difference between a dishwasher which fills with room temperature water 00:20:43.405 --> 00:20:47.266 and a dishwasher that fills with hot water. 00:20:47.266 --> 00:20:53.355 I hooked ol' Fridgy up to this utility sink using an adapter,  basically turning it into a portable dishwasher. 00:20:53.355 --> 00:20:57.128 Which by the way, did you know those exist? 00:20:57.128 --> 00:20:59.088 I don't mean a countertop dishwasher. 00:20:59.088 --> 00:21:01.412 I mean a full-size dishwasher. 00:21:01.412 --> 00:21:06.067 You can buy a machine much like this but encased in a box on wheels 00:21:06.067 --> 00:21:09.805 and which uses an attachment to hook it up to a kitchen faucet. 00:21:09.805 --> 00:21:15.244 If you don't have a dishwasher but would like one, those are an option worth looking into. 00:21:15.244 --> 00:21:17.861 My grandparents had one, and it worked great! 00:21:17.861 --> 00:21:24.981 Just roll it over to the sink and hook up the combined fill and drain hose thing to the faucet using the adapter it comes with, 00:21:24.981 --> 00:21:29.044 plug the machine into a power outlet, set the faucet to hot water 00:21:29.044 --> 00:21:33.421 (and purge the line of course, which you can do with a little button on the adapter thing) 00:21:33.421 --> 00:21:35.577 and then start the machine. 00:21:35.577 --> 00:21:40.384 Those of you who insist on handwashing really seem quite funny to me 00:21:40.384 --> 00:21:46.542 when put in contrast to what my grandma did every day specifically to avoid washing dishes. 00:21:46.542 --> 00:21:53.754 Anyway, because I had it hooked up to a faucet, I could choose whether the machine would fill with hot or cold water. 00:21:53.754 --> 00:21:59.291 And I devised a test using a food which really needs hot water to be dealt with effectively: 00:21:59.291 --> 00:22:00.430 Peanut butter. 00:22:00.430 --> 00:22:02.594 And a whole lot of it. 00:22:02.594 --> 00:22:09.102 I melted almost half a jar's worth of peanut butter and swirled it  around in a series of mason jars and glass mugs 00:22:09.102 --> 00:22:12.142 to completely coat them in delicious goop. 00:22:12.142 --> 00:22:16.421 And then I let it all cool back to room temperature so it resolidified. 00:22:16.421 --> 00:22:20.652 I hope you'll pardon the food  waste when you see how well this demo worked. 00:22:20.652 --> 00:22:26.578 In addition to the peanut butter, I also melted some regular butter and swirled it around in the same glass mugs. 00:22:26.578 --> 00:22:33.176 Some went on the top rack and others went on the bottom rack where they'd be visible to the camera peering in through the glass. 00:22:33.176 --> 00:22:37.194 Also present were a couple of plates coated in honey. 00:22:37.194 --> 00:22:43.921 Being fresh, I didn't really think that was going to be a problem for cold water, but I decided to try it anyway. 00:22:43.921 --> 00:22:50.663 Throughout this testing, a temperature logging device was positioned directly above the center of the lower spray arm. 00:22:50.663 --> 00:22:53.566 I would have liked it to be sitting in the water, 00:22:53.566 --> 00:22:57.854 but the design of this machine's spray arm made that not so possible. 00:22:57.854 --> 00:23:02.102 Now, for this test, I did not use any pre-wash detergent. 00:23:02.102 --> 00:23:05.269 At least... the first two times I ran the test. 00:23:05.269 --> 00:23:06.228 We'll get there. 00:23:06.228 --> 00:23:10.415 However, the machine's detergent dispenser was filled with detergent - 00:23:10.415 --> 00:23:12.745 in this case, a store brand product. 00:23:12.745 --> 00:23:16.899 I didn't use Matt's formulation because at the time I didn't have enough left. 00:23:16.899 --> 00:23:21.465 But to be honest, even if I did, I wouldn't want to waste it on this nonsense. 00:23:21.465 --> 00:23:28.687 So, with everything in place, I set the faucet to cold and started the machine on its normal wash program. 00:23:28.687 --> 00:23:32.264 Once full of water, it began its 15-minute pre-wash. 00:23:32.264 --> 00:23:36.128 But because this machine doesn't turn on the heating element during the pre-wash, 00:23:36.128 --> 00:23:41.606 that meant it spent 15 minutes "washing" with cold water. 00:23:41.606 --> 00:23:46.483 Some of the peanut butter did manage to get knocked off by the mechanical action of the water. 00:23:46.483 --> 00:23:47.932 And though it took a while, 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:53.040 the butter in the bottom of the mug on  the bottom rack was eventually dislodged. 00:23:53.040 --> 00:23:54.927 But not much else happened. 00:23:54.927 --> 00:23:57.100 Once it had finished draining the pre-wash water, 00:23:57.100 --> 00:24:03.103 I opened the machine to take a peek at the top rack, and everything up there looked completely untouched. 00:24:03.103 --> 00:24:09.657 The honey, though, did all dissolve and got pumped away, so there probably wasn't a point to including that. 00:24:09.657 --> 00:24:11.459 Oh well, live and learn. 00:24:11.459 --> 00:24:16.331 Once I closed the door and the cycle resumed, the machine did its little purging and rinsing dance 00:24:16.331 --> 00:24:23.222 then filled again with cold water, switched on its heating element, resumed washing, and opened the detergent dispenser. 00:24:23.222 --> 00:24:26.654 The water inside is still just at room temperature, 00:24:26.654 --> 00:24:32.447 so while we now have the help of detergent, we don't yet have the help of any heat. 00:24:32.447 --> 00:24:37.972 And because the heating element in this machine is only putting 900 watts of heat output into the water, 00:24:37.972 --> 00:24:44.002 it took quite a long time for the peanut butter to start softening and for the detergent to get to work. 00:24:44.002 --> 00:24:47.289 Though it did eventually all clear up. 00:24:47.289 --> 00:24:52.031 The water was absolutely filthy with all that peanut butter and actual butter in it, 00:24:52.031 --> 00:24:57.111 but the machine was just barely able to get it all off before it started draining. 00:24:57.111 --> 00:25:02.312 Now, I needed to do this test again so I let the machine finish the wash cycle. 00:25:02.312 --> 00:25:09.035 It didn't do a very good job of rinsing, which I wasn't super surprised by given the ridiculous amount of peanut butter in there. 00:25:09.035 --> 00:25:11.912 So, I had to do a rinse only cycle afterwards. 00:25:11.912 --> 00:25:15.005 But once everything was clean, I reset the test. 00:25:15.005 --> 00:25:22.129 I tried to make this as consistent with the last test as possible, and I put everything exactly where it was in the first test. 00:25:22.129 --> 00:25:29.494 I even put honey in there again just in case it was somehow doing something to affect how well things dissolved or not. 00:25:29.494 --> 00:25:32.745 But this time I switched the faucet to hot water 00:25:32.745 --> 00:25:38.996 and I disconnected the hose and purged the line of cold water before reconnecting it and starting the machine 00:25:38.996 --> 00:25:43.969 which made sure the water which entered was actually piping hot. 00:25:43.969 --> 00:25:48.960 If you're wondering why there's a whole bunch of other stuff in the dishwasher alongside what's actually dirty, 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:55.899 well this was to make sure the test is representative of the actual conditions a dishwasher typically sees. 00:25:55.899 --> 00:26:02.098 The gallon-ish of hot water that it's about to take in doesn't have that much heat energy in it, 00:26:02.098 --> 00:26:07.622 and all those plates (and the dishwasher itself) have quite a lot of thermal mass. 00:26:07.622 --> 00:26:13.076 So, I wanted to know how much the water would be cooled down by all that stuff. 00:26:13.076 --> 00:26:18.051 Or put another way, how much heating the incoming water actually does. 00:26:18.051 --> 00:26:24.679 And, well, after it drained this water out, I measured its temperature at just under 81°. 00:26:24.679 --> 00:26:28.268 That's about 14° above the ambient temperature. 00:26:28.268 --> 00:26:34.193 That may not seem that significant, but now that everything inside is already at 81° 00:26:34.193 --> 00:26:39.517 we've given the main wash at least a 10-minute head start when  it comes to heating - 00:26:39.517 --> 00:26:44.318 if not more, depending on how hot the next fill of water is. 00:26:44.318 --> 00:26:47.647 That's going to depend on your home's particularities. 00:26:47.647 --> 00:26:55.667 15 minutes have passed since it last filled with water, so  the water resting in the pipes will have cooled down a fair bit. 00:26:55.667 --> 00:27:02.545 Here, the lil' baby water heater, which is supplying the dishwasher with hot water is right next to the sink. 00:27:02.545 --> 00:27:06.739 So, I'll note that it's going to fill again with pretty hot water, 00:27:06.739 --> 00:27:11.561 and it's probably got a bit of an advantage here compared to most installations. 00:27:11.561 --> 00:27:15.448 Regardless, let's take a side by side look at how this goes. 00:27:15.448 --> 00:27:21.026 This is a time lapse which ended up causing some flashing light effects, so here's your warning for that. 00:27:21.026 --> 00:27:24.613 I'll let you know when it's off screen by saying "persnickety." 00:27:24.613 --> 00:27:28.228 During the pre-wash, we don't actually see much of a difference. 00:27:28.228 --> 00:27:32.306 In fact, the cold fill side appears to be doing slightly better 00:27:32.306 --> 00:27:38.612 since we are not seeing the peanut butter get dislodged from the bottom of the mason jars like we were before. 00:27:38.612 --> 00:27:45.317 But we do see that the pad of butter was dislodged much more quickly from the mug on the hot fill side 00:27:45.317 --> 00:27:50.833 thanks to the blasts of warm water helping it to soften and detach from the glass. 00:27:50.833 --> 00:27:55.575 However, once we move on to the main wash and the detergent dispenser opens, 00:27:55.575 --> 00:27:58.063 the difference is dramatic. 00:27:58.063 --> 00:28:02.272 While nothing seems to be happening yet on the cold fill side, 00:28:02.272 --> 00:28:09.399 the detergent and the water immediately gets to work melting and dissolving the peanut butter on the hot fill side. 00:28:09.399 --> 00:28:13.904 My temperature logger reacts fairly slowly to sudden changes in temperature, 00:28:13.904 --> 00:28:16.970 but based on the similarity in the curve shapes here, 00:28:16.970 --> 00:28:21.627 I would estimate that the wash water was immediately at about 95°, 00:28:21.627 --> 00:28:23.850 whereas on the cold fill side, 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:29.285 the water is only just now starting to move above room temperature. 00:28:29.285 --> 00:28:38.240 In fact, by the time the data logger was reading 100° on the hot fill side, the cold fill side was only reading about 78°.   00:28:38.800 --> 00:28:42.933 That's why nothing seemed to be happening for such a long time. 00:28:42.933 --> 00:28:46.698 The upshot here is that when the machine filled with hot water, 00:28:46.698 --> 00:28:55.134 it had completely finished getting the peanut butter off the jars and stuff about 20 minutes earlier than when it filled with cold water. 00:28:55.134 --> 00:28:56.153 Persnickety. 00:28:56.153 --> 00:29:02.685 And because this machine always spends the same amount of time in this part of the washing cycle before it drains, 00:29:02.685 --> 00:29:12.260 this means the actually effective washing time was extended by 20 minutes simply by filling with hot water rather than cold. 00:29:12.260 --> 00:29:18.098 That could very well be the difference between perfectly clean dishes and disappointment. 00:29:18.098 --> 00:29:21.578 But before I show you what adding  a little pre-wash detergent did, 00:29:21.578 --> 00:29:25.947 you may have noticed something about where the temperatures peaked. 00:29:25.947 --> 00:29:30.770 This testing revealed something about this dishwasher which I honestly didn't expect 00:29:30.770 --> 00:29:36.570 and assuming others out there are like it makes it even more important that you do that whole 00:29:36.570 --> 00:29:41.035 "run the tap until the water comes out hot" thing I keep harping on about. 00:29:41.035 --> 00:29:44.034 This machine is controlled by a microprocessor, 00:29:44.034 --> 00:29:50.505 and when I made my first videos with it and discovered that there were two temperature sensing devices below the washtub, 00:29:50.505 --> 00:29:56.439 I figured one of them would be a thermistor or some other temperature sensor that the control board is monitoring 00:29:56.439 --> 00:30:00.206 to make sure it attains a target temperature. 00:30:00.206 --> 00:30:07.336 But these two temperature graphs suggest the machine is simply running its heating element for a fixed period of time. 00:30:07.336 --> 00:30:14.050 When it filled with cold water, it didn't even hit 120 Fahrenheit before it switched off the heating element. 00:30:14.050 --> 00:30:18.875 It actually got hotter during the final rinse than it ever did in the main wash. 00:30:18.875 --> 00:30:23.491 With a hot water fill, it peaked slightly above 130 Fahrenheit, 00:30:23.491 --> 00:30:28.709 but you can see that the heating element switched off at precisely the same time. 00:30:28.709 --> 00:30:35.620 I figured the cold fill wash would run the heating element longer, but since it apparently didn't... 00:30:35.620 --> 00:30:43.373 well, you really, really need to purge the cold water from the line for this thing's normal wash cycle to do a good job. 00:30:43.373 --> 00:30:46.153 But this machine has more than just one cycle. 00:30:46.153 --> 00:30:53.500 In fact, it offers four different wash cycles with two optional modifiers: high temp wash and sanitize. 00:30:53.500 --> 00:31:00.595 And I wanted to see how the heating element's behavior might change using those other cycles and options. 00:31:00.595 --> 00:31:08.169 So, I decided to wire an indicator light in parallel with the heating element so I could record what it's doing. 00:31:08.169 --> 00:31:13.342 And then I thought, why don't I add indicators for everything else it does? 00:31:13.342 --> 00:31:16.283 So, I gave the machine some blinkenlights! 00:31:16.283 --> 00:31:19.406 I wasn't expecting to install them in the control panel like this, 00:31:19.406 --> 00:31:23.058 but when I opened it up to get access to the detergent dispenser's wiring, 00:31:23.058 --> 00:31:28.299 I realized there was clearance below the vent and... well, I couldn't resist. 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:31.740 We can now see exactly what  the machine is actually doing: 00:31:31.740 --> 00:31:36.418 Filling with water, draining that water out, running its wash  pump, dispensing detergent, 00:31:36.418 --> 00:31:40.832 and of course, the thing I mostly did this for, heating the water. 00:31:40.832 --> 00:31:45.922 And in a more than slightly annoying twist, while I was inside the control panel 00:31:45.922 --> 00:31:51.913 I discovered a little sheet of paper clipped to the stainless steel on the inside of the door panel. 00:31:51.913 --> 00:31:53.787 I took it out and... 00:31:53.787 --> 00:31:56.771 whaddya know, a service data sheet! 00:31:56.771 --> 00:32:02.800 It's got a wiring diagram, an exploded parts diagram on the back, and some troubleshooting stuff. 00:32:02.800 --> 00:32:09.401 And it also has charts which explain what all the cycles do and when. 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:12.628 I wish I knew that was in there - 00:32:12.628 --> 00:32:16.258 and honestly, all appliances should come with something like this. It's great! 00:32:16.258 --> 00:32:19.815 Maybe don't hide it inside the door next time. 00:32:19.815 --> 00:32:26.024 Anyway, with this, I confirmed there is in fact a thermistor which the control board is monitoring, but... 00:32:26.024 --> 00:32:33.652 it only actually uses it to control the heating element if you select the sanitize or high temp wash options. 00:32:33.652 --> 00:32:41.391 If you don't, it simply heats the water for a predetermined period of time depending on which cycle you chose. 00:32:41.391 --> 00:32:45.427 That seemed kind of strange, but  here's where things get weirder. 00:32:45.427 --> 00:32:50.763 The high temp wash option doesn't simply make the wash a high temp  wash. 00:32:50.763 --> 00:32:52.070 That's what you'd think, right? 00:32:52.070 --> 00:32:53.528 That's what it says. 00:32:53.528 --> 00:32:58.114 But in fact, it wildly changes the normal wash sequence. 00:32:58.114 --> 00:33:00.919 Select that modifier and you get not one, 00:33:00.919 --> 00:33:01.876 not two, 00:33:01.876 --> 00:33:02.926 not three, 00:33:02.926 --> 00:33:08.227 but four pre-washes,  the last of which is actually heated, too. 00:33:08.227 --> 00:33:14.816 So, you get a half hour of pre-washing with four water changes before the main wash even starts. 00:33:14.816 --> 00:33:23.648 And with the final pre-wash also heated, everything inside  is already at about 110° when the dispenser opens. 00:33:23.648 --> 00:33:28.373 This obviously uses much more water, but it  makes the main wash extremely effective 00:33:28.373 --> 00:33:32.322 and gives those enzymes lots of time to go to town. 00:33:32.322 --> 00:33:40.000 Plus, at the end of the cycle, you also get two complete rinses rather than the one and a half you get otherwise. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.358 When it does that purging dance, which it apparently claims is a pre-rinse, 00:33:44.358 --> 00:33:47.434 it never sends any water to the top sprayers. 00:33:47.434 --> 00:33:52.798 So, whatever residual dirty water is left from the main wash inside the two upper spray arms 00:33:52.798 --> 00:33:58.417 and the tubing which feeds them is gonna end up in the final rinse. 00:33:58.417 --> 00:34:04.640 Honestly, this machine's unmodified normal wash cycle... is not very good. 00:34:04.640 --> 00:34:10.318 It washes okay, assuming you purged the line of cold water, but rinsing leaves a lot to be desired. 00:34:10.318 --> 00:34:16.338 Oh, and fun fact, you know how much energy the energy saver cycle saves over the normal cycle? 00:34:16.338 --> 00:34:18.614 Turns out none at all! 00:34:18.614 --> 00:34:21.479 And it uses more water. 00:34:21.479 --> 00:34:23.003 So that's neat. 00:34:23.003 --> 00:34:27.411 The moral of this story is since the cycles are so wildly different, 00:34:27.411 --> 00:34:33.616 if you haven't yet, you really need to try the other cycles and options on your machine. 00:34:33.616 --> 00:34:40.138 If you've been having residue issues, other cycles may very well do extra rinses which will take care of that. 00:34:40.138 --> 00:34:45.816 And if your machine is on the older side and enzyme-based detergents weren't common when it was made, 00:34:45.816 --> 00:34:53.772 those heavier wash options might be the only way to assure the water actually reaches optimal enzymatic temperatures. 00:34:53.772 --> 00:34:56.437 I'm going to talk more about this on my second channel 00:34:56.437 --> 00:35:01.529 because I've uncovered a lot about this dishwasher which isn't even on these charts. 00:35:01.529 --> 00:35:06.371 For instance, I was also curious whether the delay start option would change its heating behavior. 00:35:06.371 --> 00:35:08.108 Spoiler: 00:35:08.108 --> 00:35:09.096 nope. 00:35:09.096 --> 00:35:12.673 And some of its cycles and options are not listed here. 00:35:12.673 --> 00:35:16.419 I'll also show you the peanut  butter test with the high temp wash option. 00:35:16.419 --> 00:35:18.668 It made a dramatic difference. 00:35:18.668 --> 00:35:21.952 But this video has already gotten quite a bit longer than I anticipated, 00:35:21.952 --> 00:35:26.189 so I'm going to finish up with the third time I ran the peanut butter test. 00:35:26.189 --> 00:35:32.724 This time, I included just a single teaspoon of Matt's marvelous detergent formula for the pre-wash water. 00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:38.880 Okay, it was a bit of a heaping teaspoon, but this  is well less than half the standard washing dose.   00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:42.820 And I simply placed it on the door and let it fall inside. 00:35:42.820 --> 00:35:48.194 I started the machine on the unmodified normal cycle again with the hot water line purged. 00:35:48.194 --> 00:35:55.033 And the first thing you'll notice is that the butter was dislodged much, much faster with some detergent in the water. 00:35:55.033 --> 00:35:59.454 In fact, the sides of the mug cleared up almost immediately. 00:35:59.454 --> 00:36:03.493 Now, the rest of what the pre-wash detergent did is a little more subtle, 00:36:03.493 --> 00:36:05.773 but it's pretty evident in the time lapse. 00:36:05.773 --> 00:36:09.466 Again, flashing lights ahead, and I'll say persnickety when they're gone. 00:36:09.466 --> 00:36:16.876 As the pre-wash continues, we see the water start to get much cloudier with the addition of pre-wash detergent. 00:36:16.876 --> 00:36:24.635 Even with just this tiny amount, the detergent is allowing the water to absorb the fats in both types of butter immediately. 00:36:24.635 --> 00:36:27.428 And that's why we're seeing it start to get cloudy - 00:36:27.428 --> 00:36:30.877 it's actually starting to dissolve those butters. 00:36:30.877 --> 00:36:33.838 Yet, nothing else about this wash is any different. 00:36:33.838 --> 00:36:38.736 In fact, the temperature graph is pretty much identical to the last demo. 00:36:38.736 --> 00:36:42.911 Now, admittedly, it doesn't look  like a dramatic difference in this footage. 00:36:42.911 --> 00:36:47.132 But if we look at the water which was drained out of the machine at the end of the pre-wash, 00:36:47.132 --> 00:36:53.472 persnickety, the addition of detergent clearly increased how much peanut butter was drained out. 00:36:53.472 --> 00:36:56.938 The water is much cloudier and more uniform. 00:36:56.938 --> 00:37:00.419 Without the detergent, a good deal of stuff came out, 00:37:00.419 --> 00:37:06.812 but the water was a fair bit clearer, and what managed to make it out were more like chunks than anything else. 00:37:06.812 --> 00:37:11.654 I opened the door once it was finished  draining the pre-wash water to check out the top rack. 00:37:11.654 --> 00:37:14.921 And here, too, we see a pretty significant difference. 00:37:14.921 --> 00:37:19.104 Stuff on the top rack doesn't get sprayed for several minutes into the pre-wash, 00:37:19.104 --> 00:37:23.842 so the water cools down quite a bit before stuff up here gets a good spraying. 00:37:23.842 --> 00:37:31.881 Still, in a first, both mugs of butter had the big pad dislodged with only a small ring remaining on one of them. 00:37:31.881 --> 00:37:37.120 And if we check on the bottom of the machine, we can see that although some of the butter remains inside, 00:37:37.120 --> 00:37:39.680 it's all been broken down into chunks. 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:45.600 I am very annoyed with myself because I forgot to  check the bottom of the machine for what the butter   00:37:45.600 --> 00:37:51.592 that fell out of the mugs looked like when I ran the test the second time with hot water but without pre-wash detergent. 00:37:51.592 --> 00:37:53.377 So, my apologies there. 00:37:53.377 --> 00:37:55.711 However, another flashing light warning, 00:37:55.711 --> 00:38:00.195 if we go back to the time lapse, we can see that during the main wash, 00:38:00.195 --> 00:38:05.617 the water was much dirtier in the fill with only a single dose of detergent. 00:38:05.617 --> 00:38:09.167 While the pre-wash detergent certainly didn't get everything out, 00:38:09.167 --> 00:38:14.956 I think it's clear from this footage that it made a significant difference to how much food soil was left 00:38:14.956 --> 00:38:17.605 when the main wash detergent was released. 00:38:17.605 --> 00:38:21.402 And that's the entire reason I like to use pre-wash detergent! 00:38:21.402 --> 00:38:26.357 Taking the same amount of detergent and spreading its work between two fills of water 00:38:26.357 --> 00:38:30.792 is often more effective than asking it to do everything all at once. 00:38:30.792 --> 00:38:32.107 Persnickety. 00:38:32.107 --> 00:38:39.985 I don't always use pre-wash detergent to be clear, but if I've got anything in the dishwasher which is oily or fatty or greasy, 00:38:39.985 --> 00:38:46.643 I will be sure to add some additional detergent so the main wash fill doesn't have to deal with all of that on its own. 00:38:46.643 --> 00:38:50.295 Remember how the butter was dislodged so much faster? 00:38:50.295 --> 00:38:54.837 It took a little over 5 minutes for it to get knocked out of the mug without pre-wash detergent, 00:38:54.837 --> 00:38:59.266 but it only took about 60 seconds when there was some soap in the water. 00:38:59.266 --> 00:39:04.133 It's almost like detergents help fats to mix with water or something! 00:39:04.133 --> 00:39:09.284 Now, I didn't do the best job being consistent with how much butter was in the bottom mug, 00:39:09.284 --> 00:39:13.196 so here's a teaser of the high temp wash test that you'll find on my second channel. 00:39:13.196 --> 00:39:19.791 I put way more butter in this mug, and still it only took 70 seconds for the butter to start to release, 00:39:19.791 --> 00:39:24.236 and just a few more spins of the sprayer were all it took for the rest to come out. 00:39:24.236 --> 00:39:27.729 If this doesn't convince you, I don't know what could. 00:39:27.729 --> 00:39:31.027 And now that someone has developed a powdered detergent product 00:39:31.027 --> 00:39:37.964 which doesn't have to fit into an overly complicated product lineup which needs to justify wildly different price points somehow, 00:39:37.964 --> 00:39:43.923 we know that there's absolutely no reason you  should not be able to get the freedom of powder 00:39:43.923 --> 00:39:46.503 without sacrificing washing performance. 00:39:46.503 --> 00:39:51.315 Powders don't have to be relegated to a sad spot on the bottom shelf of the store. 00:39:51.315 --> 00:39:55.052 They could in fact be a premium product. 00:39:55.052 --> 00:39:58.122 So, thank you so much to everyone who worked on this project, 00:39:58.122 --> 00:40:00.342 but especially Matt Keasey. 00:40:00.342 --> 00:40:03.460 If one person can develop a detergent formulation 00:40:03.460 --> 00:40:11.286 which works just as well as what the big guys have convinced so many people is the only way to get a good wash... 00:40:11.286 --> 00:40:16.741 Well, I'll just say perhaps those stubborn, crotchety Midwesterners out there 00:40:16.741 --> 00:40:20.085 might have a point about marketing gimmicks. 00:40:21.269 --> 00:40:23.821 ♫ vindicatedly smooth jazz ♫ 00:40:24.925 --> 00:40:27.238 I was right! 00:40:28.566 --> 00:40:30.271 Why might that be? 00:40:30.271 --> 00:40:31.665 Weird vocal flub. 00:40:32.017 --> 00:40:33.921 Oh no. Is that a leaf blower? 00:40:33.921 --> 00:40:35.269 On Friday? 00:40:35.269 --> 00:40:38.275 We will patiently wait for the leaf blowering to stop. 00:40:38.275 --> 00:40:43.558 I strongly prefer loose powders for dishwashers... [thud] 00:40:45.394 --> 00:40:48.739 Are they leaf blowing on the roof? 00:40:48.739 --> 00:40:50.067 They might be. 00:40:50.067 --> 00:40:53.626 And that's the entire reason I like to use main - 00:40:54.446 --> 00:40:55.149 gah! 00:40:55.149 --> 00:40:59.025 I'm going to finish up with the  third time I ran the peanut butter test. 00:41:02.590 --> 00:41:03.612 FFAAH[bleep] 00:41:03.612 --> 00:41:05.354 ...time I ran the peanut butter test. 00:41:09.065 --> 00:41:09.565 Godd- 00:41:11.518 --> 00:41:15.284 I don't want to hear another word about how much better those pods are. 00:41:15.284 --> 00:41:20.847 Or I guess, I don't want to hear another word about how pods are some kind of "innovation" which favors the consumer. 00:41:20.847 --> 00:41:24.642 Because while they might be innovative, I don't think it's us who's really benefiting. 00:41:24.642 --> 00:41:25.758 My hat was never tinfoil!