Are powder detergents bad for dishwashers?

[srockman]

A technician came to do a warranty repair on my dishwasher (see my previous post). He saw that we were using powder detergent and remarked that they were bad for dishwashers.

I have not read anything else in this regard. Almost all of the the info on the web has to do with the relative cleaning ability of powders vs. liquids, etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

Thanks!

[DADoESTX]

I've been using only powder DW detergent f-o-r-e-v-e-r with no obvious detriment of the machine(s), the current of which is 14+ years.

[Econo Appliance]

I'd say that brand name is much more important than the powder vs. liquid argument.  Cascade power or liquid is far better than anything else.  No-name & generic detergents always cause issues no matter what form it comes in,  even kirkland detergent is useless which usually surprises costco fans.

Phosphates were banned from d/w detergents (in the US) in 2010,  so wash quality hasn't been the same.... your best bet nowadays is Cascade.

Edited November 5, 2017 by Econo Appliance

[AccApp]

Using only powder detergent my entire life.  It must be bad for dishwashers as it killed a perfectly good waste king that was only thirty years old(was in a house I bought, had it for five years). Somehow the powder detergent made the timer stop moving. My current Miele dishwasher is only 20 years old (I am second owner for only five of those years). Probably has only 10-15 more years left in due to my use of powder detergent.

Also think of all the dishwashers that had to use powder detergent with all its negative aspects (none spring to mind immediately) for 70 years before someone came up with liquid detergent.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, my personal experience with powder dishwasher detergent has been good enough for me to never consider switching to liquid, gel, tablet or whatever newfangled hoo-hah the soap-hawkers are peddling this week.

[AccApp]

Also I prefer cascade, always have had good results with it.

[MoTeD]

On 11/5/2017 at 3:18 PM, AccApp said:

soap-hawkers are peddling this week.

Made me laugh. 

[LI-NY Tech]

Typically a detergent contains a bleach and an enzyme. If mixed together in liquid form the bleach will kill the enzyme. For the reason powder detergent or pods are superior to liquid detergent.

No name brands or “all natural” detergents usually just don’t work well.