Product Review: Cascade 2 in 1 Action Pacs

I have a very old, very funky dishwasher.  Many times, it literally groans as it does my dishes.  (I don't think I have much room to criticize, since housework elicits the same response from me).  Hubs has even offered to replace it, but it's sort of become a battle of wills--who will be left standing at the end of the day?  Me, or the General Electric Potscrubber 700?  (I realize this is very sad, but my life, it would appear, is dull enough to need to inject drama wherever I can).  Often, there is grainy, brown schmutz left on my dishes.  I figured it was just the price of having an old dishwasher, and my stubborness at making it forge on. 

When the folks at Cascade offered to let me try their "2in1 ActionPacs", I will admit I was skeptical.  I thought it sounded a little gimmicky.  They are these little plastic-wrapped squares that contain powder and liquid, and the plastic actually dissolves in the dishwasher.  Supposedly the two types of cleaner combine get your dishes extra clean.   AND they advertise that there's "no need to pre-wash".  Seriously?  They haven't met my dishwasher yet.  But it couldn't hurt to try. 

Guess what?  I LOVE these things.  I don't know how they work, or why, and I don't really care.  All I know is that there is no longer grainy, brown schmutz on my dishes.  I even tried not pre-washing my dishes (and this was hard for me girls, because there are some things you just MUST.DO. and pre-washing is one of them).  Guess what?  The stuff still worked.  I feel all June-Cleaver-ish even saying this next sentence, but I will anyway--MY DISHES HAVE NEVER BEEN THIS CLEAN!

I'd been using the generic Wal-Mart dishwashing liquid, which (at our store) is $2.43 for about a 2.5 week supply (figuring one dishwasher load daily, occasionally two).  The Cascade 2in1 ActionPacs are more expensive--$4.94 for a 3-4 week supply.  Because this little blog o' mine is a Math-Free Zone, I'll leave it to you to figure out the specifics, but to my frugal mind, this is one time the more expensive product is worth it.  I'm sold on this stuff.  You can get more information here, and you can request a $1.50-off coupon here.

The best part?  Since these are solid little packs that come in a Ziploc-style bag, there are no more gross toot-jokes from my boys when I'm trying to squirt out the last stuff from the plastic bottle.  Seriously, works for me.

So, I'm giving it a 4.5-rocks rating (and I'd be giving it a 5 if it were just a teensy bit cheaper).  Great product.    Oh, and by the way, be sure to check out my shiny, new "Product Review Policy" here.

Remember that tomorrow is Works-For-Me Wednesday.  Guidelines, if you need them, are here.