Power in the product to get dishes clean (Finish Powerball All in 1 Tabs Lemon)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Finish Powerball All in 1 Tabs Lemon
Date:	22/06/09 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All in one so need less products

Disadvantages: Expensive, no lemon fragrance

Dishwashers have become more common place now and deciding which product to buy becomes harder as the choices become bigger. I admit to often buying a tEsco own product but when there is an offer and the tablet costs less than the shops own make then I will try the bargain offer. This explains as to why I had a box of Finish Powerball all in 1 in my cupboard for the last couple of months.

Finish is a well known product and is recommended by leading dishwasher manufacturers in the UK. Made in Germany by Reckitt.

What is it like?
The strong box is brightly coloured mostly blue with some red and white and a picture of slices of lemons in the one corner. There is a picture of the actual tablet. There is information on every side of the box, far more than you can read whilst shopping!

The tablet
The actual tablet is encased in a paper wrapper which rips open quite easily. It has a deep white layer on the bottom with a blue layer on top, which has specks in it and a red bead nestles in the centre. The instructions say to unwrap and place in the dispenser, fortunately mine fits but tablets with beads in the centre didn't fit into my old machine as it was manufactured when there were only powder products. It does say on the box if it doesn't fit consult the dishwasher manufacturer.

What is "All in 1"?
There are 10 power actions in one tablet.
Tough stain removal
Grease cutting power
Soaking action
Tea stain removal
Super shine function
Stainless Steel shine
Machine Limescale protection
Glass protection
Silver protection
Power boost action

Does it work?
I do agree that it does seem to wash the dishes clean, removing baked on food, I hardly ever have to re-wash dishes now. Any greasy dishes come out shining clean so the grease is removed, and so are tea stains, I drink fruit infusions so some mugs get stained red, and my daughter drinks black tea so again stains can occur. We don't have a problem with lime as we are in a soft water area, so I can't comment there, the plates do shine but not any better than other products and my glasses have never gone cloudy, so not sure if the glass protection makes any difference in soft water areas. I don't often use Silver, and if I do I don't put in the dishwasher so can't comment, but my cutlery which has just reached the age of 40 years still looks reasonable so the Stainless steel shine must be working!

Finish suggestions
It is suggested that you can reduce the temperature by changing programmes to save energy and water, I have tried this and although the dishes are nice and clean they don't dry as well with my machine. They also suggest if you live in a hard water area you can improve the performance by adding Finish salt and Finish rinse Aid, but it is built into the All in 1 and is OK in areas with soft, medium and hard water up to 26 degrees of hardness.

Is it safe?
It is suitable for Septic tanks so that is a useful thing for people who live in areas that aren't on main sewage, but it can cause irritations if it gets in the eyes or may effect the skin so rinse well after touching.

Cost?
My box contained 42 tablets and weighs 866grams and was on offer. Currently the box containing 60 is on sale in Tesco for £8.00 instead of £12.71.

Verdict?
Providing it is on offer it is a product I will buy again as I got good results but I do think normally it is quite expensive, but I don't buy salt and rinse aid as it isn't necessary in our area, so if you live in an area where it is needed you would be saving more as it is built into the tablet. I didn't notice a lemon fragrance, so presume it only had a little lemon in the tablet.

Summary: Dishwasher tablets