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Comment by jogu | Hacker News Reader

His stance is less that pods don't perform, and more that powders perform just as well and are less wasteful.

pods are about convenience. exactly same reason that i got dishwasher with detergent cartridges and washing machine with build in container for detergent.

but if we talk about powders, they can be very different with different performance. There are commercial powders (for restaurants and such where dishwashers run on very short cycles) that I afraid to put in my dishwasher and there are eco powders that are made from unicorn tears (tried once, they cleaned dirt but leave stains on clear glass). i went through sds of a bunch of them. most of them have same similar basic ingredients, but in different proportions

I can't remember if it was main video or second channel one, in which Alec states with confidence that big brands make powder worse on purpose to push their higher margin pods.

The opinion is based on his experience (horrible residue left by big-name powder in contrast to store-branded great-value powders being problem-free) and lab results.

i used cascade powder to refill miele cartridges. there was 0 difference with regards to residue/etc. also SDS was very similiar.

i just went to check amazon. cascade complete powder has 4.6 with 9k reviews. if it was subpar, pretty sure that rating would have reflected it. for example plant based detergents hover around 4.

I have used Kirkland pods for years and have never noticed residue.

It's also highly dependent on how soft your water is. The people complaining about performance probably have hard water. Do you ever have to descale your kettle / coffee maker?

i used to live in area with very hard water. used softening salt in dishwasher. later switched to pods that were advertised to have water softening compounds and used them without softening salt.

How is fiddling a thing out of a box more convenient than putting a spoon in a box? I don't get that argument.

If you have to go to a laundromat, carrying a couple pods with you is way more convenient.

Vs. carrying a small box, that you would also carry for pods, because you don't want to hold them in your hand the whole time?

you can put pods with laundry. no need in box

I bring a bag to the store. Is it more convenient? no, is it the right thing to do? yes. I'm just making the point that they are more convenient for people in this situation.

Wait, weren't we talking about dishwashers?

admittedly, I commented before watching. Even worse, I watch all of this guy's videos.

when i used pods, i had open box under counter. i could with literally closed eyes to take one and put it in machine without looking. using spoon involves more actions and there are chance that some of the powder will end up on floor/inside cabinet/etc.

now i use cartridge like this that is replaced once in 3 weeks https://www.mieleusa.com/c/powerdisk-automatic-dishwasher-de...

it's even more convenient.

That's not my experience. When I use pods, I need to fiddle them out of the (small) box, remove the "self-dissolvable" plastic, open the bin, put it in, close it and put the pod into the dishwasher. With powder, I take the pot out, hold it over the dishwasher (no risk of putting powder on the floor) and put some in the dishwasher, with the custom spoon, that has exactly the right size, by moving my hand a few centimeters.

Interesting how people have completely different workflows with something trivial as a dishwasher.

> now i use cartridge

Yes, I agree that's obviously more convenient.

a) get a bigger box for storage

b) why remove self dissolvable plastic ? in 15 years the only time that it didn't dissolve for me was when i blocked dispenser with a plat and pod was stuck on it

a) That's the box, the pods are bought in. I think the point of pods, is that you don't need to "manage" your own storage, when I want to that, I can also use powder.

b) What do you think this dissolves to? Microplastic. The thing we currently have a hard time keeping out of our water reservoirs, rivers, and oceans. Where does it end up? In the (waste) water. Nice.

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