(3 pack) Great Value Automatic Dishwasher Powder, Original Scent, 75 oz, 1 Count

I recently watched a YouTube and (sorry, can't remember the name of the presenter, but he did videos on how common appliances work) and he explained in detail how a dishwasher actually cleans. He said one of the first %26 mos t important cleaning cycles was the first blast of water over the dirty dishes. That's what takes off the biggest deposits of food. He also explained that the machine has to do extra work to heat the water it blasts throughout the machine, and if you RAN HOT WATER IN YOUR FAUCET BEFORE STARTING THE DISHWASHER, it would work more effectively. The machine wasn't wasting energy heating it and water ALREADY hot removes more grease/gunk than cold. He said with that one trick, you could ditch the expensive "pods" and use the cheapest powdered dish detergent around. HE WAS RIGHT! I bought a box of this simple, old-fashioned Walmart detergent, ran hot water first, and it cleaned JUST as well as the fancy (more expensive) pods. Bonus! More environmentally-friendly than even liquid detergent, where you're paying for water in the soap AND recycling the plastic jug. And no dumb kid will try to eat a pod, either. Be sure to actually use the dispenser and close the trap door. Don't just toss the powder in all over before starting the machine, because it's designed to first do that blast of water, THEN automatically open the tray to dispense the soap in the next cycle. Grateful to that unknown brilliant appliance guru, and sharing so everyone can save a few bucks with his simple trick.

No strong lingering scent! I tried this specifically because it was recommended to not have that strong scent that other products leave on your dishes. It works great for a lot less money than the pod brands ai was using. We have hard water, so I add citric acid powder to the pre-wash and in the cup along with this. Doing this prevents the white film our hard water causes. I'm very happy with this product and would highly recommend it.