The Good: Cleans glass, Lasts a long time
The Bad: No scent, Expensive, Does not work against hard water/hard water stains.
The Basics: Something of a surprise from Jet-Dry, the Finish Jet-Dry underwhelms by failing to clean the dishwasher as well as it cleans dishes!
With a new place comes new appliances! As well, there are frequently new (unforeseen) issues with said new appliances. Having moved my entire life to Michigan, I am now discovering the joys (read VERY sarcastically!) of gas-fueled appliances, like my new dishwasher (reviewed here!). With my new dishwasher and the hard water native to this area of Michigan, I decided I would try for something with a little more oomph in the way of a rinse agent. I admit, I went for brand name power when my wife and I picked up the Finish Jet-Dry rinse agent. Perhaps that was my big mistake. I find that odd, however, given my recent experience with Finish Quantum Powerball dish detergent (reviewed here!), but that is how my experience actually bore out. The Jet Dry Finish rinse agent was far less effective than I needed it to be, though it accomplished the most basic task of eliminating waterspots on dishes.
Rinse agents, for those not fluent in the lingo are a fluid or gel used in automatic dishwashers that have a slow release. The stated use of a rinse agent is to dissolve the last bits of matter or detergent left on glassware and make it sparkle. Like using aspirin to prevent heart attacks, rinse agents have a secondary use and that is that they are what cleans the dishwasher. Dishwashers are not supposed to be cleaned with bleach (it denatures the plastics in the frame), hence the need for a good rinse agent. My new dishwasher, after three months of constant use, has several red/orange stains on the plastic inside the dishwasher from the hard water and associated crud that builds up in the dishwasher as a result. Having had good experiences with Jet-Dry and Finish products, I figured Finish Jet-Dry was the best way to clean my dishwasher without damaging its seals.
It, alas, was not.
Once you've had a house that smells fruity and delicious from the dishwasher running, it is very hard to go back. Sadly, Finish Dry has no real scent, save a generic industrial clean scent and the lack of additional scent benefit ultimately cost this product my esteem. Without the scent benefit, it was too blase, too bland. I could hardly tell that it was doing what it was supposed to.
The 16 Fl. Oz. bottle of Finish Dry bore $7.99 price tag at my local grocery store and because I seldom need dishes shiny and clean faster than normal (I tended to run my dishwasher in the middle of the night anyway), this seemed like a lot of money for something with limited benefit. Still, it is hard to deny Finish Dry works. It does work for the basic function, but there are other versions that work with perks for the same price. I like perks, especially in the form of delicious scents.
Using a rinse agent is a simple, thoughtless process. Virtually every dishwasher has a compartment for rinse agents. Usually, there is a reservoir where one must twist something off and then pour the rinse agent in. In my dishwasher, the reservoir is a small compartment with a twist-top that is little wider than the top to the Jet-Dry bottle. Fortunately, the flip-top lid has a small hole that allows one to open it up and squirt the Finish Dry rinse agent right into the reservoir opening.
My first fill of the reservoir used only about a fifth of the bottle of Finish Dry Jet-Dry and the dishwasher has used it very conservatively since being refilled. After two months of use, I refilled the reservoir and the refill required less than a tenth of what was left in the bottle! This goes a long way.
Finish Dry has no real scent outside that of a generic cleaner when going into the reservoir. And when one opens up the dishwasher after it is run: no scent.
The plus sides to this are that it works and it does not change the taste of any food or drink that they are used on. First, the dishes do come out truly spotless. Given the hard water here, spots were noticeable on my dishes before I started using the Finish Jet-Dry, but not since. For its secondary purpose - cleaning my dishwasher - it is not doing that at all.
There appears to be no residue, no remnant of the rinse agent and food has not in any way been altered in taste after being placed on dishes cleaned with this product.
It is, however, still ridiculously expensive for what it is. Given the lack of a scent benefit and/or a clear dishwasher cleaning benefit, it becomes impossible to recommend this particular rinse agent.
For other dish cleaning products, please check out my reviews of:
Brillo Estracell Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Ultra Palmolive Dish & Sponge Fresh Concentrated Dish Liquid
Mountain Breeze Triple Action Purex UltraPacks
3.5/10
For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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