The Good: Ridiculously easy to use, Cleans surprisingly well
The Bad: No scent!
The Basics: Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs turn me around on the whole Action Pac phenomenon by working incredibly well!
I have not, traditionally, been a fan of Cascade Action Pacs. The truth is, the new dishwasher detergent packs have seemed incredibly lazy to me and disproportionately expensive. But, perhaps as a sign of me getting older and more lazy or maybe because the price truly has come down in the market over the last ten years, I keep giving various dishwashing blocks a chance. After actually being impressed by the cleaning power of the Finish Quantum Powerball detergent blocks (reviewed here!), I thought I would give Cascade another chance to impress me. And I am happy to admit that the company did impress me with a comparatively inexpensive Action Pac that actually worked incredibly well. The product is Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs and they deliver astonishingly good results!
My wife and I live in an apartment now where we have an objectively terrible dishwasher. I have long been tired of dishes coming out either still dirty or covered in detergent. It was with that in mind that I decided to risk a few cycles with Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs. And they worked incredibly well to leave our dishes spotless and truly clean, without any residues!
The Cascade Platinum Dishwasher Detergent Action Pacs are small, concentrated plastic bags that contain a block of preformed, premeasured Cascade Dishwashing detergent and three types of concentrated Dawn dish soap. The pack is about 3/5 solid detergent, 2/5 liquid/gel detergent. The premeasured packs have a thin, but strangely durable, plastic bubble that surrounds them. There are thirty-nine of these pillow packs in a container. The bags seem to be popping up at about $11.00 in retail outlets. That means for $11.00, one is getting 39 loads of dishes washed, but because the product actually works (and because I tend to find them on sale or clearance), it is hard to kvetch about the results. Where I live, we have fairly hard water and the problem of residue and not getting dishes clean makes an effective product like the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs worth the $.28/load!
The ActionPac is ridiculously easy to use. Remove the ActionPac from the container of Action Pacs and place in the primary wash detergent dispenser in your dishwasher. The primary wash is the one that usually has the little flip door that you close after putting detergent in. Put one ActionPac in there and close it. It does not get much easier than that!
It is worthwhile and important to not that the detergent is not removed from the ActionPac when it is put into the dishwasher. The plastic bags are not supposed to be cut open before the ActionPac's contents are put in the dishwasher detergent dispenser. The ActionPac is designed to go in intact. Put it in and run your dishwasher as you normally would.
And the dishes come out clean. Perfectly clean. I have no idea how it works, but it does. The plastic bag that surrounds the ActionPac completely dissolves. The materials from the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs quite effectively dissolved and washed away without a trace, even in hard water conditions!
Over several uses, I decided to make an effort to see what these little packs could do. And the Fresh Scent ones cleaned everything quite well, even if they did so without any real flair. They were effective at getting off all levels of food matter that had been left on silverware, plastic cookware, and all manner of ceramic dishes and glasses. I put in every combination of cookware, flatware and dishware coated with food, dirt, coffee stains, grease and sauces that I could think of. ALL of the dishes came out clean and clear every time. Not one piece I put in needed so much as a touch up or polishing.
With the general price drop on whole solutions for dishwashing, the only real strike against the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs is that they have no discernible scent. Despite being called Fresh Scent, the dishwasher is odorless during and after the cleaning cycle, so there is no olfactory benefit to these Action Pacs that makes them at all exciting or stimulating. As a result, these are a decent standard, but not one that is worthwhile for those using the dishwasher to help the house have an aromatic experience!
The Fresh Scent Formula Action Pacs work delightfully and are a comparatively affordable way to effectively clean one's dishes, especially highly-soiled dishes in hard water conditions where one does not want to bother with scrubbing! The Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs are simple to use and they work. The Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs might well be ideal for people who have trouble with motor control and might otherwise spill dishwashing detergent when trying to load a dishwasher or those who have trouble judging how much to use. The premeasured packets are very efficient in that regard. And people who do not like strong scents might actually like how the dishes come out clean and there are no obtrusive scents while using the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs.
For other dishwashing products, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest Natural Dish Liquid
Ultra Palmolive Antibacterial Orange Dish Soap
Finish Jet-Dry
8/10
For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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