Which ones are the best? Your burning dishwasher tablet questions answered

It can be extremely frustrating when your dishes emerge from the dishwasher streaky or milky. Even more annoying is the high cost of the detergent, especially if your dishes aren’t coming out sparkling clean. The problem probably lies in the quality of your dishwasher detergent.

Leading consumer advocacy group, Choice, has tested a wide array of dishwasher tablet options and in a coup for consumers around the country, the most unassuming and well-priced option came out on top.

Choice Director of Reviews and Testing, Matthew Steen says, “Aldi Logix Platinum 18 in 1 Dishwashing Tablets took first place in this year’s testing, with a score of 79%. If you’re looking for value for money, this is an excellent option, costing only 19 cents per wash.”

The Aldi Logix Platinum product trumped several products from the well-known brand Finish, which claimed second place with its Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus Ultimate Pro products, both with scores of 77 per cent.

Steen explains, “Finish products always rank well in our testing but they’re on the expensive side. Their Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus product, which tied for second place, costs $1.87 per wash.”

That’s a big difference! Steen recommends switching to the Aldi Logix Platinum if you love a good bargain, as it only costs around a tenth of the price.

Your top-performing dishwasher detergents

Aldi Logix Platinum 18 in 1 Dishwashing Tablets Lemon Fragrance

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 79 per cent
• Price per wash: $0.19

Finish Powerball Ultimate Plus All in 1 Lemon Sparkle

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 77 per cent
• Price per wash: $1.87

Finish Powerball Ultimate Pro All in 1 Tabs Lemon Sparkle

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 77 per cent
• Price per wash: $1.63

Which dishwasher detergent to avoid

Lucent Globe Ultra Concentrated Dishwashing Detergent Sheets

• CHOICE Expert Rating: 12 per cent (same as plain water)
• Price per wash: $0.37

In addition to keeping your dishes clean, it’s just as important to keep your dishwasher clean. We don’t want our wine glasses smelling like sweet potatoes after all.

The unenviable task of cleaning your dishes and your dishwasher needn’t be a mutually exclusive affair. Earlier this year one dishwashing doyenne divulged her almost effortless technique for incorporating a handful of leftover lemons into each dishwasher cycle that leaves the dishwasher sparkling clean and free of nasty buildup.

On the Simple Savers Facebook page she explained that although her husband usually buys Logix Dishwasher Cleaner to get the dishwasher clean, she found the natural alternative worked just as well.

“My husband insists on buying this to clean the dishwasher,” she wrote.

“I blew his mind by throwing my used lime/ lemon wedges (used in drinks, salad dressings, homemade hummus etc) into the dishwasher WHILE it was cleaning dishes to clean the dishwasher.

“No extra cost, no need to do it separately to cleaning the dishes (wasting heaps of water) and a sparkling dishwasher!”

But if you’d prefer to stick with dishwasher tablets you can also use them to clean a whole heap of other things such as burnt pots and pans, bins, oven glass, your washing machine, toilets and the patio furniture.