MTE reviews: Cascade All-in-1 Action Pacs

I hate to do the dishes.

There, I said it.  For months last year, our dishwasher was broken and when prioritizing the cash flow, the dishwasher just wasn't at the top of the list.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I fully realize that not having a functioning dishwasher doesn't even register on the list of potential problems one could have, I know.  But let's admit it, standing at the sink and washing all the pots and pans and spatulas and forks and knives and spoons and plates and glasses and sippy cups and lids and serving dishes... well, it just sucks.  There's no getting around it.  And there are five of us, so there are a whole lot of dishes after each and every meal.

Now that we're fortunate enough to have a functioning dishwasher again, I much more enjoy loading the majority of the things needing washing into that rather than standing at the sink scrubbing away.  But, using a dishwasher brings up new issues, right?  What's with that sparkly film that's on a glass every once in a while?  And why, oh why, is peanut butter so hard to wash off a knife, Mr. Dishwasher?  (Or, to my oldest son, why, oh why can you not remember to scrape the dang thing off after your last spread??) 

With this review blog still in its infancy, I'm happy to be able to provide my opinions after taking part in the Cascade Complete Pac Challenge.  Official full disclosure info first-- I was offered one package of 16 All-in-1 ActionPacs, a baking dish and a super delicious recipe for Alex McCord's Potatoes au Gratin et Moutarde.  (For the record, I didn't even know who Alex McCord was, but they were some tasty potatoes.)  My instructions were to follow the recipe, bake it in the dish provided, and pop the baking dish (and whatever else might be needing some washing) into the dishwasher with one ActionPac.  Oh, and NO pre-washing!  After that, all I needed to do was share my experiences- good or bad.  So here goes.

Thankfully, it was a pretty basic recipe, but it was a bit messy with the potatoes, beef stock, half & half, and two full cups of cheese, all baked in for over an hour.

Doesn't look too bad for a very amateur cook, huh?

Oh yes, it tasted just as good as it looks.  But after 75 minutes in the oven, this stuff was pretty baked in.

I didn't pre-wash, but I did have to rinse off some of the chunks.  This is what the baking dish looked like just before it went in the dishwasher.

And here's the whole load that accompanied it... the whole messy load, complete with the bazillion sippy cups we go through a day.

Hubby, the part-time hand model, had the honor of putting the ActionPac in. The Pac went right in the slot where we usually squirt the dishwasher liquid.  Quick and easy, and then we put it through the regular cycle and waited.

Upon opening the dishwasher, the baking dish was the first thing that I removed, and the camera was waiting.

100%?  Well, not exactly.  There was a little piece of crusty cheese still on the top edge of the dish, but admittedly, it did wipe off easily.  The rest of the load was quite clean, though.  No filmy residue on the glasses.  No peanut butter on the knives.  No dried chocolate milk on the sippy cup lids.

Overall opinion?  I'd definitely recommend Cascade Complete All-in-1 ActionPacs.  They're easy to use, no mess, no fuss, and your dishes come out clean and sparkly, 99% at least.  Win-win, right?  Well, I can't say that they're cheaper than the warehouse store brand liquid that we have been purchasing for years, so for those of us on a budget, that is a serious consideration, but they do work well.

Thanks to Cascade for the opportunity to try out the yummy potatoes and put the ActionPacs to the test.  I'm happily still using them and I've been pleased with every clean load of dishes!


Off to clear the sink for the third time today,