Question & Answer

The amount of detergent depends on your water hardness, how you prepare your dishes for washing, how large your typical load is, and your cycle choice.

For normal loads, (loads not prewashed by hand), fill all cups completely. If there are no cups, use 2- 2 1/2 tablespoons of Cascade.

For hard water areas (7.1 grains or more per gallon), heavy soil loads and cycles with more than one wash (such as Pots & Pans), fill both cups completely. Use more produce as needed, increasing by one tablespoon at a time until desired cleaning is achieved.

For medium water areas (3.6 grains per gallon) and people who prewash dishes by hand, fill both cups half full.

For soft water areas (0-3.5 grains per gallon), heavy prewashers and small loads or cycles such as Rinse-Hold, use no less than 1 tablespoon of detergent in one cup. Reducing detergent amount too drastically can affect performance. Soft water with no detergent or too little is even more aggressive for etching.