Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs Review

Revised to add:

Here is a link for a coupon for $1.50 off on your next purchase of Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs!

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Sorry this is so long, but I have sooooo much to say about this product!

THE BACKGROUND:

I have hated my dishwasher for the last three years. And ... it's only three years old. How do you like that?!? To be fair, I liked it for the first month we owned it. Not so much there after. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why someone would hate a mechanical gadget that is meant to relieve us of the worst type of work (in my book) possible! Because it didn't. I found that the powder detergents didn't dissolve, and the liquid detergents I used just dribbled all over my flatware, and any dish in the front of the dishwasher, and it would stay there... not rinse off, leaving me to re-wash whatever had detergent on it. Ick! And ... I had also become a slave to pre-washing... with dish soap, too! But worst of all, I recently had decided to save a bit of money, and purchased Costco's store brand dishwashing detergent. Let me tell you ... that was a disaster. Not only did it dribble all over my stuff, but it hardened into a shiny ribbon of melted-plastic-like "stuff" that would not come off, no matter how hard I scraped. It ticked me off to no end, because it ruined many pieces of my flatware, which wasn't cheap, and made everything look dull, filmy, and ugly!

Well -- a couple months ago, my mother-in-law suggested I try the new Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs, but to be totally honest, I poo-pooed her suggestion, because I had such little confidence in my dishwasher, and it simply boggled my brain to even imagine that my stinky dishwasher would actually be able to melt the ActionPacs sufficiently to get any cleaning done. I should have trusted her, because after all, she did turn me on to Dawn, the best liquid dish soap ever, and these little ActionPacs actually had Dawn in them! But as I've said before, I'm a little slow on the uptake!

Then... on September 12, Shannon from Rocks in my Dryer posted her review on the Cascade 2-in-1 packs here, and I left a comment explaining my woes, and promising to try these little ActionPacs. Lo and behold, a rep from Cascade's marketing firm (who is as nice as nice can be) contacted me and offered me a free sample. Of course, I jumped all over that! And within a couple days, I had an entire bag of Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs to try. (I must add that I completely trust Shannon's opinions, and if she said it was a great product, that was good enough for me.)

And that's when the quality of my life changed. Yes, friends ... it changed. I know, you're thinking that I'm being dramatic. Well, if you've ever struggled with a terrible dishwasher, you know what I mean. I hated sacrificing so much time to scrape, rinse (actually, pre-wash) and load the dishwasher, and these ActionPacs, miracles that they are, reduced my time in the kitchen dramatically.

THE FIRST TEST:

Now, when I got these packs, I opened the bag immediately to get a close look at what I was about to use. And, I was still puzzled as to how my dishwasher was going to melt the casing and actually get my dishes clean, but I had promised to try them, and give and fair and honest review on them. But out of habit, I pre-washed first. And, even though I had done so, I was so surprised and pleased by how my dishes looked! Shiny! Clean! Beautiful. Even my husband was impressed!

So, I started to get a bit more brave, and put dishes in without pre-washing. Yes, I did! And guess what? They still came out shiny, clean and beautiful. And then, I just got plain ol' abusive with my dishes. After all ... they did say "no need to pre-wash" and I decided I was going to give these little ActionPacs a run for their money. Or my money. Or ... someone's money!

THE ABUSE:

You read right. I got "abusive" with my test. I was going to try out every single sticky food I could possibly think of. Even my husband got into the flurry of excitement, reminding me NOT to pre-wash, and coming up with "sticky food" ideas. So here's an abbreviated list of what I threw into the dishwasher ... WITHOUT PRE-RINSING ... and everything came out clean and beautiful:

1) Dried on syrup
2) Baby Oatmeal
3) Dried on Yogurt
4) Baby Bottles with a film of congealed milk (okay, it was really sour cream by then) adhered to the inside of the bottle (that was a really tough one for me to put in without pre-washing, too!)
5) Scrambled egg and sausage grease
6) Dried up moist dog food
7) Plates with butter and melted Parmesan cheese dried on it (the WORST to get off)
8) Dried spaghetti sauce
9) Dried Chinese food
10) Salad dressing
11) Tea and coffee stained mugs
12) Dried on ice cream

I did not rinse anything, including flatware, glasses, cooking utensils, pan lids, etc. I only scraped my dishes -- a little. And you know what? They came out beautiful. BEAUTIFUL. Not one single dish ever had anything stuck on it. I never had to re-wash anything. Man, oh man ... I am sooooo in love with this product.

Generosity:

I even got generous, and gave my sister-in-law and a friend three pacs each (well, I certainly wasn't going to keep the good news to myself!) so they could try them out. My SIL is still trying them out, so the verdict is out with her. My friend, however, could not stop talking about them. They were ready to throw out their dishwasher also, and they didn't believe this would really work. In fact, her fiance had already started looking for a new one. She sat down and tried to explain to him how these babies work. He, like many men, pretended to listen. But when he opened up the dishwasher and unloaded it, he was shocked at how good their dishes looked... and she, being the good woman that she is ... re-explained it all to him, emphasizing that she did not pre-wash. He was sold, and they have gone out to get their own bag.

There you have it! Another happy customer!

How They Work:

I'm not sure "how" they work, but they are little square pacs that contain both Cascade powder and Dawn liquid. They are wrapped in a plastic that actually dissolves in the dishwasher, and Cascade claims that the two types of cleaner combine together to get your dishes extra clean and there's "no need to pre-wash." Guess what? They are right! And, as if that's not awesome enough, the ActionPacs come in Original, Cinnamon Apple Scent (next on my list), and Citrus Breeze Scent. A scent for everyone!

Final Word:

These little Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs are excellent, and I will never, EVER, use anything else in my dishwasher. They even managed to make my ruined flatware look great! And, I know you may think that this is very irresponsible of me to say, but I don't even care about the price. Why? Because the product eliminates so much time, effort and frustration out of my hectic life, that the price is well worth it to me.

Of course, now my mother-in-law is saying, "well, since I'm the one that originally told you to try them ... I should get a free bag, too!" And you know what I have to say to that? Yup ... she should ... so I'm going to the market this weekend to buy her one.

To read another great review on this product, visit Shalee from Shalee's Diner. She posted her review here.

And for heaven's sake ... what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a bag of these Cascade 2-in-1 ActionPacs, NOW! It's a decision you won't regret!

P.S.: How smart is the Marketing Firm for Cascade?!? They are having women try and review their products on their blogs. Brilliant, if you ask me ... after all ... who reads our blogs? Women. Moms. Wives. Singles. Yeah, and a few men here and there, too... just the people they are targeting, and on mass levels, too!

Did I mention they're brilliant?