Can a dishwasher tablet really get rid of ANY stain?

... with absolutely no need for you to scrub or soak

THE only thing worse than slaving over the stove? Washing up the mountain of pots and pans afterwards.

And while the dishwasher can take care of day-to-day plates, most seem unable to tackle the dirtiest dishes, so we end up handwashing or soaking them.

Now the manufacturers behind a new dishwasher tablet called Prism claims it can tackle even the toughest of stains without soaking first. But do these tablets live up to the hype?

With the help of scientist Julius Hamm, writer Sadie Nicholas put leading brands to the test to see how they performed on the same six hard-to-beat stains — lasagne, scrambled egg, sausage fat, tea, red wine and lipstick. Nothing was soaked or rinsed first and everything went through a onehour, 50c cycle.

Julius explains: ‘Removing the stains in this test is a difficult task. There are two types of enzymes that are crucial components of dishwasher detergents as they help to break down the food molecules.

‘The first are proteases, which tackle proteins including meat, milk, egg yolks and cheese. The second are amylases which break down carbohydrates. Enzymes start to act immediately and help to remove encrusted stains, in theory reducing the need to soak overnight.’

Get the right balance of enzymes — and other essential chemical ingredients — and you’ll have a tablet that can tackle any stain. So, which have the sparkle factor?

FAIRY PLATINUM ORIGINAL

€22 for a pack of 50

THE CLAIM: ‘First time cleaning action; our best for tough challenges and greasy filter.’

JULIUS SAYS: Egg is tricky due to the fact that it dries very quickly and tends to be encrusted on any dish used. In order to effectively remove it, the main requirement is that the dishwasher tablet needs to contain adequate amounts of proteases (the enzymes sensitive to proteins) — this tablet obviously doesn’t.

SADIE’S VERDICT: Disappointing smears on everything, quite a lot of egg left on the bowl and lasagne on two corners of the white dish, but no trace of sausage fat, lipstick, wine or tea stains. I expected more from the most expensive tablet out of the ten. 2/5

FINISH POWERBALL QUANTUM MAX

€15 for a pack of 27 THE CLAIM: ‘Our best clean and shine.’

JULIUS SAYS: The fact that the dishes weren’t smeared with food, but weren’t clean either, suggests this tablet needs a higher proportion of ingredients called builders — carbonates, silicates and citrates. Their main function is controlling water hardness, as water that is too hard can leave dishes and glasses looking dull. They also help to remove oil and grease, and tough stains such as burnt milk.

SADIE’S VERDICT: Given the price, I had high hopes for gleaming dishes, but was disappointed. Although there were very few smears, the dishes lacked lustre. The wine glass and mug were clean but there was a spot of brown fat on the enamel tray, dregs of lasagne on the dish and quite a lot of egg. 3/5

SIMPLY M&S CLASSIC DISHWASHER TABLETS

€2.85 for a pack of 30 THE CLAIM: Powerful cleaning and stain removal.

JULIUS SAYS: To get brilliant results on these types of stains and to avoid pre-soaking or rinsing, detergent is very important. For really tough stains like egg and pasta it’s best to select a higher dishwasher temperature of 55-60c for added cleaning power. SADIE’S VERDICT: M&S doesn’t make any bold claims. To be fair, it states clearly on the box that consumers should ‘remove food scraps and rinse heavily soiled items before loading the dishwasher’. I confess that I didn’t, and I paid the price. There was baked-on lasagne on the base of the ceramic dish and a faint sausage fat shadow, but only a small amount of egg on the glass bowl, and the wine glass and cup were sparkling. 3/5

TESCO ALL-IN-ONE

€1.49 for a pack of 30 THE CLAIM: Ultra stain-lifting technology; lifts grease and dried-on food; sparkling glasses and cutlery.

JULIUS SAYS: That this tablet performed brilliantly on the lasagne dish but not on the red wine stain suggests that the tablet lacks chemical bleaching or oxidant power, which is crucial for removing coloured stains such as tea, red wine, coffee and tomato.

SADIE’S VERDICT: This was the only tablet that removed every last scrap of lasagne, but it was also the only one to leave a significant red wine stain in the bottom of the glass. There was egg left on the bowl and a speck of sausage fat on the tin, although the lipstick was long gone and the tea cup was spotless. 3/5

LIDL W5 CLASSIC

€2.39 for a pack of 60

THE CLAIM: Only that the tablets are ‘free from phosphates’.

JULIUS SAYS: The reason there is so much egg and lasagne on these dishes is probably that this is a ‘classic’ rather than an ‘all-inone’ product. This means salt and rinse aid should be added to the dishwasher to make it effective.

It’s not a premium product and has less powerful ingredients. Sometimes you get what you pay for! SADIE’S VERDICT: Although there wasn’t much streaking overall and the tea mug and wine glass were clean, the lasagne dish and glass bowl emerged looking as though they needed another hour in there. There was also fat on the sausage dish. 1/5

ALDI MAGNUM

€3.45 for pack of 40

THE CLAIM: Outstanding everyday cleaning.

JULIUS SAYS: Most of the stains in this trial are complex and need enzymes and chemical bleaching in order to come clean, and in that respect this is clearly a wellformulated tablet. But, as before, lipstick is a very greasy stain and the fact that it hasn’t come off shows the tablet isn’t quite alkaline enough.

SADIE’S VERDICT: Does what it says on the box. Although this was only the second brand to be defeated by the lipstick mark, it performed unexpectedly well on everything else. The mug and sausage tray were shining and there were only scant remnants of lasagne and egg on the dish and bowl. The tablets are exceptionally good value, too. 4/5