Indiana & Kentucky Homeowners – Can Pods Mess Up Your Dishwasher?

Today, I was having a nice leisurely stroll on Facebook when I was stopped... dead in my tracks. I saw a post from a page called The Gardening (a Nebraska farmer and digital content creator) that wasn't actually about gardening but was more of a PSA for anyone with a dishwasher.

Can Dishwasher Pods Ruin Your Dishwasher?

The post was about dishwashing pods.

PSA to anyone using Dishwasher pods with the packed powder like this one. (Cascade, etc). Our kitchen sink backed up this weekend, and we had no luck with DIY methods. One call to the plumber and a few hundred dollars later, turns out it was our dishwasher pods that have been gumming up our pipes over time. Apparently, when this powder is activated with water, it can get stuck in the pipes and create a thick, concrete-like barrier. It had to be scraped out with a special machine. He said he gets calls like these nonstop. He recommended we switch to liquid dishwasher detergent (or liquid Pods are ok.) Hopefully this can help someone else avoid a kitchen plumbing catastrophe!

My comment was... "Well, let's just add this to the list of things I need to stress about this week."

I use pods like these. Mine are the hybrid of powder and two liquids so similar. This could be a disaster waiting to happen at my house. But, I don't always believe everything I see on the internet. (And you shouldn't either.) So, I decided to do a little digging.

Are the Casings Water Soluble?

First up, though the above mentioned the powder turning to concrete I wondered - what are the casings made of? According to allrecipes.com (what - that's a recipe site!) the coating is made of a type of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) gel casing. PVA is a polymer that dissolves upon contact with water, or even the slightest moisture.

What Does the Manufacturer Say?

The article goes on to reference a very interesting TikTok from an appliance repair person who has made the trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, to the Proter & Gamble headquarters and chronicled what she learned at the Cascade testing facilities.

@renduh FYI, THIS VIDEO IS NOT SPONSORED! I was not paid or required to say any of this. I’m always willing to admit I was wrong, so long as the information being presented to me is done so in a respectful and constructive manner. @proctergambleUS and MBooth did it right! ❤️ #dishwasher#DishwasherPods#DishwasherHack#PodsHack#DishwasherHacks#DishwasherDetergent#DetergentHack#CascadePods#Cascade#Clean#CleanTok#Cleaning#CleaningHack#CleaningHacks#IWasWrong#accountability#Cincinnati#ProcterAndGamble#trip#travel#airplane#flying#dishwasherClean♬ Powerful Succesful 5 Minutes (Inspiring Corporate Upbeat Background Ambient) - MPmedia

She talked mostly about the best place to put your pod. P&G recommends the dispenser because prewash cycles can make the pods less effective. They also recommend making sure both your hands and the dispenser are dry to avoid damaging the gel coating before it's ready to dissolve during the cycle. She didn't really specify the type of pod either. Interesting stuff, but no help.

What Do the Testers Say?

I then moved on to Consumer Reports. In the report, the writer, Pang-Chieh Ho, states that the pods were the best at cleaning your dishes but they might not dissolve all the way.  "[But] one of the drawbacks of pods is that if you use them for shorter wash cycles, some might not dissolve all the way, says Larry Ciufo, who has tested hundreds of dishwashers over the past 20 years at CR."

What Do Repair People Say?

Hmmm, I'm still not sure. So, I looked at an article by T&C Appliance/HVAC Repair out of Burlington, NC. In the article, they listed six ways dishwasher pods are ruining your dishwasher. They state that the average dishwasher doesn't get hot enough to completely dissolve the pod and it goes on to clog recirculating and drain pumps which leads to costly repairs.

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What Do the Commenters Say?

When all else fails, let's just... dum dum dum... go to the comments! On the initial Facebook post, there were some pros in the audience who had a lot to say on the subject.

Stephen Kessler: I am a plumber/contractor and we do residential services exclusively. I have use these products in my home since they hit the market and I have never experienced any such issues. Kitchen drain issues are usually related to animal byproducts, vegetable oils and abusive use of the garbage disposal. Best to put the scraps in the trash and run the disposal when rinsing dishes. Use an enzyme drain treatment, Bioclean/Biodrain to clean the drain.

Gerard Collins: So this isn’t true. As someone that has repaired appliances for the last 8 years this is completely false.

Tom Dietrich: If anyone has ever actually cleaned their dishwasher they would know there's a very fine mesh filter at the bottom. If this stuff gunked up it would happen there before the pipes.

Now, on the flip side, there were those who agreed with The Gardening.

Vicki Fulmer Wojtowicz: Our plumber told us the same thing. Also started using white vinegar instead of the rinsing agent. Much cheaper and more natural.

Some were somewhere in the middle.

RaNae Scherck: not proven. Snopes contacted the plumbing services company Roto-Rooter , whose employees are no stranger to plumbing oddities. Company representative Paul Abrams responded with information he obtained after sending an inquiry to all general managers and field training managers at Roto-Rooter locations, including "50 of the largest metro areas" nationally. Abrams said of the replies received in response to our specific inquiry, there was no indication regular drain obstruction occurred in any market due to the use of laundry pods (or dishwasher pods). I have never had a problem, except with the Walmart generic brand pods, which, several times did NOT dissolve! I wont buy those again.

(I looked up this article and most of this comment is in the Snopes article but I believe the Generic Walmart brand comment was made by the commenter.)

Finally, there was Vicki - who just bypassed this whole mess and made her own pod.

Judy Brown Campbell: I buy liquid Cascade and fill Ice trays and freeze them , pop them our and keep them in the freeze, one is a perfect dose and does a perfect job! Very economical too!

What's the Verdict?