I have done a trial and error over the last 26 years of dishwashers (only gone through 3). Currently I am using the Walmart brand of liquid in a large bottle. They first came out with the tablet form, must have gotten into trouble as that got pulled from the market. I liked that as well. So, unless you get a good coupon/sale deal, this is what I stand by. I cannot say anything about other generic brands, as I went from Cascade & Electrosol (like) to the Walmart brand. It has a couple of scents too, lemon/orange.
By
02/20/2011
We used to use the packets that have a powder and a liquid in the plastic that disolves during the wash. We had clear plates and after a few months there was a white film on them that we could not get off.
What we found works well is the liquid (Cascade). I fill up both cups since we have hard water. Once a month or so I put about 1/4 cup of baking soda in the dishwasher and add some vinegar. I let it sit for one hour then run the empty dishwasher. I seems to clear out the gunk.