Consumer Reports Articles
Page 10 of 16
Crystal Bright dishwasher detergent (2/92)
16 powders and liquids were tested. Crystal Bright was ranked 12th out of 16 products. Of the 4 ranked below Amway, 3 were A&P store brands. CR found that they had to double the recommended usage amount of Crystal Bright to get good results, and singled the product out for being a particularly poor value:
"Two powders that are not sold in stores deserve special mention because of their extraordinarily high cost. Shaklee Basic-D and Amway Crystal Bright cost 38 cents and 52 cents per four-tablespoon dose, respectively. Both products suggest using small amounts--two tablespoons for Amway, four teaspoons for Shaklee. But if you follow Amway's suggestion, you'll see reduced performance and still pay 26 cents per wash--more that twice what you'd pay for a four-tablespoon dose of Cascade powder.At distributor cost, including shipping, Crystal Bright's cost per use would be about $.46, still the highest off all products tested and almost 4 times the cost of top-rated Cascade."Amway and Shaklee powders are three to four times as expensive to use as top-rated Cascade. You can get by with less, say their sellers, but if you cut Amway's dose in half, it will still be twice the cost of Cascade and its performance will suffer."
CR had also had this to say about Crystal Bright's performance:
"Many detergents did at least an adequate job of preventing film and spots from developing on glasses. Products that did the worst job on spots included A&P Liquid Lemon and Amway Crystal Bright."And those who are concerned about the environment should take note of these comments:
"As a rule, a four-tablespoon dose of dishwasher detergent contains about as much phosphorous as a half cup of laundery detergent. As the Ratings indicate, phosphorous content varies. Amway contributes the most, seven grams per four-tablespoon dose."