How do you cut Method Smarty dishwasher tabs?

11 years ago

I have a brand new Miele Crystal dishwasher and a pack of Method Smarty pink grapefruit tabs. I'm happy with the tabs, and would like to try cutting them in half, as discussed on GW many times. The tabs I have are hard, compressed detergent without any kind of visible coating.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how to cut these tabs without using a power tool. They definitely don't break in half and my sharpest knife didn't touch it. Would anyone share how they manage to cut these tabs?

I'm happy to keep using them whole, as the results have been good, but saving a few dollars by using half wouldn't hurt. Any advice?

Thanks very much.

Freda Method Smarty tabs

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Comments (7)

rococogurl
11 years ago
I cut them in half with a pair of kitchen shears and let the pieces fall into a plastic jar. You get a bit of crumbling, which can be used as well.
lascatx
11 years ago
I stopped using tabs because they were too much for my machine. Never thought about cutting them i half, to be honest. Another alternative you might like (if you can find it) is OxyClean DW detergent. You don't use very much -- 1/3-1/2 in the single cup of my DW) and it cleans better than anything I've used. Biggest problem if that I bought it at Target and at least my store has stopped carrying it. I can get it at the grocery store and hope they keep carrying it.
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zackin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks to both rococo and lascatx. I'll try kitchen shears, but I'm not so sure I can pull it off. I'll look for the OxyClean detergent too. Can't hurt to try a couple of solutions.
rococogurl
11 years ago
I dislike measuring dw detergent so I'm devoted to tabs. Just FWIW I alternate between the Method grapefruit (best fragrance) and the Finish Quantum which not only clean the dishes but keep the inside of my dw shining. But we're on a septic so I use the Finish only when I have a lot of pots and pans and heavy soil. Otherwise, half the Method tab works really well.

Agree Zackin, best to have options.
lascatx
11 years ago
The method grapefruit was the last tab I tried and it was better than the bigger name brands.
fauguy
11 years ago
I've been using the Method Smarty tabs for about 4 years (the scent free "go naked" ones) and I cut them in half with kitchen scissors over a plastic tub to catch the peices. The "original" Miele tabs worked great and I used them for almost a year, but then when the newer version came out it was making a ton of suds (even when using half a tab). So that is when I changed over to the Method tabs. I did try the Finish Quantum (with the red ball) a few years ago, and even though it cleaned well, it left a strong odor and started to discolor plastic items. I've never had any problems using the Method tabs. Just be sure to use rinse aid. I use the Miele Brand as it doesn't leave a chemical after smell, like other rinse aids do.
zackin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks to everyone who responded. I tried cutting the Method tabs today with my kitchen shears, and that worked! Regular scissors didn't cut it. Thanks, Rococogirl. Since I'm getting good results so far, I'm going to stick with the Method tabs for now.It's good to know that the Finish Quantum is another good choice, though.