Recycled water? I have heard of a dishwasher in Europe that will fill with the last rinse water while it is running but it is only preheating that water to be used for the last rinse. I have used Miele tabs but I think they would be hard to cut in half. Next time I have some I'll try it.

Never heard of recycled water and I live in Europe. But there are places were they have collected rainwater to use for laundry and other things. Some places also have very hard water and need more detergent.

I gave the tech a large knife and a cutting board and he cut the whole box for me pretty quickly.

Miele doesn't make powdered detergent, though. And I think there are differences in the formula of tabs vs powder which result in performance differences.

It's been 5 months since I started using half tabs and I can't tell any difference on performance vs. using a full tab. Given they are not cheap, I will continue to cut them in half.

I easily cut Miele tabs in half with kitchen scissors—I cut a whole batch of tabs at a time and store them in an airtight container. I use the half tabs for most loads. For a particularly filthy load such as baked on crusty casserole dishes, I use a full tab along with the pots and pans cycle.

Thanks for the scissors tip! Buh-bye knife and cutting board. This is so much easier!

My wüsthoff shears dulled from cutting the tabs in half. Now I score them on both sides with a serrated knife and snap them in half.

I have been cutting tabs with Cutco shears for well over a year. I haven’t noticed any dulling of my shears yet; but thanks for your warning. I will have to try cutting the next batch with the serrated knife. It used to be a lot easier cutting the tabs with a knife until Miele changed their tabs by coating them with a wrapper.

I hate to bump this old thread but I have a question that is related to the discussion here. I have also cut my Miele tabs in half since the day I got it, on the suggestion of the Miele installer.

Cutting them has always involved some effort with a serrated knife because they are so dense. But the last batch of tabs I bought cut so much more easily. I cut right through them without much effort and now I am wondering if the ones I have now might be knock offs, or the ones I've had before were knock offs (purchased from different sellers) or if the composition has changed which makes them easier to cut.

Someone above said "I easily cut Miele tabs in half with kitchen scissors" and I don't think the ones I've had in the past could be cut with regular kitchen scissors. Might be able to cut the ones I have now with scissors though.

Is there even a problem with Miele knock offs? I don't feel like there is a big enough market to make producing them worthwhile. Anyway, just wondering if anyone who cuts their tabs in half has noticed any changed.

@uscpsycho Where did you buy them? If you bought from an authorized seller, there should be no issues. If you bought from some third party, anything can be fake these days.

I find them easier to cut into when they’re from a freshly opened box. I score the tabs on the top and bottom with a serrated bread knife, and then snap them in half (also easier when they are fresher and softer).