New Cascade Platinum & Instagram Contest

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.

I have a dishwasher (thank the good Lord above!) and I use it. I mean, I use it A LOT. With 3 kids, and the frequent cooking and baking that goes on in my kitchen (not to mention the endless stream of cups and glasses that my kids use...does anyone else have this problem?!) I run my dishwasher every day. Sometime twice a day! Therefore, I'm was all for trying out the new Cascade Platinum, that professes to:

• Power away tough, 24 hour stuck-on food (YES! I admit, there are many nights when the dinner dishes have to wait until the next day before I have the time and energy to tackle them.)
• Eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes (again, AWESOME! It's such a waste of time and resources to have to wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher!)
• Helps maintain the look of new machines and helps prevent additional hard-water build-up (we have hard water, so this is a very good thing.)
• Delivers exceptional dishware shine (Do you really want to eat off something that doesn't look all that clean? Of course not. And I take lots of pictures of food, do I want spots and mess left on my dishes? NOPE.)

Speaking of taking pictures of food, Top Chef judge and editor of Food + Wine magazine, Gail Simmons, has partnered with Cascade to talk about food presentation! She is giving lots of helpful tips, and recommends the Cascade Platinum for a sparkling clean presentation. You can learn more by watching videos on the Cascade YouTube page and on the link on the Cascade Facebook page.

Since we are learning all about clean and sparkling presentation perfection with Gail Simmons, Cascade is also offering a "My Platinum" Instagram contest! Fans can upload photos according to the weekly contest themes, and the contest runs for 4 weeks. Each week, 2 people will be chosen to get a brand new Whirlpool dishwasher! There will also be a grand prize winner that will win a Platinum kitchen makeover!! I want that! Learn more about the Cascade Platinum Contest, get registered, and start uploading those photos! Make sure you include hashtag #MyPlatinum and tag @MyCascade.

Hurry, because the contest is already underway! Week 1 ended 6/9, but the entry period for Week 2 is 6/10-6/16. The theme is My Platinum Bite where you can submit photos showing your best bite and most creative use of sparkling silverware! Week 3 is My Platinum Clink and Week 4 is My Platinum Table. Get all the details HERE!

As far as my thoughts on Cascade Platinum...I've used it a few times so far and I definitely think there is less 'residue' left on my dishes. I was having an issue with stuck on "stuff" if I didn't pre-rinse really well, and I have purposely not pre-washed (just a light rinse) when using this just to see how well it works. No crud on my dishes! Which means, I'm using less water (without all the pre-washing) and it takes less time to get the dishes done. My dishwasher looks nice and clean inside, but it is fairly new, so it hasn't had a chance to accumulate build-up and stains. Hopefully by using Cascade Platinum, I can prevent it from happening all together. Now, if they will come up with a way for the dishes to put themselves away....