His crusade is in part about how pods are overdosed which can reduce their effectiveness (and be super wasteful)

even the cheap costco pods are 3x the cost of powder. And his point is that the pods undermine the dishwasher because they don't let you control when and how much detergent is deployed during the multiple washing cycles.

powder deploys during rinse and wash. pods deploy only during wash (or only rinse if people put the pods into the tray, which is common)

And the dishwashers are designed with a hardness index in the hopper . you're supposed to line up the soap with your local hardness level to avoid residue.

But the multi-pod strategy means you can give the machine soap to use in various cycles. Put some in the little flap, and some just in with the dishes.

I'm not sure if my machine even has a hardness marking, but when I used liquid dishwasher soap, I simply filled up the compartment every time.

As to the cost, yes it's 3X, but if you're reading this and you have a Costco membership, it's still a rounding error.

Pods just make life simpler and cleaner (no messy powders and gunky liquids in the soap cabinet), which is why I even have a dishwasher in the first place.

Anything sounds good if you oversell its advantages and undersell its disadvantages.

I find pods messy (they can stick together and break open) and powder simpler. Powder I store in a glass container and pour directly from that; never have to touch it directly. Occasionally I’ll have to push a bit of lose powder into the sink during transfer from box to container.

Powder is cheaper. Sure I save pennies per load but I don’t know why I would waste pennies.

Pods are overdosed for my washer and water and leave residue. I don’t want to use more of them. Powder lets me dose a load with much more precision anyway.

Clumping can be avoided with a sealed container , like an old milk jug . And keeping bulk in a dry place , only keeping a couple weeks supply in the kitchen