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The soap compartment on our dishwasher doesn't seal properly and would leak if we did this. We use a magnet on the dishwasher instead. One said says "clean" and the other side says "dirty"

I use the pods.

The pods always left residue in our dishwasher so we switched to the Cascade gel

Well just look at the dishes. Unless you pre-wash them (then what's the point of the dishwasher?) there will probably be some type of food on something if they're dirty.

This. The smell alone upon opening the door will tell you dirty. This sounds like some grandma shit.

Or just look at the food on the dishes.,

I have a little magnet that says clean on one side and dirty on the other, but it's almost always on clean because we use so many dishes in my house that it's a full load every time I fill it so I just turn it on.