What products do you use in your dishwasher?

[AlexC1981]

Sorry, this is the third dishwasher thread on PH within a few weeks

I'm getting my first ever dishwasher and I have already read the manual about filling up with salt, rinse aid and using powder/tablets.

Now I have checked the online supermarkets and these don't really seem to be a thing anymore as even the cheapest tablets are marketed as "all in one", containing powder, rinse aid and salt.

Too much salt can leave a salty residue so I read, so do you guys still add salt when using tablets? If not, does the machine not pester you to do so? I'm in a hardwater area, but reading the blurb on a box of Finish, it says the tablets already contain the right amount of salt for a hardwater area. Am I overthinking this?

Also if you have any recommendations for the most cost effective tablets or powder (can you even buy powder still?), it would be appreciated. I'll mostly be running it overnight in eco mode, which means a long wash at lower temperatures.

[wyson]

Dishwasher engineer told me to always fill the salt reservoir in a hard water area. Look up your areas water hardness on your council website and set the dishwasher water hardness setting appropriately. He said the small amount of salt in a tablet won’t even begin to neutralise that hardness and you can essentially forget about it in London.

I started to use Ecover dishwasher tablets because I hated the chemical stink of Fairy, Finish etc. especially on plastics. I keep a set of the best Finish tablets for tough stains though.

I don’t use rinse aid, again because I don’t like the chemical stink, so usually leave the dishwasher door open for a couple of hours after a wash, to let the residual heat dry the dishes as much as possible. Still not as dry as using rinse aid however.

I tried using separate powder, but find the tablets more convenient. Also with a family, it is never difficult to run a full load. If you are by yourself and will often run a half load, powder might make sense if you want to he frugal.

Also you want dishwasher cleaner to run once a month, or when your dishwasher demands it, if it has that feature.

Edited by wyson on Thursday 7th August 21:36

[Simpo Two]

I'm no expert at dishwashers but I use supermarket tablets. When the machine asks for salt I add salt; when it asks for rinse aid I add rinse aid. No problems.

[jfdi]

Simpo Two said:

I'm no expert at dishwashers but I use supermarket tablets. When the machine asks for salt I add salt; when it asks for rinse aid I add rinse aid. No problems.

This^ Miele dishwasher, cheapest supermarket tablets, salt and rinse aid. Everything comes out immaculate. Didn't realise just how good it was till experiencing a CDA dishwasher at Center Parcs used our tablets yet nothing was really clean, tea mugs required scrubbing. I think the machine makes more difference than the tablets.

[Shaoxter]

wyson said:

Dishwasher engineer told me to always fill the salt reservoir in a hard water area. Look up your areas water hardness on your council website and set the dishwasher water hardness setting appropriately. He said the small amount of salt in a tablet won’t even begin to neutralise that hardness and you can essentially forget about it in London.

I live in London and only ever used the all in one tablets thinking they do what they advertised. Previous dishwasher lasted 9 years before the limescale ruined the control board which I suppose isn't too bad? I've started using dishwasher salt in the new one though

[craigjm]

Use salt and rinse aid even with all in one capsules and once a month use a cleaner with the cleaning cycle

[AlexC1981]

The manual doesn't say anything about all in one tablets, so it's hard to know if they have taken it into account when setting the rinse aid and salt dosage. The machine allows you to change the dosage of both depending on water hardness, so perhaps I should use them on the minimum settings when using with an all in one tablet.

I'll send them an email... (I'm definitely overthinking this ).

According to Good Housekeeping, Tesco Ultra or Asda Ultimate tablets are the best. They about 12p per full load. Sainsburys powder works out to about 8p, so not really worth the trouble to make the saving, even for the occasional half load.

[wyson]

If you see how much salt goes in the reservoir, and how quickly it depletes in a hard water area, you definitely wouldn't be worrying about the salt content of a tablet.

My hard water setting is at the cusp of a boundary on the dishwasher, so I set it to the lower tier 4 instead of 5 out of 6. In a hard water area at London levels, if you set it to the minimum, 1, that won't be enough to compensate.

I'd look up the hardness rating on your council website first.

[AlexC1981]

wyson said:

If you see how much salt goes in the reservoir, and how quickly it depletes in a hard water area, you definitely wouldn't be worrying about the salt content of a tablet.

My hard water setting is at the cusp of a boundary on the dishwasher, so I set it to the lower tier 4 instead of 5 out of 6. In a hard water area at London levels, if you set it to the minimum, 1, that won't be enough to compensate.

I'd look up the hardness rating on your council website first.

Average of 18.79 degrees Clarke in my area. That's a good point, if the machines use loads of salt then a tablet's worth can't make much difference.

I'm the same as you regarding a dislike for the chemical smell. One of the reasons I didn't bother getting a dishwasher before is that I've noticed that if I don't rinse a mug that has come straight from a dishwasher, there's definitely a slight taste in my first cup of tea, even though the cup looks perfectly clean. Apparently rinse aid has been linked to health issues.

[BiggestVern]

My Indesit dishwasher won't run without salt and rinse aid in it. It came with a bag of 63 Fairy Capsules, which, as you say contain everything needed, it means the salt and rinse aid only need topping up every 3 months or so. I have never seen any reason to use any other product since everything comes out spotless, you will be amazed at what it can get off, so no pre rinsing! You may also find your dishwasher has a tablet/capsule mode which you select before pressing start. During the top up I always clean the filter and give it run through with a bottle of Tesco dishwasher cleaner, it was only a cheap slimline model but I wouldn't be without one now.

[oblio]

Simpo Two said:

I'm no expert at dishwashers but I use supermarket tablets. When the machine asks for salt I add salt; when it asks for rinse aid I add rinse aid. No problems.

Exactly the same here. We use common or garden Aldi el cheapo dish washer tablets and rinse aid plus Tesco branded salt. Always have done with zero issues.

[GetCarter]

Always half a lemon in ours (does about 4 washes).

Cuts through like no synthetic substitute! (And makes stuff smell nice).

[craigjm]

GetCarter said:

Always half a lemon in ours (does about 4 washes).

Cuts through like no synthetic substitute! (And makes stuff smell nice).

Where do you put the lemon?

[southendpier]

you can leave squished into a prong. I dont find it necessary but my missus sometimes does.

- keep the salt and rinse aid topped up - particularly if in a hard water area. clean the fileter regularly - it gets filthy, Every now and then run it on a hot long cylce - eg doing pans or maybe once or twice a year I'll use a 'cleaner'. Pack it carefully and learn how to clean any blockages in the spinny "arms".

I find I get better results with decent tablets, not the cheap ones, although i do try and buy in bulk - we have a Super Savers near us that often discounts them down. Only reason to go there!

[AlexC1981]

Thanks for all the words of wisdom folks I had a more thorough read of the manual and it actually does say that you do not need rinse aid when using tablets, and depending on water hardness you may not need salt, so that answers my earlier question. I'm going to need both with my hard water as I'm thinking of trying out powder first.

Edited by AlexC1981 on Friday 8th August 19:00

[Pheo]

I used to use fairy after mediocre results with other brands across multiple dishwasher brands.

However mindful of the amount of crud going into our water supply I’ve moved to ocean saver tablets now to try and reduce the chemical footprint and they seem to work just as well. Scrape off properly and I have been using rinse aid, on a low dose, on top of this mainly because I have it handy and it lasts ages (but may do some more research based on the above!)

Have some neat tablets to try when the ocean saver ones run out.

[Aluminati]

Finish .

[Evanivitch]

Soft water area. Bosch.

10 years in, recently went in for a failed water pump seal.

Never added salt or rinse aid, just Lidl tablets.

[Ynox]

AlexC1981 said:

Average of 18.79 degrees Clarke in my area. That's a good point, if the machines use loads of salt then a tablet's worth can't make much difference.

I'm the same as you regarding a dislike for the chemical smell. One of the reasons I didn't bother getting a dishwasher before is that I've noticed that if I don't rinse a mug that has come straight from a dishwasher, there's definitely a slight taste in my first cup of tea, even though the cup looks perfectly clean. Apparently rinse aid has been linked to health issues.

That water is pretty hard. Mine is slightly below that and I always comment that it's so hard it'll pull a knife on you.

I happily use rinse aid etc.

[Hub]

I don't bother with rinse aid, it doesn't seem to do anything.