Dishwasher virgin - help!

nanokitten

I am lucky enough to be having a dishwasher fitted at the mo.
So the big question, (and I realise I may be opening a can of worms here) is which dishwasher powder to you all recommend? It's a slimline 450mm wide one if that makes any difference.
I'd like to go for a balance between price and effectiveness (DM swears by finish as she says it stops the glasses being ruined).
I know about putting the cutlery in pointy end up, any other tips - what should I avoid putting in? DM'S 'dishwasher safe' sabattier knives have been ruined by the dishwasher. What setting to you all use, do you rinse first.....
It's all a bit scarey to be honest

gairlochgal

Brilliant - I know just how you feel. Had mine installed last xmas eve. I look out for the bargains - 99p shop is great. Yes, scrape and rinse the plates thoroughly.

bonsibabe

When I had my dishwasher (goodness I want it back lol) I used to buy the cheapest tabs on offer, and the cheapest salt and rinse aid. I used to rinse the plates before they went in, used to quick setting, and once a week ran it on the quick wash but with nothing in the machine, usually with a handfull of dishwasher salt thrown in to clean it out. Once a month I used one of the special dishwasher cleaners (again the cheapest I could find). My dishes came out fine and the glasses were good too. I used to throw anything marked dishwasher safe in, and never had a problem.

My advice is get the cheapest tabs, salt and rinse aid you can get. It works just as well as the expensive stuff. I used to stock up on the cheap stuff and tried to use the dishwasher once a day, but with my family it was usually twice a day. But it certainly saves time!!

radiohelen

My husband is a bit fanatical about this. Apparently - all the engineers say you should use the loose powder and separate rinse aid. We buy Saino's own brand and it appears to work really well. I have nothing to compare it to however, as we are not allowed to use anything else :rolleyes: He gets militant about some stuff.

Scrape your plates and check your dishes for the not dishwashable stuff. I've also given up on putting glass stuff in there as it gets scratched.

Dishwashers are ace - I wouldn't want to live without mine now.

lynzpower

gairlochgal wrote: »

Brilliant - I know just how you feel. Had mine installed last xmas eve. I look out for the bargains - 99p shop is great. Yes, scrape and rinse the plates thoroughly.

Completely agree. We buy the 2x small sun powders for 99p- look out for them.

One powder lasts us almost 3 weeks, so six weeks worth of DW for £1

bargain

Otherwise I use fairy tabs, but only if I can get them on offer- as they are v expensive.

It depends too if you are in a hard or softwarter area- im in inner london and most tablets dont even slightly cut it

Wee_Bargain_Hunter

I still remember getting my dishwasher - wouldn't be without it now!
A few things I've found useful:
Get the water hardness for your area set up correctly on your machine to help it do it's job (can't remember exact reason but ours wasn't right and the dishes were affected in some way)

Use dishwasher liquid (there are 2 brands, both in yellow bottles). You will learn over time how much is the minimum you can get away with for each load. Works much better than tablets/powder imho. Whatever you use, put it in before you start loading the machine, otherwise you have to deal with a dirty catch from all the drips of food.
Any brand of rinse aid is ok but there's one that promises better drying for plastics & it really does help - can't remember the name as our Tescos don't sell it any more.
Just buy the cheapest salt.

I don't bother with rinsing dishes first but I do scrape leftover food into the bin first. (I sometimes run a quick, 10 minute, rinse programme if I'm not going to be running the machine for a few hours & there's a danger of the food hardening onto the dishes.)

Plastic will not dry properly in mine - I need to give the rims of lids a quick wipe to dry them.
Wood will not dry properly - don't risk anything expensive that's wooden and/or irreplaceable. I put wooden spoons into an oven to dry a bit if the oven is still a bit warm from cooking.
Metal will not dry properly. Coloured metals can end up with a slight polka dot effect from the water droplets bleaching the colour out of the metal so give a quick wipe with a tea towel if the appearance is important. Even if you have a drying cycle, remove baking tins immediately & dry then put them in your oven if it's been on. Otherwise the water gathers under the rims & makes the tins go rusty. (Don't put your baking trays into a rinse wash unless your going to do a proper wash straight after.)

Remove labels from jam jars before washing in dishwasher - the sticky gum clogs up fine filters. The metal rims on jam jar lids can go rusty if they haven't dried enough in the machine.

Get into a habit of checking your filters as it's horrible having to deal with the job with a load of dirty, half-washed dishes in the machine!

If you have deep hollows on the bottom of your cups then you may need to help the drying process by soaking up some of the water with a tea towel.
Don't be tempted to jam loads of dishes in. You may end up putting some in a 2nd time.

A slice of lemon now & again will freshen up your machine. Keep the door slightly open to prevent a musty smell. There's probably another thread somewhere here on Old Style with other useful tips.

Don't be put off by all these tips (I might just have a duff machine!) It soon becomes second nature dealing with all the little things that may need doing in your particular machine & overall dishwashers are fab!

nanokitten

Wow, thanks eveyone, especially wee bargain hunter! I must admit I felt a bit intimidated by all the different powders/tablets. Think there should be a night class in dishwasher husbandry!

MrsE_2

I use tablets, either Fairy or Quantum.

I hate the ones in wrappers, I always have to use my teeth to open them & they taste minging.

maman

I used to use Aldi's 3-in-1 tablets until they started creeping up in price and OH insisted on using salt and rinse aid as well. Now I buy separate tablets, rinse aid and salt in Lidl. It's cheap and very well packaged.

I keep cheap (Ikea or similar) glasses in the kitchen for everyday use and then when they get a bit scratched I just send them for recycling and replace. My best glasses don't go in dishwasher. I also keep a bottle of liquid for use on high days and holidays when I have my 'best' crockery out.

vodkachick68

God i would not be without my dishwasher:eek: I find the best tablets that i always use it the Lidl's W5. They are £2.99 for 40 tablets which is very good value. I just cannot get on with finish as they for some reason don't get my dishes etc clean. Have never used liquid so wouldn't know what its like.

hth

MrsBartolozzi

I use Lidl's cheaper tabs £1.79 for 30 I think (not bought for a while.) I always use half a tablet too, unless there's a lot of cooked on mess. They used to be a Which? best buy, but their website no longer mentions this.