Dishwasher Salt Question

jgallcash

We have recently got our first dishwasher and are using "Fairy All in One" dishwasher tablets.





Although it sounds obvious I'm just wondering if the all in one part means that I dont need to add salt to the dishwasher?

Could somebody please clarify this?

Also if we didn't use the all in one tablets are you meant to use Salt, Rinse Aid and something else?

Any opinions on which is the best option between all in one tablets and the other seperate cleaning products?

Many thanks in advance

Rikki

I have the same tablets and I believe they have salt in the tablets but I still use salt. This maybe because I've had my dishwasher over 15 years and I've always used salt and rinse aid. I also used to break the dishwasher tablets in half for a half load :think: I wonder if this is why fairy changed to these little soap bags. :rotfl:

Didn't help much did I.

dentedporsche

That's what the manufacturer of the cleaning product wants you to believe.
They want you to believe that they are saving you money as you don't need salt or rinse aid.

Unfortunately, whilst the salt they put in your product will soften the water being used to wash your crockery, it does nothing for the inbuilt water softener in the appliance.

The salt you put in the dishwasher is never used to wash the dishes.
It is used after the wash and rinses to flush out the impurities in the water softener unit. (This is why when you start a programme the machine first drains and flushes. It's to get rid of the salt water).
Without it, the softener unit clogs up and eventually blocks.

You don't need rinse aid, but you still need to add salt to get the machine working as it should.

HTH
Brian

ariba10

We live in a soft water area and have never used salt in the twelve years we have had a dishwasher.

daveyjp

We buy the cheapest tablets in bulk (about 150 in a box), our last ones are Finish and worked out about 9p each (23p for the Fairy ones - GULP!) as they were on BOGOF, they will last over a year. Dishwasher salt is cheap as chips and a large bag lasts years. No problems with our machine.

wallbash

Use dishwater salt .

jgallcash

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. You have restored my faith in MSE forums after witnessing the downward (and unhelpful) spiral of the techie forum. We live in London so it's a very hard water area. Best get some salt in it.