Dishwasher salt

Gers

Morning.

Today the plumber is due to come (weather permitting!) to install the dishwasher :j trouble is that the instructions say that the machine needs filled with dishwasher salt before first use. I've tried to get the stuff but have been hampered by 1) people buying it to put on their pavements and 2) not being able to reach big supermarkets cos the car is still stuck.

I've bought some tablets which have salt in them - is that enough or will I trash the machine without the proper salt?

Thanks

A.Penny.Saved

It depends upon your water and how hard it is. For soft water areas dishwasher salt is not necessary. I don't use any in mine. My water company, Severn Trent has a post code lookup for water quality and says mine is soft.

If your water is hard then you must use it.

So look on your water companies website for information and then decide.

A general guide to water hardness by area - Note this is a PDF

giraffe69

I think that in certain areas , yes you must use salt but is the salt in the tablets where it is pre-added enough. Both instructions for dishwashers and the pretty lights on the front are based on the fact that the all in one tablets did not use to exist. I don't think there will be any problem is using it with or without salt for a while but you may want to check what your water is like for the medium or long term.

A.Penny.Saved

You won't have a problem using it once, it won't damage it. It's regular use where the water hardness would start to clog up the heating element and pipework.

Gers

many thanks folks!

The list identified my area as being MH so salt is probably needed. If I can get my car dug out this afternoon I'll try the bigger supermarkets. Haven't got any dishes needing washing yet so it's not too urgent, however I really appreciate the advice.
:T

A.Penny.Saved

That Pdf only gives a rough idea, your water providers website should give more accurate data. That pdf says soft to very hard for my area but my water providers website says soft for my postcode and area.

Gers

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

That Pdf only gives a rough idea, your water providers website should give more accurate data. That pdf says soft to very hard for my area but my water providers website says soft for my postcode and area.

Did the postcode search and got:

The water in your area is slightly hard

Whatever 'slightly' hard is!! But I guess I still need salt.

Thanks again.

minibbb

Have you got a waitrose near you? They do a good sized bag of their own dishwasher salt for only £1.40, a fair bit cheaper than finish. I was surprised to find it in stock with all the ice but they had plenty.

As others have said, im sure running your machine a couple of times without salt would be ok, I live in the south where the water is v hard and mines been fine!

A.Penny.Saved

http://www.dishwasher-care.org.uk/best.html

Gers

Dishwasher installed! Will try to get salt again tomorrow - was in Waitrose yesterday but didn't look there, tried John Lewis and they didn't have it.

Thanks for all the advice.
:cool:

Gers

Went to Waitrose again today and found the salt so thanks for the advice - bought the smaller jar as I was walking cos of the snow. Filled the machine though got a little worried about the water draining out but the manual said that's normal. Then used the machine so all's well.

Many thanks to all who took the time to help me.
:T