Dishwasher newbie

SonOfPearl

Also, apparrently, I'm fortunate enough to be living in a soft water area (moderately soft according to my water company), so do I need to add salt at all?

Avoriaz

After well over 20 years owning and using dishwashers, in my experience you cannot beat a good quality powder and a separate rinse aid.

We use Finish powder. We have tried cheaper unbranded powders but they don’t dissolve as well and we often found residue in the dispenser at the end.

I really don’t see the point in tablets. You are paying more for an inferior product. We have tried the occasional free sample but see no point in actually buying them.

How much trouble is it to pour powder in the tray every time you run the machine and add liquid every time the warning light comes on?

Tablets are saving you maybe a few seconds a week at best.

Avoriaz

SonOfPearl wrote: »

Also, apparrently, I'm fortunate enough to be living in a soft water area (moderately soft according to my water company), so do I need to add salt at all?

We live in a hard water area, NW Surrey, but we have a water softener so the dishwasher is supplied with very soft water.

We have never once added salt to our dishwasher and never had any problems. I don’t see the point in spending money softening the water twice. The second softening in the machine would achieve nothing as far as I can see.

Our first machine, a Bosch, lasted well over 20 years before the pump failed. Our second machine, another Bosch, is about 3 years old and still working perfectly.

Woby_Tide

nickcardwell wrote: »

Just to add, when buying tablets becareful with the offers! Some look really good but when you work it out they can be expensive.

As a rule of thumb aim for 7p per tablet (thats the cheapest i have seen) , though adandem above got them cheaper at 6p (£3.99/66) .

I have seen some in the big supermarkets on "Offer" (like 50% free) but when you work it out , it still comes in at 15p each..

i.e. Tescos current offering on big plinths at end of aisle Finish 5in1's 30 + 50% free = 45 tablets for £6.88(I think) i.e 15.3p tablet

In the normal aisle, standard box of 60 Finish 5in1's = £8 i.e. 13.3p per tablet

still not cheap but the same offers appear on teh cheaper stuff occasioanlly

silvercar

kwatt,

Big thank you to you. Filled the salt container and the rinse aid (that had been languishing empty when I used the tablets containing both) and after about 4 washes the dishes are shining again. Have noticed shinier glassware and reduced tannin stains on mugs.:)

I'm still using up the 5-in-1 tablets with the salt and rinse aid, presume that won't do any harm?

Thanks again.

kwatt

Hi andanem,

Sorry I've been away for a few days.

Using liquid all the time is a bad idea as none of them contain bleach so, you get bacteria build up in the machine and also greying whites/lights. A fuller explanation is here on it

For dishwashers the liquid detergent just doesn't perform as well at all IMO.

K.

kwatt

Hi SonOfPearl,

SonOfPearl wrote: »

If kwatt is still lurking here, I have a few more questions, if that's ok...

Not a problem...

SonOfPearl wrote: »

Is there any basis for the claims made by 4-in-1 or even 5-in-1 dishwasher tablets? I know 3-in-1 means detergent, rinse aid and salt. What about the claimed 4th and 5th actions - preventing cloudy glasses and extra cleaning power? Science or baloney?

There's some science in it, but not a lot really if the truth be told. Used correctly a decent detergent will yield pretty much the same results.

SonOfPearl wrote: »

If I use separate detergent, rinse aid and salt as suggested, will own-brand rinse aid and salt be as good as premium brands?

Generally no on the rinse aid, it won't be as good, but there's no difference that I can see on the salt.

SonOfPearl wrote: »

If I want to take care of my dishwasher, what regular cleaning/maintenance should I be doing? Should I use a dishwasher cleaner product once a month as suggested on my Finish 5-in-1 tablet pack? Thanks again for the many helpful comments so far. Why is life never simple?

Well Reckit Benkiser, who make Calgon, Finish and Vanish products are a very good marketing company that sell a lot of products that, to be honest, you don't really need in a lot of cases.

If the detergent is used correctly then the dishwasher cleaner is going to do very little that the detergent wouldn't clean out anyways. The problem in the past, when they started that lark, was that tablets weren't really around and so people underdosed and whatnot as they do in washing machines and so this was the cure, sort of. It didn't solve the underlying problem but, as I'm sure you've noticed, these cleaners aren't exactly cheap.

Personally I'd use Fairy Bursts/Active Bursts or the Aquados tablets, which in the true spirit of MSE can be gotten really cheap ATM from the offer that's leaked out (it's in the October stuff on this page), and if they are used correctly you shouldn't really need the cleaner.

HTH

K.

kwatt

I forgot, no if you have soft water you shouldn't need salt. I occasionally stick some in just to refresh the softener but I suspect that's me being overly cautious as usual.

silvercar wrote: »

I'm still using up the 5-in-1 tablets with the salt and rinse aid, presume that won't do any harm?

No, not normally but it is dependent on both the tab and the dishwasher, but I don't think it should be a problem. It shouldn't on most machines bar some of the Chinese ones where it can be tantamount to instant death.

It's also nice to hear you got the results Silvercar, I'm glad it helped you.

K.

SomersetMaid

kwatt, thank you from someone who will shortly be replacing her dish-pan hands for a shiny new dishwasher :j . When I finds one, that is!:p .

Well I think I've found one, now I just need to find some reviews. You don't know anyone who has an Electrolux ESL63010 Built-in Dishwasher do you? I don't want to buy a pile of pants. Sorry off topic aren't I, apologies.

Thanks again.

Maid x

123xyz

Repair man told me it was much better to remove limescale every 4-5 weeks (http://www.4hotpoint.co.uk/cgi-bin/product.pl?PID=854872&brand=&model=C00089780&part=limescale%20remover) on a hot wash to clean machine ou costing about £1.50 a go, than to use Finish Cleaner at about £3 a go, or Calgon tablets in washing machine every time at an infinite price!

Using Calgon all the while is expensive and the first time you don't use it because you have run out, all the money you have spent on it in the past is wasted.