Dishwasher newbie

cwp500

Elliesmum wrote: »

Snap your dishwasher tablet in half. It's a tip I picked up off the OS thread and it really works! I have never had a bad wash from 1/2 a tablet and I buy the cheapest ones I can get hold off. So your 7p a wash is now half the price!

EM xx

Try the pound shops, B&M (bargain madness), and home and bargain for good deals. Dont forget you really do need to add rinse aid to get the best results and check whether your machine needs to have the special dishwasher salt topped up now and again.
boring i know but keep an eye on the filters and make sure they are clean. I once spent a whole afternoon sopping water out of a machine that had blocked filters because i hadnt cleaned them.

Life is so much better with a dishwasher - if only it would do my ironing for me!

Grumpysally

mean_momma wrote: »

I've just exchanged a seven year old Miele for a slimline Siemens (due to changes in kitchen). Expected to be disappointed, but have to say that the Siemens is quite impressive. It is very quiet, and does a half hour short wash cycle, which makes it 'greener' as well as cheaper to use. I buy refill packs of powder, which works out cheaper and greener than buying it in plastic bottles.

Where do you buy your refills? I don't seem to find any anywhere and get fed up of having to buy bottles. Thanks, Alison

littlewren

I've just been reading these interesting posts by kwatt, what a lot of helpful advice!

My Hotpoint dishwasher hasn't been cleaning cups of tannin for several weeks and they no longer come out squeaky and shiny.

I use Finish dishwasher liquid. I know that you say liquid doesn't clean as well as powder/tablets in the dishwasher, but I haven't had this problem with the tannin stains until fairly recently.

Now I don't look forward to unloading the dishwasher as I know a lot of the crockery will come out stained still (not with dried on food or anything, just stained).

I check the spray arms every day and also all the filters. Everything is ok there. I clean the dishwasher with Finish dishwasher cleaner every month, so where am I going wrong?

Any advice on removing these blooming tannin stains would be welcome, many thanks in advance kwatt.

Carrie

rosekitten

I have a Bosch and have started using
the eco programes on it.The results
are ok but I have to use the Quantam
tablets in the 35 degrees short wash cycle
that lasts around 35 minutes.None of the
others gets anything clean on the lower
temp wash.

kwatt

Hi Carrie,

Tannin wil not be removed effectively if there's no bleach. There's no bleach in any liquid detergent as it's "heavy" and floats to the bottom so, unless people would shake the bottle before using it, which is impossible to get them to do as nobody reads the instructions (;)), there likely never will be. It's something to do with the chemicals but I nearly fell asleep listening to the dude in a white coat.

More on tannin staining this link

I'd advise you go back to powder.

Try Simply (www.simply-washing.co.uk) as the diswasher tablets are powder in a bag basically, work and are eco-friendly, oh and, did I mention cheap?

BTW Roasekitten, we've had real problems with Quantum as it doesn't dissolve well at all and if you read the side of the pack very carefully it states clearly that you must use an intensive wash with those tablets. IIRC, over 60C.

HTH

K.

taney

Sagaris wrote: »

I've used Tesco Value tablets (6p each) and they were 'as good as the leading brand'! I still use salt and rinse aid (Tesco cheapie again) as the water round here is very hard. Always get good results too.

i absolutely agree

littlewren

Thankyou so much for your post kwatt, I have done what you suggested and bought Finish dishwasher powder. After just one wash, everything seems a lot shinier and 'squeakier' so I will carry on using that instead.

Oh, by the way, I stupidly decided to open the dishwasher door while it was on to see if the spray arms were going round properly, something splashed in my eye from the dishwasher, and because I didn't know if it was just water or dishwasher liquid (I was still using this at the time) I rang NHS Direct who promptly told me to go to A & E because dishwasher liquid is dangerous to get in the eye (which it confirms on the back of the bottle).

I went to A & E (with my Finish liquid in a bag!) and the doctor said my eye was slightly inflamed which suggested to him that some had splashed in there. He gave me antibiotic cream to use for a few days but said it should be fine.

Note to myself *in future, do NOT open door of dishwasher when it is washing*

Thanks again kwatt. :cool: