All about choosing and using salt for dishwashers

No one wants their brand new, expensive dishwasher to break down, so happy owners of this equipment take their choice of detergents and cleaning products seriously. These include dishwasher salt, which you will be told about when you purchase the device: how important it is, how to use it correctly, and that it cannot be replaced with anything. But, nodding understandingly, even then many begin to think about whether this salt is really necessary and irreplaceable? Maybe we can do without it somehow? AND How to replace dishwasher salt? Well, let's try to understand this issue.

The role of the product in the operation of the device

You can understand why a dishwasher needs this product by looking into a kettle that has not been washed for some time. Do you see flakes of limescale? But if such ones are formed in the cleaning system of the dishwasher, then the equipment can be immediately sent for write-off!

• Why doesn't scale form?

The main water purification system in such machines is an ion exchanger, in which chlorine ions retain metal ions from the water as it passes through the system and prevent them from settling. But after metals are removed from the system, chlorine ions cannot be restored on their own, so their reserves must be regularly replenished, which is what special dishwasher salt is designed to do.Moreover, the harder the water in your region, the more carefully you need to monitor the presence of salt in the tray if you do not want the tower equipment to fail.

• Is it possible to do without it?

What if the water in your area is not very hard? What if you can avoid the extra costs of dishwasher salt? Unfortunately no. Even in water of moderate and low hardness there are impurities of metals, and, although scale formation will be less rapid, your lax attitude towards caring for equipment will definitely come back to haunt you in a few years. The product cannot harm the car in any way, and prevention, no matter how you look at it, is always cheaper than repairing or completely replacing the equipment.

• What if I use 3-in-1 tablets?

Yes, 3-in-1 tablets already contain detergent, rinse aid, and salt, and in some instructions you can find information that their use eliminates the need for additional use of the product. But the classification of hardness in European car-producing countries does not coincide with ours, and often what is considered medium-hard water in our country will be considered very hard water, unsuitable for use. Therefore, it is still better to add dishwasher salt, even if you use tablets, just in smaller quantities.

Advice

If you live in a region with very soft water, then tablets may be enough, but experts often advise adding a little product even in this case: this way you can support the operation of the ion exchanger and prevent it from becoming clogged.

How to determine water hardness? If your car did not come with a special strip, you can look up the indicators for your region on the Internet or do a test with laundry soap: the stronger it foams and the longer it takes to wash off, the softer the water. You can also assess whether you need additional salt by the result after washing: if the dishes are matte or have whitish streaks left on them, no matter how much you rinse, then obviously you need to add more.

Composition of salt and can it be replaced with something?

Why spend money on special salt when you can use regular salt? The same Finish or Calgonit will cost 100-170 rubles per 1.5-2 kg, and the usual one can be bought for 20-30 rubles per 1 kg. The savings are obvious! But since manufacturers unanimously insist that dishwasher salt cannot be replaced with anything, then they probably have a completely different composition. But that’s not true! Sodium chloride makes up about 99% of the composition in both, so you can replace regular salt with special products, although the latter still have a number of advantages.

• Dishwasher salt is compressed into small granules that dissolve more slowly and do not clump together. So, you can sprinkle special salt for 1-2 months at once, but you will have to tinker with table salt before each start, otherwise it will turn into a big lump.
• If you want to solve the problem of frequent refilling by pouring coarse rock or sea salt into the tray, then this is a bad idea. Not only do they contain a lot of foreign impurities, but they also contain grains of sand and stones.
• Also, the composition of special salt often contains antibacterial additives, like Somat or Finish. At this point you will have to decide whether this bonus is worth the money.

In terms of replacement, “Extra” salt is the safest option.It contains a minimum of impurities, has a high degree of purification, and will definitely cope with scale no worse than Finish or Calgonit.

Advice

It is not recommended to use ordinary salt before the end of the warranty period, since a machine breakdown will no longer be a warranty case, but it is almost impossible to determine whether you used ordinary or special salt, so there is no need to wait at all.

Where do you put salt in the dishwasher?

It’s difficult to get confused here: the salt needs to be poured into a special tray located at the bottom of the machine. Not granular salts are poured there, but special salts in tablets. It’s just important not to confuse them with 3-in-1 tablets! They are placed in a special compartment on the inside of the door. And if you decide to replace branded salt with regular salt, where should you put it? All in the same tray below. We recommend using a funnel to prevent anything from spilling.

How much salt should you add?

Do you think how much you need to sprinkle? For average indicators, 750 grams will be enough, but this largely depends on the hardness of the water. The hard one will consume much more product, and you can fill a full tray at once, which will usually be equal to about 1 kg. How much salt should I add if the water is soft? About 500 grams will be enough, however, how long this amount will last also depends on the frequency of use of the device: on average, this is about 2 months.

If you decide to replace special salt with regular salt, then it is better to add 20 grams immediately before starting: this way the likelihood of sticking and clumping will be less.

Which dishwasher salt is best?

By and large, it doesn’t matter which company produces salt, since the compositions of different brands are very similar.Maybe you’re using a regular kitchen utensil: the product should be suitable for you and your machine, and this can only be determined by trial and error. But the safety of the equipment depends more on yourself than on the choice of product, because the most important thing is not to forget to add regenerating salt and constantly check that the tray is not empty. And remember: preventing a breakdown is much easier than fixing it later!