Dishwashers

[nancybotwinbloom]

I'm getting a dishwasher in a week or so with our new kitchen.

I've never had one before.

What do I need to know?

Does it need a maintenance wash before I use it?

Does it need regular maintenance washes? If so how often?

Any recommendations on dish washer tablets?

Should I only use it once it's full?

I know this is probably the most boring thread ever created but I'm all ears.

Tia

Dishwasher salt needs added along with water in the salt compartment before first use. I use branded tablets but only when they are infectious offer - I begrudge paying full price!

I use own brand rinse aid and dishwasher salt. It goes on most days after dinner. I try to fill it as much as possible before running it on the Eco setting (takes 2hrs). There is also a quick wash i sometimes use and I can also speed up the Eco setting but that makes it less Eco!

There will be filters to clean out regularly (I do it as and when) and you can also usually remove the spray arms to clean them if necessary. I sometimes run a dishwasher cleaner too

infectious? don't why thats in there

Do you know whether you water is hard or soft? Lots of dishwashers have adjustable salt dispensers and it's worth getting this right as it can extend the life of the machine and ensure it washes effectively. We used to live in an area with very soft water and the manual for the machine we had then said no salt was required.

They have filters in the bottom which you need to clean regularly. Probably best to make it a routine job - ours tells you when it needs cleaning and requires resetting before it'll work again, but that's only happened to us once.

I've never run one empty before using - if the manual says to then do it. I use Aldi Magnum tablets or other supermarket own versions. Never use separate rinse aid. Fairy tabs are awful - they taint plastic and silicone things they are so highly scented.

I wouldn't be without a dishwasher now - not only to they clean better than you can by hand as they use a higher temperature, they are economical when it comes to water use and a handy cupboard to hide the dirty stuff in until it's full and goes on.

You might find you need to buy extras of some things if you use them a lot to avoid hand washing in between putting the machine on.

They're an absolute godsend after a big meal.

Buy teaspoons!

Yes! We have about 50, far more than any other cutlery.

Oh thank you 😊

So I am in the northwest I think that's a medium to hard water area.

So I need tablets, dishwasher salt and rinse aid.

And more plates and cutlery.

I am very excited.

Will it be good for cleaning casserole dishes and roasting tins that are a bastard to clean in the sink?

I do put casseroles and roasting tin in, but first soak them in boiling water and Fairy for 10 mins then rinse all the bits off.
I always rinse the plates otherwise bits of rice etc can clog the filter. Tesco own brand are better than some premium ones, imo.

We are in the northwest and had very soft water at our last place, slightly harder where we are now - you can put your postcode in the United Utilities website and find out the water softness. Some dishwashers have a water testing kit with them.

Our dishwasher manual actually says to scrape food off, but not to rinse as it affects how effectively it cleans. You don't need to rinse, it just wastes water. Some things can't go in and some metal dishes can go rusty. All our pans go in.

Some dishwashers have an adjustable top basket you can raise to fit bigger things in the bottom.

you will be fine and never look back :)

you need to get a hang of stacking it well to get everything clean. the arms need to be able to turn freely.

wrt cycle to use: check the manual. ours uses less than 10 liters water on the eco cycle.

also in the manual is how to adjust the height of the top drawer.

My water is soft to slightly hard according to united utilities.

This info is all very useful.

A dishwasher repair man advised against using the eco cycle - it uses less water but takes ages, so the machine wears out more quickly, and needing to replace it more often is more eco-damaging than using less water per wash. 🤷‍♀️

We find the quick cycle is fine for most stuff.

We use ours for loads of plates, mugs etc.

Don't mind doing the odd roasting tray by hand

Seeing as you are all so helpful can you recommend any pans for an induction hob? I'm getting one of these too and I've never had one of those either!

I don't rinse any pots before they go in, just scrape off the food waste. With the exception of mashed potato, I rinse it off. Maybe just our (slightly older) dishwasher though.
If you put cans in there to rinse before recycling take off the labels or they stick to glasses!

Our dishwasher is 10 years old, I use it daily and I've only ever used dishwasher tablets, never added salt or rinse aid?? I thought the all in one tabs meant you didn't need to?

You need salt to clean the resin in the water softener, if your water softener packs up you need a new dw.

Branded tablets etc are tested on animals so I use own brand tablets.

You don’t need to rinse. If you buy a cheap spatula it can live in the machine and it’s always handy then to scrape everything off.

I chuck everything in. If it doesn’t come out sparking it goes in until it does. This only happens with dhs scrambled egg pan 🤦🏻‍♀️.

Your water bill will fall so make sure you give a meter reading at your next bill. Ours went from £55 a month to £20.

@EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide

Our dishwasher is 10 years old, I use it daily and I've only ever used dishwasher tablets, never added salt or rinse aid?? I thought the all in one tabs meant you didn't need to?

in a soft water area you can get away with only using the all in one tablets.

10 years is good going for a dishwasher.

My dishwasher engineer said to avoid the “quick wash” unless an emergency as it makes the heater work extra hard and then the element gives up.

I live in a hard water area so always use salt. I’ve been using Smol tablets for over a year now and very happy with results.

A PP suggested a cheap spatula and that’s what I have, I don’t rinse things but I do scrape them.

I don’t put my sharp knives in as the dishwasher can dull the blades.

I LOVE my dishwasher.

I use Sainsburys diswasher powder as it has no plastic on the tablets and comes in a cardboard box. I use their rinse aid and salt too.

I use the fairy platinum plus tablets but after reading here I may change to the aldi ones!
I use rinse aid & salt from aldi, too it up when it tells me to.
Don't overfill it, I chuck everything in occasionally a casserole dish will come out with some grubbiness still around the edge so I'll give that a wipe over myself.

Induction hob pans, the Tesco go cook range are fab! We love ours and my MIL swears by them too, she bought us the set that we have and they aren't too expensive.

@EdwardCullensBiteOnTheSide

Our dishwasher is 10 years old, I use it daily and I've only ever used dishwasher tablets, never added salt or rinse aid?? I thought the all in one tabs meant you didn't need to?

Same. I've had mine for about 8 years and thought all in one tabs meant you didn't need to.

A couple of weeks ago it started smelling awful and I used a couple of cleaning sachets and did a white vinegar and citric acid wash that sorted it eventually.

Anyway, I had a white goods engineer look at my tumble dryer and I asked him about the dishwasher. He recommended using salt and rinse aid even with the 3in1 tabs.

It was good before but it's amazing now. Stuff is cleaner than clean and dryer than dry - even tupperware!

nancybotwinbloom

We also got a new induction hob in January. We bought Stellar pans in the Jan sales and we are very happy with them. They come out of the dishwasher like brand new.

There was a thread on here ages ago about DW maintenance. Somebody who’s partner was an appliance engineer said his advice was that if you live in a medium/hard water area then always use separate salt & rinse aid as well as an all-in-one tablet.

As somebody whose DW once packed up on Christmas Day, I clean the filters of ours every Monday morning, then top up the salt & rinse aid. It’s very satisfying

Cross post GreenPlum

I've only ruined two things in the dishwasher so don't put these in it.
1, Silver cutlery - I think it got too hot. It's all discoloured and isn't fixed by tarnish stuff.
2, Those 750ml water bottles. They shrink! Weird! Done it about three times so it wasn't a one off.

only our non stick pans don't go in. but they are slowly being replaced by dw suitable ones.