Using dishwasher for first time

[2024horizons]

Never owned one.

Putting in Rinse Aid and I just seem to be able to keep going. It says fill to max but I seem to reach max then it disappears. Not sure if should keep going or stop. Bit worried might froth everywhere. Sorry if an obvious question but any advice?

It's Bosch SMV2ITX18G if helps.

Also it said, " fill special salt area with water then add salt on first use ". The water displaces as it fills with salt. I did that and ran out of salt before the water all dispersed, assuming that's OK?

Just want to wash some frigging dishes 😂

Just use an all in one dishwasher tablet. I never use salt or rinse aid.

Yes, the water will disperse when you pour salt in. Get some more salt tomorrow. Yes, the rinse aid keeps going, I stop when it starts slightly overflowing

Maybe start with all-in-one tabs until you feel more confident... Also, I'm sure you know (but my Mum didn't the first time she used ours!) - the water sprays up from the bottom. Put glasses upside down in the there, and don't stack crockery!

I just put enough in to make the light go away 😂

Salt is important. It cleans better, and prevents limescale.

Regardless of an all in one tablet (most are now anywhere) you really need both rinse aid and salt.

If you don't fill the rinse aid all that will happen is it will need filling again sooner.

Oh and yeah that salt reservoir takes LOADS! I keep going until the salt reaches the top - and yes, the water will come out when you're doing that.

Generally the bags of salt you buy in the supermarket are two full fills, I have found. And the 'all in one' tabs really depend on whether you're in a hard water area or not. If you get limescale, use everything!

Not if you have soft water. That's why it's an all in one tablet. It contains a basic amount of those things.

Same here but I realise that its because our water is very soft. We never have to descale the kettle, shower, coffee machine etc. If the OP is in a hard water area all in ones might not have enough salt to deal with the hardness.

But yes, if you've put salt and rinse aid in, it will be fine and then it will just ask for more sooner than if you've filled it up right to the top.

We have hard water and I use salt and rinse aid but don't set them for the full hardness as we use the all in one tablets which have some in as well

Thanks for this!

Its on delayed timer so am looking forward to waking up to the dishes done!

Will fill up the rinse aid tomorrow and buy more salt. I don't know what the tablets are - Finish Power Ball? Is that all in one? We are in a hard water area . The tradesperson who fitted it said get it all so I did. The tablets are not cheap are they ?!

Always add rinse aid and salt it makes a big difference

And yes you do just keep going at first till it's full which can seem like ages

I use the Lidl tablets with the dissolvable wrappers. They work really well

I used to always use finish tablets or the finish powder in the yellow container but Lidl is just as good

Don't forget to clean the filter every 6 months to a year which is on the floor of the machine as it were

You just untwist it and rinse under the tap

Obviously always scrape food off your plates

You don't need to rinse your plates but I like to

Oh and if you cook and bake in Pyrex glass they wash out beautifully no matter how stuck on your food is

I use Fairy tablets, as they're the only ones which reliably dissolve on lower temperature cycles.

I think Finish are the most expensive. You can get own brand at Coop, Aldi, Morrisons, etc. You can also buy in bulk on Amazon so if you really want Finish, they might be cheaper that way. Like a previous poster, we use Fairy, and buy in bulk off Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=dishwasher+tablets+bulk&crid=1716YT7LJVY9U

What is rinseaid exactly? Does it coat all your plates and cups? Is it safe to ingest if so?

I use Fairy Platinum Plus but they are very expensive so only buy on a deal at Amazon, usually Prime day or if DH gets £5 off £15 Prime offer, I never get those offers myself though.

Fairy Platinum Plus is 1st and 2nd on 'Which' and Aldi Magnum comes out 3rd, so Aldi would be a good buy as a lot cheaper, we haven't got an Aldi near so haven't tried them. I have used Finish but found they don't dissolve as well at lower temperatures.

Rinse aid is basically a liquid that breaks down the balls of water by reducing surface area tension, often called dewetter, so that the items dry properly. I use vinegar in my dishwasher rather than buy expensive rinse aids.

Yes Powerball is all-in-one.

I like the Lidl all-in-one tablets and don't add anything extra, otherwise I can taste the rinse aid. I can also taste the Fairy tablets afterwards so I don't buy those anymore (Finish is fine to me).

I do live in a very soft water area.

@Sunquest

thats not good for your machine.

Hard water area here too. You need to use salt & rinse aid even with all in one tabs. The first fill is always huge. Keep an eye open for special offers on the tabs, there's always one running at one of the supermarkets. Also, use a dishwasher cleaner/descaler once a month, get those when they go on offer too. Don't forget to clean the filters and arms regularly, it makes a big difference to overall effectiveness.

Seems to be coping pretty well five years on.