My husband has just asked me what rinse aid is

[Jozimummy]

We are both 48 and have been married for 19 years. My husband cleared away supper tonight, which is unusual, and was flummoxed when the dishwasher flashed up that it needed rinse aid. He had absolutely no idea what it meant.
On the one hand I feel unbelievably angry and on the other I feel a complete failure as a feminist. What should I feel?

[Northernparent68]

It’s an odd thing to be angry about, I hope you do not live your whole life this angry

[MicroManaged]

My dishwasher has never asked me for anything

This cracked me up!

I love it when my appliances get on with their own lives without being needy!

[beanaseireann]

You're whinging because he didn't know what rinse aid is ?
Think of the poor woman whose husband didn't know where the oven was !

[ElainaElephant]

Just checked my dishwasher, it has a bit for salt and a bit for the tablet. No flower anywhere and no place to put rinse aid.

So no need to know what it is.

[LakieLady]

We're in a very hard water area. Don't use rinse aid, but I find that some cheaper diswasher tabs don't get glasses clean, they look cloudy afterwards.

I keep rinse aid for when I try out a new make of tablets that turn out not to be quite up the job of dealing with such hard water.

[Oysterbabe]

I've heard of it but never use it. The tablets I use claim to contain it.

[sackrifice]

We use vinegar instead. I bought a huge vinegar bottle/container about a decade ago and because sarsons vinegar bottles won't open so we cant refill, so we never used it. So use it for rinse aid. And chutney making.

It wets the water during the rinse cycle. Meaning that the surface tension is reduced and helping the water to have more surface area and thus dry quicker.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetting

[scaredofthecity]

Rinse aid is cheap and lasts for ages. We use it as then you can use the cheaper tablets and it does a much better job than the finish ones on their own.

[Alfie190]

Same age as OP and never heard of rinse aid. My dishwasher has never asked me for anything.

[luckylavender]

I'm 56 - never heard of it before

[oldsewandsew]

I am definitely tell when my rinse aid is running low as nothing in the dishwasher is dry! It’s supposed to help break up the water particles or something.
DH wouldn’t have a clue though, and our dishwasher does have a light to tell you when it’s running low.

[RB68]

My Dad keeps the firelighters in a similar box in the same cupboard as the dishwasher tabs.....not a great plan

Once upon a time in the olden days rinseaid was separate to the main detergent in dishwashers and you had a bottle of it you added to a little well in the door next to the soap dispenser (which was powdered soap) then the manufacturees realised they could con you better with everything all in one tablet..specific measured doseage so repeat purchase couldn't be rationed.

Oh and hard or soft water doesn't matter as you dw needs salt to soften the water....

[3luckystars]

I don't think it's as bad as when he goes away for a few days and takes your toothbrush, then when you ask him, He says it's his toothbrush. Then you notice the second toothbrush in the cup is unused.

[AlpacaLypse]

DP was the person who told me what Rinse Aid was. But that was 26 years ago, we've moved house and replaced dishwashers four times since then, and tellingly he's never once mentioned that Rinse Aid is no longer on the permanent shopping list. Because I replaced it with All In One dishwasher tablets 24 years ago...

[GreenDinosaur]

I clicked on this to find out what Rinse Aid was.... quite disappointed tbh.
I don't have a dishwasher like all you posh bastards. 

I did go on holiday alone once though and discovered that my DH had no clue where the spare toilet rolls lived in our house.

[Kleptronic]

I've never had a dishwasher either.

[MaisyPops]

I'm only vaguely aware of rinse aid since DH said he had tried the free sample that came with out new dishwasher but it ran out and he's not if he can tell the difference (I didn't realise he'd even tried using it!)

[LaLaOrange]

Feel nothing and just point out where the rinse aid is and trust he'll remember in future? Do you know absolutely everything he does and to the same level? What an overreaction!

[Karrwomannghia]

That’s odd because we’ve got soft water but I definitely notice a difference when the rinse aid is low- the dishes are a bit wet still.

[PickAChew]

Unless you have have horribly hard water, modern 3 in 1 tablets don't need rinse aid, anyhow.

[helacells]

Rinse aid is a total scam and so is the drying option. I never use either and dishes are dry and spotless

[BikeRunSki]

I have never used rinse aid or dishwasher salt, and mainly use the cheapest tablets. Our washing up and wineglases are fine. When we tried the more expensive tabkrts, things didn’t get so clean and tasted funny. We have very soft water though, I believe this helps.

[Gwenhwyfar]

"ShesaBelter you.........have............never............owned...............a.......dishwasher?

Is this unusual? most of the people I know don't own dishwashers"

Never owned a dishwasher either, but then I'm single and my parents didn't have one. I have occasionally loaded and unloaded some at work, but never used rinse aid.
I presume most families have one, but not single people and couples necessarily.

(I don't have a tumble dryer either)

[Shitstormiscoming]

Refilling dishwasher salt and rinse aid

[SassitudeandSparkle]

I filled up the rinse aid yesterday, although it's usually me that does it and the salt, DH is perfectly able to do both and knows of the existence of such products.

While my MIL didn't have a dishwasher herself she did make sure that her sons knew their way around a kitchen, fortunately for her DILs!