How needy is your dishwasher?

[Bakerposs]

Mine seems to demand salt and rinse aid weekly?
I also have to regularly (like more than once a week) clean the arms and the filter.
It still regularly punishes me by not properly cleaning things but ‘burning’ on the mess so it then needs scrubbing. Or by not draining properly so I have to dig around in the water to get the filter etc.
we do scrape the plates etc before putting them in but dont rinse them. Is this where we’re going wrong?

Uh I don’t think I’ve ever put salt or rinse aid in. I do rinse everything before I put it in though.

I’m a first time dish washer owner. Mine wanted salt and rinse aid as often as yours, so I use the all in one tablets now and don’t both with either. Our dishwasher is full most nights and it all comes out perfect. Maybe don’t bother? But I am an amateur and didn’t research if it harms the machine 😬 I rinse the filter about weekly but that’s no bother (didn’t realise the whole thing came out until recently 🙃). The arms are always clean though after a cycle

We probably top up rinse aid every 7-10 days and salt monthly but our dishwasher runs 2 times a day, sometimes 3.
We used to use eco mode as a default but switched to intensive every other time because we thought it might help shift stubborn marks and it’s worked.
it drains okay and we don’t rinse plates (because it all clogs up the same waste water outlet regardless if it’s coming from the sink or dishwasher), we just use the bit of kitchen paper we used at dinner to remove all the actual loose parts from the plate (so wipe them into the bin).

We probably do dishwasher maintenance about once every 6 months 😳 We should definitely do it more often but it seems to mostly clean reasonably well.

We don't put anything scummy in there that will clog it up, but no we don't rinse things before putting them in. (At that point it feels like you might as well just wash up by hand?)

Wouldn't expect it to clean any major stains though - pans or anything with sticky residue or built up, we wash by hand.

I'm interested in what is getting 'burnt on' because we probably wouldn't put anything in there where that was even possible really. The dishwasher just does plates, glasses, mugs, cutlery.

I got a new one a couple of years ago and I feel like I’m forever topping up the salt! Also need to clean the filter frequently.

How old is your dishwasher? Why is it not emptying?

By burnt on I just mean like if there was a bit of sauce that doesn’t come off in the wash the heat seems to set it onto the plate so it’s harder to remove than it would have been to just rinse it

Don’t the lights or symbols come on when it needs rinse aid or salt?

It has the occasional fit of temperament when it needs to be turned off at the wall. Once it has sung its chirpy heart out to alert us, it normally behaves afterwards. Yours sounds...needy... or perhaps just more complicated.

Live in a hard water area and top up the salt every six months and the rinse aid monthly.

Not super careful with scraping the dishes so clean the filter fortnightly.

Do you fill the salt right up,you need to pretty much put the whole bag in?

Should add that we scrape then rinse before putting anything in there. It sometimes needs a second go to finish off the lasagne dish, but otherwise it's done in one go.

Mine is well over ten years old and I never put salt or rinse aid in it. I use all in one tablets and live in a soft water area though.

Not as needy as my bloody car, that’s for sure. My car has conniptions if it gets within 2 feet of a gate post. I’ve had less sensitive horses.

I have a very middle class friend,a lawyer. She said her dishwasher wasn't cleaning or emptying properly, asked when she last cleaned the filter, she said "what filter"?!! We use all in one tablet but occasionally fill salt and rinse aid. Plates wiped kitchen paper. Filter cleaned monthly, and dishwasher cI eaning pack,only use quick program. However a couple of times a year DH removes the base plate,cleans pipework. It's a small Hotpoint 10 years old.

I am puzzled by this thread. I've had a dishwasher 20 years and have never put salt or rinse aid in. I didn't realise it was a thing!

Same here!

It’s only a few years old. The old one had its funny ways too-used to refuse if I put it on more than once in a row which was a pain for parties etc.

i think it might be that the pipes are clogged as the sink doesn’t always drain well either.

i wonder if the kitchen roll wiping is the way to go.

Mine's like yours OP. Constantly demanding attention. It has a particular skill for recognising when I really don't have time for its crap too. Wanker.

Salt about once a month and rinse aid once a fortnight.
Salt is really important- if you dont have Salt in the reservoir it basically just sits with bacteria filled water in the bottom of your machine which is a huge risk.
I clean the filter once a week too but im not a huge rinser of plates etc

Unclog your pipes, it's probably the issue.

You are right to use rinse aid and salt, unless your water is very soft. About 1kg of salt each time should be right. Also check your settings for salt and rinse aid, according to water hardness. It should all be in the manual.

Also, yes, scraping but not rinsing is best. The detergent needs some dirt to work on and it saves water.

What brand is it? What type of cycle do you use?

Wrong!!! You don't need to rinse dishes first, that's called 'washing up'!! The DW tablet needs the residual food on the plate to work properly. And of course you need rinse aid and salt unless you have a soft water machine.

@Bakerposs What brand of dishwasher? Rinse first for best results and use decent tablets. Did you check quality of wash in reviews before you bought?

Advice from my appliance repair guy. Never ever use eco mode, not enough water flushes the system, cleaning eventually is compromised, and problems are more likely. Also clean the filter after every use and the spray arms weekly. Run cleaning cycle with special product monthly. I follow his advice and our last dishwasher lasted about 16 years with minor repairs.

I do salt and rinse aid top up every week/every two I'm in a hard water area and do find it need salt more than anything. I use a 'machine clean' setting with dishwasher cleaner every two weeks, if I miss it a little light flashes on and shames me for my filthyness! 😅