DISHWASHER SALT!!!!!!!!!!!111

[Mascaraohara]

where the bloody hell do you buy it from????

well they have been moving stuff around recently (AGAIN)

I've been using Tescos 5 in 1 cos it's been on special offer

Oooo I got Finish 5-in-1 this week cos it was 50% free (r seoemthing) Gosh exctiting life I lead.

I honestly don't find the 4 or 5in1 ones any different from the cheaper brands!

Lidl's dishwasher tabs are fab.

Scottish water doesn't need doftening I think, never ever added salt.

can i ask, what does rinse aid actually do? what rinses more effectively than water (without leaving a residue?) i'm very interested in this as i do sometimes worry that i am covering dd's food implements in weird chemicals.

good question aitch, not something I'd ever thought about - I have found this:

Rinse-aidthe ingredients of which are usually ethanol, citric acid, sodium, dyes and acrylic acid polymersbreaks dew the salts in hard water, thereby preventing the adhesion of soap clumps during the rinse cycle, leaving cleaner-looking results (although consuming food and drinks from streaked or spotted dishes and glassware is not a health hazard in its own right). The National Institutes of Health report that most rinse-aid is completely biodegradable, and while it is neither carcinogenic nor dangerous if used properly, it can cause eye and skin irritation following prolonged exposure.

from here

Never added a rinse aid either. I just get whatever tablets are on special, must have a look for the eco ones as I love the washing machine liquid and conditioner.

oh god the ecover ones are crap

I have given up on them and feel guilty every time I put a tablet in

see, i stopped using it when i started doing dd's stuff as i just knew it wasn't a good thing. it basically sounds like an extra chemical added to the rinsse cycle which is still working to break down clumps when all that should be happening is rinsing with water. our glassware is definitely more spotty now but i can live with that i think.
or am i kidding myself and are our dinner things always going to be covered in detergent?

Ecover thats the ones, I might try them once as water is very soft and any old crappy brand seems to work.

38 posts about dishwasher salt - who'd have thought!!!

I've never used a rinse aid - never got my head around what it was supposed to do

I've just put salt in our new dishwasher though so thanks for the warning, I'm a bit miffed as to why the 3 in 1 say 'with salt' when it doesn't mean anything does it? I do buy cheap 3 in 1' anyway but if the salt in it is a load of twaddle I'll track down a cheapo detergent.

Hey y'all . . . the dishwasher salt i normally in the same isle as the dishwasher tablets BUT its normally on the bottom shelves it IS BEST to use them separately. dishwasher salt looks after the innards of the machine preventing clogging due to limescale . . look after it & it will look after you! who here wants a dishwasher thats packed in . . eh?????

We live in an area with very soft water. I have never used dishwasher salt and the last dishwasher we had lasted over ten years. Never had any performance issues either.

We use Aldi tablets and never put separate rinse aid in either.

I live in NZ and have never found anywhere that sells dishwasher salt, for the last 5 years our salt light has been permanently on. I use white vinegar instead of rinse aid.

I'm sure after 8 years the OP has found some salt

Rinse aid helps with drying. It essentially means that the water drops off the dishes in sheets rather than dripping dry, so they dry quicker. Only a small amount of rinse aid is dispensed per cycle so it doesn't need to be added to every wash. In our dishwasher, if we don't use rinse aid, everything comes out dripping wet or with water marks on everything.

I always use salt too to soften the water. Soft water is a better cleaner as detergents can react badly and become desensitised with the mineral content and the limescale can build up in your dishwasher and block the spray arms.

Even though I'm in a soft water area, I did notice a huge different in results when using separate salt and rinse aid instead of just using all in one tablets.