Do I need rinse aid/dishwasher salt?

[ifonly4]

Our house has a dishwasher installed by previous occupants. I don't have any instructions and have been using dishwasher tablets. I've become aware you can buy rinse aid/dishwasher salt. Do I need this and if so where should I place it - there just seems to be a dispenser for salt.

sorry, dispenser for tablets, not salt!

I think it's going to depend on the kind of dishwasher but on mine you pour salt into a hole on the bottom floor.

You can find manuals for appliances if you google the brand and name

You only need salt in a hard water area. Somewhere online there is a table of dishwasher salt requirements by postcode area. We don't use any in ours cos the water is so soft, but it goes in a hole in the floor of the dishwasher. Rinse aid goes in the bit next to where the tablets or powder would go.

I have a feeling tablets mean you don't need separate rinse aid.

Thanks for your replies. Will look online for manual. One thing I know for sure is that we're in a hard water area.

We live in a hard water area and gave recently got a dishwasher for the first time. The manual said you only need separate salt if the water hardness was above a certain rating. I looked in the website of our water provider, put in my postcode and it gave the rating. I was surprised to find that according to that we don't need separate salt.

Salt depends on water hardness but you definitely need rinse aid. Everything comes out dripping wet otherwise

The salt dispenser is usually under the bottom rack, and the rinse aid is in the tablet dispenser

Rinse aid is for that final finish, you can probably live without it but the glass stuff usually comes out better with it (Lidl does rinse aid - good as any imo)

What make is your dishwasher?

We just use Aldi tablets (soft water area) and it's fine.

You get a better wash with salt and rinse aid so I use it alongside tablets. There is normally a bit to unscrew on the floor of the dishwasher to put the dishwasher salt. Rinse aid normally goes in a section close to where the tablet goes - some list twist off and some are like a flap (mine has a flap to open)

I use own make dishwasher salt and rinse aid

You need salt for the hardness of your water, or you can knacker your Dwasher inner systems (break machine completely). Follow the instructions to set how much salt is dispensed each time.

Rinse Aid is just for looks, not required. We've never used it.

I sometimes use white vinegar instead of rinse aid.

yes, you do. 3 in 1 tablets are chocolate fireguards, so buy the cheapest ones plus salt and rinse aid. Full set for 30 washes plus is a fiver in Wilkinson (cheapest I've found)

MN thinks you can halve the dishwasher tablet too, worth a go.