Dishwasher salt

[MrsAlbie]

I missed this lesson

I have a newish dishwasher. I use Aldi 3 in 1 tablets which are fine.

I have salt granules and have identified the bit to put them in. However, what do I do with them?! Do I use them in a full or empty cycle? How often do I use them?

Thanks in advance.

Just tip the salt in the hole in the bottom of the dishwasher until the compartment is full and screw the lid back on. The dishwasher will gradually use the salt and you should see a red light indicator on the door telling you when to put more in. It depends on the hardness of your water as to how quickly you will get through the salt. Good luck!

Thanks This. Ah, so it doesn't last just one wash? Is it kind of like screen wash for your car i.e. every so often you need to top up?
Shall I put it in before a normal wash?

Yes, you only need to top it up every so often. For me, it's every couple of months.

Yes, put the salt in just before you run the dishwasher. Don't forget to screw the lid back on! That is my typical mistake.

We have an old machine that doesnt have an indicator of when theyre running low so i tend to put them in when i remember (normally when i notice stuff coming out of the dishwasher not looking as good as it should!)

Great, thanks everyone!

I use 3 in 1 tablets and assumed that meant I don't have to use salt...😬

Words of warning - when you do put it in do it just before you run or or wipe up any spilt salt or it causes corrosion AND you MUST screw the cap back on. I totally wrecked my last dishwasher by forgetting to do that just once. I don't know why but it broke it.

You just fill it up and leave them. They are there simply to improve the quality of the water. Don't forget the rinse aid-you haven't mentioned it

I too thought that if you were using the fancy all in one tablets you don't need salt. Sometimes my glasses are a bit cloudy - is this lack of salt?

Depends whether you live in a very hard water area or not spam.

Where we are the water is like granite so 3 in 1 just not sufficient.
I use Aldi Classic tablets with salt and rinse aid and everything comes out a treat but if you are in a normal, pretty soft water area then 3 in 1 alone should do the job fine.

You can tell if it doesn't as the dishes will come out felling a bit "gritty".

Check your water hardness in your area and read your user manual. You will be able to change the salt settings to your water hardness so it doesn't ask for salt more often than needed. You can also adjust the amount of rinse aid required if you are using tablets that include a rinse aid.

We are in a very soft water area and don't need to use salt in the dishwasher at all.

Thank you all, I'll definitely check I screw the cap on correctly!

Water is fairly soft here. Glasses are pretty cloudy though.

Rinse aid . Again, heard of it, but don't know what to do with it? Where's it go?

My rinse aid goes in a compartment on the door

Clouding can be limescale or permanent damage called etching

I've got nice soft Welsh water so I'll stick with my tablets then. Still not quite over how wonderful it is to have soft water again after living in Kent for 3 years 😂