New Dishwasher!!! Salt?

[Sychnant]

Just taken delivery of my first ever dishwasher and I'm pathetically excited!

Do I really need to add salt and water and run it through before I use it properly? The manual says so... but I've bought all in one tabs, and don't have any salt!

Are you in a hard or soft water area? If hard water, I would use salt as well.

Thankyou Wowfudge :)

I did the test strip and we have very soft water - I have put salt in anyway as from reading other threads it seems that the dishwasher will just use less the if we had hard water?

I didn't do an "empty wash" first, just added all the stuff and tried it out. Came out beautifully clean!

So this morning I've got all the baking trays, the pasta bake dish, the chopping boards and the old plastic plates out to give them a "superwash"! I know it's sad, but I'm enjoying it very much :D

Came out beautifully clean!

That's your day sorted

I hope you've got some DC/people handy to use as much crockery as possible.

Battleax , today I am washing all the metalwork associated with my horses - so mainly stirrup irons and bits :D Also also the cat and dog food bowls.

I've wanted a dishwasher for 20 years, I'm making the most of this. It's like getting the toy you desperately wanted for Christmas as a child :D

I'd have added salt anyway too. For what it costs you may as well.

We have very soft water and I never put salt in our dishwasher. Haven't done for years. I use Aldi Magnum all in one tablets and get great results.