Buying my first dishwasher: what do I need to know?

[PerkingFaintly]

It's for a one-person household and I'm torn between a slimline and a desktop – but blow me the desktop is so much more expensive.

If I get the slimline and run it every second day, will my plates get clean or will I just have sad, dried-on lumps?

Thoughts on that, and all your other dishwasher wisdom, very much appreciated.

I have a Bosch that's seven years old. Doesn't beep. It's fab. I think the key to all in one tabs or not is where you live. I live in Devon with very soft water and Lidl's basic all in one tabs are amazing.

When I lived in a soft water area, I never used salt or rinse aid - no problems. Now, in a hard water area, I get away with no rinse aid, but have to use salt.

My last dishwasher lasted over twenty years. New one is AEG and manual says that salt must be used even if it's in tablets for hard water areas. Rinse aid, it advises trying with and without and seeing if there's a difference.

What I love most about my new one is that it has a cutlery tray so it's much easier to load the lower tray and it opens automatically at the end of its cycle to aid drying. Otherwise, other refinements are either OK or unnecessary.

Thought I'd report back.

I got a Beko and it's aMAZing!

Doesn't always get pans 100% clean, but on the other hand it's taken the limescale and burnt on grime out of the fiddly corners of a lot of glass and dishes.

I'm using it every 2 days, and swishing a bit of water round the most likely suspects before they go in.. Working well so far.

I'm now going to touch wood, in case I've tempted the fates with my smugness.