First ever dishwasher.... What do I need

[Slightlydustcovered]

Morning all, kitchen going in and as of today I will have a working dishwasher. We have never had one before, what do I need? Are expensive tablets worth it? Thanks

I don't bother with the expensive tablets. If you keep the salt and rinse aid topped up then also etc tablets work perfectly. I live my dishwasher, can't imagine how I survived so long without one!

Thanks, it's been 16 years without one and I am pretty excited.

Aldi or Lidl dishwasher tablets are fine.
Just keep the salt (and rinse aid) topped up. Also purchased from Aldi.

I tend to use the eco cycle to save water but it does take over 2 hours. The 30 min quick wash is for stuff that isn't particularly dirty.

What is the salt actually for? Mine ran out years ago and it still seems to work fine. Also rinse aid, what does it do? Again I've been fine without it for 5 years or so.

You only really need salt if you're in a hard water area.

The only dishwasher tablets mine like and actually clean stuff with is either Aldi, Finish or Fairy Premium so you may need to experiment.

OP I'm getting my first dishwasher soon too so this is very useful. I have smol washing capsules and was going to sign up for a free trial of their dishwasher tablets to start because I have no clue either. I really don't want everything to turn dull and cloudy so I'd also wondered if it was better to buy more expensive ones. I'm in a soft water area if that makes a difference.

We find that Lidl are the best for dishwasher tablets. We have to use salt and rinse aid because our water is so hard.

I've recently brought a dishwasher. I've found that the more expensive pods are better for very dirty cycles and the tescos own are good enough for the 30 minute quick wash.

I always get the branded ones when they are offer.

Unfortunately I think some of the branded ones are better. Don't put them in the compartment, chuck in the bottom of the machine.

I've got Sainsburys own brand at the moment and they're crap. Coop are great.

Fairy platinum are the best dishwasher tablets I find, own brand salt and rinse aid is fine. You should get the dishwasher cleaner bottles and do it periodically to keep it nice and fresh

Experiment with tabs. My current dishwasher only likes the Fairy ones (which I buy in bulk when they're on offer) or the Sainsbury's own ones in the blue pouch. It has a shitfit with Finish or Astonish, weirdly. I had a Smol trial but they didn't work at all for me unfortunately. (The laundry capsule thingies were alright though.)

I tend to bung in salt and rinse aid as well as the Fairy pods (which supposedly contain them) but I live in London which has hard water. If your water's soft you might not need salt. You will always need rinse aid. (Don't bother with the expensive Finish stuff though, I tend to buy supermarket own-brand rinse aid for 90p a bottle).

Also, once you've got the machine, experiment with the wash cycles too. Again, mine is a PITA and it only properly cleans things on a 70 degree full-force BastardBlastMasterPro wash-er-ama setting. Other machines I've had in the past have cleaned perfectly satisfactorily on the eco or quick setting. Have a play and see what works.

Don't put any of these things in the dishwasher: wooden utensils, handmade or hand-finished china, or ceramics with metal on them (like gold- or silver-lipped cups), copper pans, silver utensils, or crystal glassware.

Ooh and for cleaning the dishwasher, the best thing I've found is the Ecozone tablets. They come in a box of 6 and you can use them to clean the washing machine too.

This thread is so helpful. Where does the rinse aid go ? As in what part of the dishwasher?
Sometimes mine doesn't clean as well as I'd like it to and it's quite new (bought in February this year) so adding rinse aid might help

@halfpasteleven

This thread is so helpful. Where does the rinse aid go ? As in what part of the dishwasher? Sometimes mine doesn't clean as well as I'd like it to and it's quite new (bought in February this year) so adding rinse aid might help

The dispenser varies depending on the machine, but quite often it's a smaller flap (urgh, hate that word, sorry) next to where the tablets go on the inside of the door. Example attached (hopefully).

Some of them are in different places though, so you might need to check the instruction manual, or look it up online for your specific machine.

When you are buying tablets look on the supermarket shelf label where they break down the cost per tablet or pod. Otherwise you will drive yourself crazy trying to divide one price by 75 , and another by 90 to work out which one is the best offer. It is amazing the difference in price, even of the branded names. Well worth checking.

Apparently citric acid , which you can buy from boots and other chemists works fine as a dishwasher cleaner. I’m afraid I just use a generic one, usually own brand. Wilko is good for things like that.

@NastyBlouse thank you,that is so helpful. I'll have a look shortly.

viques Agreed; basically those Ecozone things are citric acid. I also use loose citric acid to clean the limescale out of my kettle. Very useful stuff!

Sometimes mine doesn't clean as well as I'd like it to and it's quite new

Are you cleaning the filters regularly?

Never buy the dishwasher tabs on full price. There is always one brand on half price offer (like clothes washing liquid).
And learn the intensely pleasurable art of how to load a dishwasher!

@JaJaDingDong

Sometimes mine doesn't clean as well as I'd like it to and it's quite new

Are you cleaning the filters regularly?

Also check that the spray holes in the arms aren’t blocked, the end holes of mine seem to get gunked up with “stuff” for want of a better phrase, so somethings don’t get a proper wash. Poking about with a pin does the trick. It does get a bit spornerish though and I get an inkling of the job satisfaction the pimple popper gets.

Branded products are tested on animals so I use Aldi or Lidl.

@Lamentations smol dishwasher tablets are amazing, probably the best I have ever used. Only reason I don't use them regular is because I just pick up when shopping.