You can wash dishes without detergent in the dishwasher.

Today, the market offers a huge variety of dishwasher tablets and powders. These products come in a wide range of prices, but dishwasher users still report spending a pretty penny on them annually. Some "thrifty" users prefer to use them only occasionally, washing dishes with hot water without any additives. Is it possible to wash dishes without detergent at all? What will the results be? Will it damage the dishwasher? We'll find the answers to all these questions.

Consequences of such washing

The manufacturer insists that the dishwasher must be used correctly, that is, according to the instructions. But the instructions inform us that we shouldn't run the dishwasher without salt and dishwashing detergent. What are the risks? Let's take a look. Let's say we load the dishwasher and run it without salt or detergent. The following could happen:

• the dishes will be washed well and will shine with cleanliness;
• the dishes will be washed well, but there will be streaks and drops of dried water left on them;
• the dishes will be washed satisfactorily;
• the dishes will remain completely dirty.

As you can see, washing dishes without detergent is a gamble—it either cleans or it doesn't. More often than not, the result is far from perfect. You'll spend time and resources, but you still won't get the desired result. Constantly washing dishes without salt can damage the ion exchanger, which in turn can lead to dishwasher failure and limescale buildup.

To better understand the effect of washing dishes without detergent, turn on the hot water tap and place a dirty plate under the stream. After holding the plate for a while, you'll see that the stream of water has washed away most of the dirt. A similar process occurs in a dishwasher.

Putting salt in the dishwasher without adding detergent won't harm the appliance, but it won't clean heavily soiled dishes. Conclusion: Wash dishes in the dishwasher without powder or tablets, but with the addition ofdishwasher salts It's entirely possible. But this procedure would be extremely ineffective, although the decision is, of course, up to the user.

What can replace powder and tablets?

What should you do if you've run out of dishwashing detergent and have to wash a whole mountain of dishes in the dishwasher without detergent? What can you use as a substitute for dishwashing detergent until you can get to the store and buy proper tablets or powder, which would last only a couple of times? Some suggest replacing the dishwasher detergent with regular laundry detergent. We don't recommend this.

1. The washing powder (for hand washing) foams heavily. The foaming clouds can seriously damage the machine's electronics, leading to serious damage.
2. Any laundry detergent contains fairly toxic components that can enter the human digestive system from dishes. Nothing good can come from these chemicals.
3. Washing powder will leave white stains on the dishes, which will then have to be washed off by hand.

Other "experimenters" suggest using a small amount of mustard powder instead of dishwashing liquid. This option is completely out of the question, as mustard powder not only doesn't clean dishes well, but it also tends to swell and clog spray nozzles. As a result, you won't be able to wash the dishes properly, and all the filters and nozzles of the dishwasher will be clogged with mustard. Then you'll have to scrape it out of all the cracks.

Another suggestion is to add a little baking soda instead of dishwashing liquid. They say it's good at dissolving dirt and dramatically improving cleaning results. We tried this and didn't notice any significant difference. At the very least, baking soda won't harm your dishwasher, so you could try adding it to the detergent compartment. But it's best to buy a proper detergent and wash your dishes properly rather than doing such silly things.

So, washing dishes in the dishwasher without special detergent, but adding salt, is fine. It won't harm the appliance, but the cleaning performance will be questionable. In our opinion, it's best to wash dishes according to the dishwasher instructions to avoid any regrets later. Good luck!

2 reader comments

1. September 21, 2021 at 9:22 PM

   Natalia:

   I thought long and hard about it and bought it. And I don't regret it, even though the really dirty pots don't always come out clean.

   Answer
2. October 31, 2021 at 6:36 PM

   Natalia:

   I don't like the smell of dishwasher detergent. I'll try without it, but with salt.

   Answer