What to fill the dishwasher with?

To ensure high-quality dishwashing, it's important to choose the right cleaning agent. The question of what to use for a dishwasher can arise for both experienced users and new owners. Often, the cleaning agent fails to perform its intended function – it doesn't clean the appliances well and leaves streaks on the surface. Therefore, let's look at which household chemicals to consider to avoid disappointment in cleaning performance and which detergents are essential.

List of products used in PMM

Maintaining your dishwasher requires a variety of different products. Some products need to be added periodically, while others need to be added every time you wash. Let's look at what exactly you need to add to ensure proper operation.

1. Salt. It softens the water entering the system and prevents scale and limescale buildup on the unit's internal components. The frequency of adding salt to the appliance will depend on the hardness of the tap water in your region, as well as the volume of water consumed by the appliance. The indicator will serve as a guide, indicating how full the reservoir is with salt. When the light comes on, it's time to add the mixture.

On average, a kilogram pack of salt lasts for about 6 months of use.

2. Dishwashing detergents. These can be gel-based, capsule-based, powder-based, tablet-based, or in the form of tablets, sheets, etc. They are essential for effective dishwashing.
3. Rinse aid. Used for the final treatment of dishes. It leaves cutlery with a pleasant, clean, fresh scent, prevents streaks, and ensures improved drying.
4. Degreaser. Add to the dishwasher when cleaning greasy dishes. It prevents the machine components from becoming coated with a greasy film.
5. Anti-scale. Excellent for removing limescale deposits, thereby extending the life of the unit. Use approximately every three months.

The detergents listed above must be added to the dishwasher in the dosages specified by the manufacturer. We'll discuss how to use them correctly below.

Features of using salt

In almost 100% of cases, water entering the dishwasher from the mains requires pre-softening. Therefore, every dishwasher is equipped with an ion exchanger for this purpose. It prepares hard water for further use by the appliance. For the ion exchanger to perform this task, it requires salt. The required salt concentration can be determined using three methods:

• by manually measuring the hardness of tap water and entering the “obtained” data into the device’s memory;
• find out this information from the city water utility and enter it into the equipment’s storage system;
• By purchasing a dishwasher that can automatically assess water hardness and determine the required salt consumption.

Salt is loaded into the ion exchanger using a special funnel included with the composition.

How do you properly fill the dishwasher with salt? Before using the dishwasher for the first time, add water and a kilogram of salt to the ion exchanger. Subsequent uses require no additional water; only top up the salt detergent. Salt consumption is not affected by the frequency of washing programs; it depends on the volume of water passed through the system.

The vast majority of modern dishwashers are equipped with a salt refill indicator. So, you don't need to remember the salt refill date. Simply watch the indicator light on the control panel, and if it lights up, add detergent to the reservoir.

Adding detergents

Salt, although a necessary element for the functioning of the machine, does not have the direct purpose of cleaning dishes. To remove dirt from the surface of cutlery, special detergents are used: powders, gels, capsules, etc.

The powder dissolves in water better than other detergents, making it ideal for short cleaning sessions. It's also much more economical to use, as the user can adjust the dosage. The powder should be poured into a perfectly dry tray to prevent it from accumulating on the walls of the hoses.

Dishwasher tablets. They dissolve much more slowly than powdered detergents, making them suitable for long wash cycles. Some tablet manufacturers add additional water softening agents. Different tablets are designed for different levels of tap water hardness. You can find tablets with several different colored layers on store shelves. These 3-in-1 tablets not only clean dishes, soften water, and act as a rinse aid.

As a reminder, rinse aid helps achieve a crystal-clear shine and ensures better drying. A special dispenser helps you accurately measure the amount of rinse aid to pour into the compartment. Using the graduated scale, measuring the correct amount is easy.

If you don't use the right amount of dishwashing detergent and rinse aid, you may notice whitish stains remaining on the surface of your kitchenware. To resolve this issue, first try rinsing your utensils, filling them up to the 4th level. Dishes that remain damp after drying indicate the need for more rinse aid. If your utensils are completely dry but still have a white residue, reduce the amount of fabric softener.

It is not necessary to use rinse aid during the washing process; the product can be added at will.

Car cleaning compounds

It is very important not to forget about the means used to prevent the formation of scale, limescale, fatty deposits, and mold in the system. A thorough cleaning of the dishwasher should be performed once a quarter, and the filters should be cleaned after two or three washing programs.

Auxiliary detergents should not have a negative impact on delicate parts of the dishwasher: sealing rubber, chamber coating, etc.

If you're committed to maintaining your dishwasher and ensuring its long, trouble-free life, make it a rule to check the filter element located at the bottom of the appliance after each cleaning cycle. If the filter is clean, you can safely postpone the cleaning until next time. The best dishwasher maintenance products are available from the following brands:

• Finish is a market leader. Customers value the manufacturer's reliability and the high effectiveness of its products.
• A concentrated gel that effectively removes grease deposits from equipment parts. Additionally, the detergent creates a protective layer on surfaces and completely eliminates unpleasant odors.
• SomatMachineCleaner. This product cleans system pipes, hoses, tubes, filter elements, and spray arms. Easily removes grease and limescale from machine parts.
• It will help eliminate unpleasant odors in the system and remove greasy deposits from the most hard-to-reach places.

Not all advertised household chemicals will effectively remove stains from dishes or clean the system of deposits and grease. Often, even unknown, inexpensive products perform much better than their more hyped counterparts. We recommend trying as many primary and secondary detergents as possible to find the perfect one for your dishwasher.

   

1 reader comment

1. March 5, 2019 at 11:22 PM

   Oleg:

   I don't like using the dishwasher either; it's easier and faster to do it by hand. But it's a real lifesaver when there's no hot water in the house. Plus, it saves water, and it means streak-free glassware without the need to dry it with a towel.

   Answer