Dishwasher Salt: Why Is It Needed, Which One To Choose And How To Use It, Is It Possible To Replace The Usual One, A Review Of Popular Brands, Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Dishwasher salt: how to extend the life of your appliance

As soon as a dishwasher appears in the house, questions about its correct use arise along with it. Hardware stores offer a variety of dishwasher aids. It is necessary to understand what is really necessary and what can be abandoned. For example, why is special salt needed and can it be replaced with something cheaper?

Content

• 1 Why you need dishwasher salt

• 2 Is it possible to replace the special agent with ordinary table salt

  2.1 Video: how to save on dishwasher salt

• 3 What brand of salt to choose

  • 3.1 Finish
  • 3.2 Filtero
  • 3.3 Paclan Brileo
  • 3.4 Somat
  • 3.5 TopHouse
• 4 How to use salt correctly

Why you need dishwasher salt

Salt is our daily companion throughout life. She helps to cook food, she is used to fill the ice on the streets, to surprise tourists with salt caves and to treat asthma patients. On the shelves of shops you can find special salt for dishwashers, which costs much more than the product we are used to. Among the ingredients of such products are NaCl - table salt.

In order for the dishwasher to work properly and efficiently perform its functions of washing dishes, it needs appropriate care.

Why is such a special salt needed? Our water contains many impurities. Some, such as calcium and magnesium salts, precipitate when the water inside the dishwasher is heated, forming what we call scale.

When limescale deposits on the heating element and in the pipes, the machine stops working. To avoid this, manufacturers have provided a separate reservoir in modern dishwashers, which contains ionized resin. It is rich in negatively charged sodium ions. And tap water is rich in positively charged calcium and magnesium ions. As they pass through the resin, they are attracted to negatively charged sodium ions, which softens the water and prevents scale formation.

Unfortunately, the effect of the resin decreases over time and depending on the frequency of use. This is where dishwasher salt comes to the rescue. Because NaCl is sodium chloride, that is, a substance rich in the same sodium ions that act in the resin. And the salt is used to restore their amount in the resin tank, which helps to extend the life of the equipment.

Is it possible to replace a special product with ordinary table salt

Consumers are interested in why to pay extra for a beautiful package with salt, if the composition is the same as that of ordinary table salt, which is much cheaper.

Here it is worth paying attention to the description of the composition again. Some manufacturers write that the product consists of "pure" salt. This is not a marketing ploy, but really important information. Our homemade common table salt contains many impurities. It contains not only the smallest grains of sand, but also many third-party trace elements: iodine, manganese, iron and others. They will not harm the human body, but they can do the dishwasher. They settle on the internal mechanism, which negatively affects the operation of the equipment.

If you look closely at the salt crystals of both types, you will notice that the table salt granules are smaller, which means that less time is required for their dissolution. For example, if you pump 5 liters of water into the dishwasher, the average pumping time is 5 minutes. Small crystals will dissolve in a minute, and large ones in five. So it turns out that if you use small granules, then only 1 liter of water entering the dishwasher will be cleaned, and the remaining four will freely pass inside along with calcium and magnesium ions, which will subsequently settle on the heating element in the form of scale.

The granules of special salt look much larger than table salt.

If you nevertheless decide to replace special salt with table salt, please use the one with the “Extra” mark. Such an inscription on the product indicates that it has undergone a very serious processing and is better cleaned. And yet, do not be lazy before falling asleep, carefully examine it for the content of pebbles and grains of sand. Under no circumstances fill the compartment to the top with table salt: it may not dissolve and stick together in the same place where it was poured.

Video: how to save on dishwasher salt

What brand of salt to choose

If you are not ready to risk your dishwasher, the next question to be addressed is: which manufacturer should you choose salt? It depends primarily on the hardness of the water in your area.

If the water is soft enough, dishwashing tablets, which also contain salt, can be used. If it is hard, salt must be used.

The most popular and widely presented brands of salt on the market:

• Finish;
• Filtero;
• Paclan;
• Somat;
• TopHouse.

All these funds, depending on the volume, are in the price range from 140 to 800 rubles.

Finish

Perhaps the most famous brand in dishwasher care. What the manufacturer promises:

• soften water;
• protect from scale;
• improve the performance of the machine;
• eliminate the formation of limescale;
• eliminate smudges.

The main plus is the absence of iron impurities and carbonic acid salts, which improves the effect of the product and does not allow smudges to appear.

Dishwasher salt Finish will protect your appliances from limescale and limescale deposits

Filtero

Large crystals of the agent are capable of:

• soften water;
• protect from scale;
• improve the effect of dishwashing detergents;
• eliminate the formation of limescale;
• protect against corrosion.

Filtero coarse-crystalline dishwasher salt softens water, improves the effect of dishwashing detergents

Paclan brileo

Coarse crystalline salt Paclan Brileo is capable of:

• soften water;
• protect from scale;
• enhance the effect of dishwashing detergents;
• eliminate the formation of limescale;
• eliminate water smudges.

It must be used together with powder and rinse liquid.

Paclan Brileo salt protects dishes and dishwasher from harmful lime deposits

Somat

Somat salt, according to the manufacturer, provides threefold protection of the sprinkler and pipe mechanisms from limescale. With regular use of the product, the quality of work improves and the service life of the machine is extended.

Somat salt protects the dishwasher from limescale deposits

TopHouse

When using the funds, the following are provided:

• scale protection;
• softening water;
• extension of the service life of the ion exchanger;
• reduced consumption of detergents.

Among the advantages, the manufacturer notes the high purification of salt and the large size of the crystals.

Coarse-crystalline salt TopHouse is designed to protect the internal parts of dishwashers from the formation of limescale and scale

How to use salt correctly

All the subtleties of using the product are mandatory indicated on the pack. As a rule, the salt must be poured into the special compartment of the dishwasher. The most common volume of packs sold is one and a half kilograms. The compartment holds about two-thirds of such a package at a time. The dishwasher salt compartment is usually located on the bottom, under the lower tray. To carefully fill in the product, you must use a funnel. Some of the subtleties of using salt must be taken into account if you fill it up for the first time. First, fill the compartment with water. Don't worry, excess water will go down the drain as the product is poured.

The salt container is usually located at the bottom of the dishwasher, under the lower basket.

A little more complex is the process of adjusting the salt consumption of the machine, taking into account the degree of water hardness. Modern devices are quite sensitive and contain up to 7 levels of water hardness in the memory of an electronic device. If your water is soft and you are using tablets, you should set the indicator to zero hardness. Do not be surprised if the salt consumption indicator still glows brightly. Some machines, even if you set the hardness to zero, still pump water through the ion exchanger. In this case, you will have to pour salt through a special compartment to restore the operation of the filter element.

The basic rule is that it does not matter how hard the water you use is, but the salt must be in the machine. The only question is how often you have to fill it up there.

Which manufacturer to choose is only your decision. There are many proven and new products of various brands that vary in price and volume. Only one thing is important - salt is needed to soften hard water. And the higher the level of salt cleaning, the less risk to your machine.