Why pour salt in the dishwasher

Dishwasher greatly facilitates the daily work of the housewife. It is no longer necessary to wash each plate individually, manually rubbing the dishes with a sponge moistened with detergent. However, in order for the dishwasher to serve for a long time and launder contaminants clean, it must be properly maintained.

In the operating instructions you can find information that for the dishwasher, in addition to detergent, you must use salt. What is this substance and what is it for? Is it possible to replace the salt additive with something else and how important is it to use a special substance designed specifically for dishwashers?

What tools are commonly used in dishwashers

As a rule, modern tools for using a dishwasher can be divided into two types. The first can be attributed directly to the specimens that are used for the laundering of pollution. The latter are special care products that help soften the water and prevent the occurrence of scale. The second group also includes dishwasher salt, which perfectly fights solid deposits. Is it effective in combating scale and how much should it be used?

Composition of salt

To understand why to pour salt in a dishwasher, you need to find out what kind of substance. The composition of salt for dishwasher differs significantly from the kitchen to which everyone is accustomed. Moreover, the difference is noticeable even externally. Dishwasher salt is a homogeneous large granules. This salt does not contain harmful impurities and goes through several additional degrees of purification.

Each manufacturer develops its own composition of salt additives for PMM.Use flavoring agents, sodium citrate to combat microbes, sodium bicarbonate or disilicate, or prefer to simply further purify.

The principle of

Many housewives do not fully understand why using salt in a dishwasher. After all, when dishes are washed by hand, just enough detergent. Quite simply, salt is needed to soften hard tap water.

Surely you have noticed lime deposits on the walls of the kettle, faucet or sink. This is scum or in the language of chemists sediment, which is obtained by heating the high-temperature calcium and magnesium salts contained in water. Scale significantly reduces the life of household appliances.

To minimize the negative effects of scale on the heating element, a special compartment with ionized resin is provided in the dishwasher. The negative sodium ions contained in it, attract the positive ions of magnesium and calcium in the water. As a result of this reaction, the water passing through the resin softens.

What is

for? Over time, the resin gradually loses its properties. To restore them, it is necessary to enrich it with sodium ions, which are just in salt. Some manufacturers call it - regenerating. Without the use of special additives, the ion exchanger quickly fails. The harder the water, the faster it will happen.

Using salt in dishwashers is very important. There are at least 3 reasons for this:

1. It softens the water.
2. With it, dishes will be cleaner, because in softer water, detergents clean better.
3. Reduces the likelihood of scale on the inner surface of the tank and heating elements, as well as prolongs service life.

See also - Where to pour salt in the dishwasher

Can I use without salt

Do not save on an emollient and use the dishwasher without it. Ultimately, such savings can result in even greater costs, for example, for repairs. Putting salt is necessary, but the methods may be different. In regions with fairly soft tap water, 3in1 tablets for PMM can be used. Their composition already includes softening salt. Where the water is hard, the work of the dishwasher will depend on how high-quality component you will use.

If you pour a poor-quality salt additive into the ion exchanger or you don’t use it at all, it will become clogged with sediment or will fail after a while. You can find out how hard the water in the tap is with a special test strip.

How much to fill up with

It is difficult to unambiguously answer the question of how much salt to pour into the dishwasher. It depends on what kind of substance you use. There are not so many variants:

• is a special regenerating salt of different manufacturers( Calgonit, Frisch-aktiv, Somat, Largo, Filtero and others);
• special salt tablets( Topperr, Storm);
• table salt "Extra" - a substitute for dishwashing salt;
• tablets based on "Extra".

Consumption also depends on the dishwasher model. Most PMM has a "salt" compartment, calculated on about 1 kg of this substance. In the instructions on the package, it is recommended to pour the tool in the compartment to the top.

How often do I add salt?

As a rule, salt is added to replenish the ion exchanger with sodium ions. In some modern dishwashers there is a special salt content sensor that will give you a signal when it is necessary to replenish the reserves of this substance.

On average( if you wash it once a day), then a 1 kg pack is enough for a month. It all depends on the frequency of use, water hardness and washing program.

See also - Salt for dishwasher: what and how to replace it

Special or food: is there any difference?

Due to the fact that the special salt for dishwashers is quite expensive, many housewives would like to replace it with regular cookery. Is it worth doing? The composition of these substances coincides by almost 98 percent, but there are differences, all the same.

1. Appearance .Special salt additive has the form of clearly delineated granules of sufficiently large size. The salt particles are smaller and more uneven.
2. The degree of cleaning .Table salt, although used in food, is purified much worse. In it small grains of sand or even small pebbles can be observed. Also different and composition. In the usual salt there are some additional elements: potassium, iodine, manganese, boron and others. They can settle on the elements of the machine and affect the quality of its work.
3. Dissolution rate of .Due to the fact that the granules of special salts are larger, it dissolves more slowly. It will have to be added less often, which means it will be possible to save a little.

If you still did not buy specialty salt and decided to replace it with a traditional cookery, listen to the advice of experts. A replacement, although not a complete one, can only be Extra class salt. It undergoes more thorough processing and will help to keep the equipment in good condition longer. By the way, if you decide to use traditional salt, you do not need to fill it in the compartment too tightly. Because of its rather small structure, it can stick together in a tight lump and not dissolve at all. Then you not only will not help the dishwasher, but even harm.