Do you add salt to your dishwasher?

lkwdlady

Tue, May 25 2021, 3:48 pm

My new dishwasher is indicating that it needs salt. I think there is a compartment for salt. I never bought dishwasher salt before. Do I need to add it now?

BatyaEsther

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:00 pm

I think it depends on where you live and the mineral content of the water in your pipes. I think it is regular salt, but I do not know. Ask the sales associate you purchased it from.

ETA-checked with my friend Google. Cascaded and Finish make special salt. Don’t use regular Diamond Crystal.

Elfrida

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:11 pm

I don't have a dishwasher, but growing up I remember it was a regular thing to fill up the salt in the dishwasher. It was some special kind of salt, in very large but dull crystals. Whenever it wasn't cleaning well, the solution was normally to fill up the salt.

MiracleMama

Tue, May 25 2021, 4:27 pm

I've never heard of this in all my life. Every dishwasher I've ever had has a compartment for dish soap and, for the past many decades, one for drying aid. That's it.

lkwdlady

Tue, May 25 2021, 5:38 pm

MiracleMama wrote:

I've never heard of this in all my life. Every dishwasher I've ever had has a compartment for dish soap and, for the past many decades, one for drying aid. That's it.

I also never heard of it before. I wonder why they don’t add salt to the dishwasher soap? My old dishwasher didn’t even have a compartment for a drying aid. The first few weeks I used my dishwasher everything came out so clean with a shine. Now everything still comes out very clean but there is no shine. I wonder if it’s because it needs salt?

ocean blue

Tue, May 25 2021, 8:00 pm

Yes I add salt to my dishewasher every few months. It softens the water and my dishes and glasses come out sparkling with no stains. I buy regular kosher salt in the grocery store but some stores like home depot sell dishwasher salt

Goody2shoes

Tue, May 25 2021, 9:23 pm

And I never heard of a dishwasher that doesn't need salt. When I saw the question I was surprised!

Rappel

Tue, May 25 2021, 9:27 pm

lkwdlady wrote:

That's how it is by us. The salt activates a resin in the compartment, which takes away any impurities in the water. That's what makes it really sparkle

ETA - I don't use "dishwasher salt." I just buy a package of מלח גס, kosher salt, and that does the trick. One package is just a little more than the compartment down there.

Iymnok

Tue, May 25 2021, 10:00 pm

It’s in the bottom, not on the door with the detergent. Pull out the bottom rack and find a lid to twist off. Fill it to the top. Add a 1/4 cup of borax to aid it as well.

etky

Tue, May 25 2021, 11:18 pm

Iymnok wrote:

It’s in the bottom, not on the door with the detergent. Pull out the bottom rack and find a lid to twist off. Fill it to the top. Add a 1/4 cup of borax to aid it as well.

Borax? Isn't it toxic? Do you purchase it here in Israel? I always thought it wasn't available here...

moonstone

Tue, May 25 2021, 11:57 pm

I had never heard of adding salt to dishwashers until moving to Israel. Surprised to hear that there are dishwashers in the US that need salt.

Goody2shoes

Wed, May 26 2021, 12:14 am

moonstone wrote:

I had never heard of adding salt to dishwashers until moving to Israel. Surprised to hear that there are dishwashers in the US that need salt.

Was used growing up(not in the us😉) and these days I dont own a dishwasher yet. Can any american ima enlighten me if it's totally not used in the us?

Iymnok

Wed, May 26 2021, 12:16 am

etky wrote:

Borax? Isn't it toxic? Do you purchase it here in Israel? I always thought it wasn't available here...

My mother brought me a box years ago. My advice is for Americans.

etky

Wed, May 26 2021, 12:49 am

lkwdlady wrote:

If you have hard water like we have here in Israel then yes, you probably need the salt.
Also, if your glasses are no longer coming out shiny whereas they were in the beginning even w/o salt, you might already have a build up of limescale in your machine. There are cleaning fluids that you can run through your machine on an empty cycle to descale it, or just use vinegar.

s c

Wed, May 26 2021, 2:07 am

In the UK all dishwashers need salt. Where I live we have very hard water. You set how much
salt is dispensed depending on how hard the water is in your area. You should only use special dishwasher salt.

ocean blue

Wed, May 26 2021, 6:49 pm

My miele dishwasher has a salt compartment and a light turns on when it needs to be refilled. And yes I live in the us. My dishes come out sparkling, like in no other dishwashers I owned.

lkwdlady

Wed, May 26 2021, 7:10 pm

I think it must be a thing that European dishwashers have since my old American dishwasher had no salt compartment that I know of. I just googled water in New Jersey and surprisingly New Jersey water is considered hard water. I never knew that. I will purchase dishwasher salt. I had this dishwasher for about a year and was wondering why everything was shining in the beginning and now it’s just nice and clean without a shine.
Thanks for everyone’s input!