Do you need salt for a dishwasher with soft water?

If you’ve ever had a dishwasher, you’ve probably heard that salt helps maintain the appliance in good working order. If you reside in a place with soft water, though, you may be questioning whether this step is actually required. Do you really need to add salt when soft water already contains less minerals than hard water?

Knowing how salt functions in your dishwasher will help you make the best choice. Dishwasher salt is made especially to work with the water softener in your dishwasher; it is not the same as table salt that you would use on food. This water softener aids in preventing the accumulation of limescale, which may impair the cleaning performance of your dishwasher and possibly shorten its life.

However, the decision of whether to add salt becomes more nuanced if your house already has soft water. Since soft water naturally contains fewer of the minerals calcium and magnesium (which cause limescale), you might think that your dishwasher doesn’t require any additional assistance. But it’s not quite that easy to answer.

Is it possible to do without salt?

Regenerating salt for the dishwasher is frequently not used by those who are fortunate enough to reside in areas with soft water. However, experts rarely consider the fact that water quality varies throughout the year when they recommend against adding salt granules to soft water. In order for the dishwasher to function properly, it is important to consider that tap water typically gets a little harder in the summer and fall than it does in the spring.

The fact that tap water hardness is assessed "by eye" rather than with the aid of specialized equipment or test strips frequently leads to mistakes when it comes to using salt in dishwashers. Housewives typically don’t use salt for the PMM; instead, they just look for plaque on the walls of the kettle and faucets. But, if the water turns out to be unexpectedly hard, this kind of "home assistant" care can eventually harm the ion exchanger, whose replacement can be highly costly.

Even without specialized measurements, the most accurate information about the quality of tap water can be found by visiting the official website of the local water utility, where staff members are obligated to provide the most recent information on the water’s attributes.

To preserve the ion exchanger, you can choose one of two options. You can regularly test the quality of the water in the tap, taking measurements every 2-3 months, and if you really have soft water, then do not use salt. Or, just in case, you can add salt for the dishwasher, but set the hardness settings on the PMM to the minimum level so that the salt granules are not consumed much. It is the second method of solving the problem that experts advise in order for the dishwasher to last longer. And most importantly, this option is not only safer, but also not much more expensive, because you can easily find inexpensive but high-quality salt for a dishwasher on the market.

Even though it might not be required if your home has soft water, adding salt to your dishwasher can still improve its performance. Salt keeps the buildup of limescale at bay and guarantees the proper operation of your dishwasher’s water softener. But salt is less necessary when the water is naturally soft, and you may need to use it sparingly to keep your dishwasher operating at its best.

What to replace special salt for a dishwasher with?

We have found that using salt in a dishwasher is still preferable, even if the water in the tap is soft. To determine the product’s minimum consumption, adjust the hardness settings on the device after adding the salt granules to the salt bin. But, there are other ways to avoid spending money on dishwasher salt regeneration, as an inexpensive substitute is available.

It’s true that you don’t need to purchase special, pricey salt, but things aren’t always that easy. Because regular table salt has too small granules, is more contaminated that could damage dishwashers, and has a lower level of purification, it is not recommended for use with household appliances. For the reasons listed above, table salt has the potential to clog the ion exchanger valve, which would cause the element to break down rather than keep it intact.

Tablet salt, which is also utilized in water treatment facilities, is far superior. Its advantage lies in the way it is packaged—salt is offered in bags containing 5, 10, and 25 kilograms at a time—and in the price, which is only 20–30% more than regular salt and still far less expensive than dishwasher-safe salt. Additionally, you can purchase it anywhere: hardware stores across the country carry products under the Mozyrsol, Ecosoft, Ecodar, Aquaphor, and other brands.

You may be wondering if you really need to add salt to your dishwasher if your home has naturally soft water. Dishwasher salt plays a much less important role when the water is already soft, but it is essential in hard water areas to prevent limescale buildup. The majority of the time, adding salt to soft water doesn’t really help anything and may even cause the water to become overly soft, which could have an impact on how well your dishes clean.

Nonetheless, some dishwashers are made to use salt no matter how hard the water is. For the water softening system inside these models to continue operating as intended, salt is required. Checking the dishwasher’s manual is a good idea before deciding to forgo the salt. If your dishwasher functions just fine without it, you can avoid the trouble and cost.

In the end, you won’t need much dishwasher salt if your water is soft. Your dishes should always come out immaculate if you use the right amount of detergent and keep your machine clean.

Video on the topic

Salt for dishwashers – selection and use

Why do you need SALT for a dishwasher using finish as an example

Adjusting the hardness of water and rinse aid in a dishwasher

Salt for a dishwasher – which one to choose?

DISHWASHER and WATER HARDNESS

Dishwasher. If soft water. Expert advice. My dishes as in the advert.